Senior Specialist - Footwear Material Leather (Contract)

On

In short As On’s Head of Footwear Sourcing Operations, based in Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam, you are responsible for leading On’s footwear sourcing operations teams across multiple regions. Your role carries a long-term strategic vision to drive the implementation of innovation and operational excellence, ensuring On remains at the forefront of the industry. You are a people leader who elevates the team and inspires them to perform through bringing your strategic and sustainable vision to life. You care about your team’s well being and growth, and actively develop your team by providing opportunities to grow through projects and evolving responsibilities. You create a collaborative and high performing team culture. You are excited for On’s products, technology and innovation, and continuously strive to bring the next innovation fast into inline. You are passionate about digital creation and automation, you inspire our partners to think beyond the status quo, and to invest sustainably for the future. You care about our manufacturing partners, you nurture relationships with a high level of trust. You inspire our partners to build capabilities, autonomy, and to prioritise for On. You don’t settle for ‘Industrial Standard’, you strive to build On’s footwear sourcing performance to the highest level. You are a connector who builds and fosters strong relationships across functions: In your role, you will partner closely with our Innovation, Product Strategy, Product Creation, Sustainability, Supply Chain and Finance teams. Your mission - Lead and empower Footwear Sourcing Operations teams across multiple regions to achieve excellence. - Overseeing the Heads of Footwear Operations in various regions as well as the Head of Footwear Quality, ensuring alignment and collaboration toward shared goals. - Develop and execute a sourcing strategy through actionable and impactful initiatives. - Act as a core pillar of production by identifying, building, and nurturing long-lasting, loyal, and forward-thinking partner relationships. - Continuously improve, innovate, and elevate the sourcing business to ensure long-term scalability and sustainability. - Capitalise on local business opportunities while maintaining seamless alignment and strong partnerships with the senior leadership team. - Serve as a world-class leader who provides clear guidance, vision, and strategic direction to the team. - Maximize team potential by effectively utilizing individual talents, building capabilities, and ensuring the right people are in the right roles. - Spearhead efforts to elevate On’s footwear manufacturing and automation to unprecedented levels. - Build and nurture high-performing footwear sourcing operations teams by driving meaningful projects and responsibilities. - Foster a collaborative, high-performance team culture that inspires innovation and growth. - Cultivate trust-based, meaningful relationships with key business partners to drive mutual success. - Accelerate the transition of new innovation projects from concept to inline production. - Lead automation initiatives in collaboration with our manufacturing partners. - Champion and embody On’s commitment to sustainability in every aspect of your work. Your story - An entrepreneurial and open mindset, an eagerness for differentiation and a natural push for excellence. - 15+ years of experience in sourcing or manufacturing (across in-house and/or OEM environments) of high performance products. - Experience in footwear is highly valued. - You have ‘deep’ experience implementing automation in production. - You are a visionary leader, you have comprehensive experience in leading, coaching and developing a high performance team. - You are native to a complex reporting organization, you are highly collaborative. - This position is based in Vietnam, with frequent travel to Zurich, Indonesia and China; our working language is English. What we offer On is a place that is centered around growth and progress. We offer an environment designed to give people the tools to develop holistically – to stay active, to learn, explore and innovate. Our distinctive approach combines a supportive, team-oriented atmosphere, with access to personal self-care for both physical and mental well-being, so each person is led by purpose. On is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating a work environment that is fair and inclusive, where all decisions related to recruitment, advancement, and retention are free of discrimination.

On

IN SHORT: As a Footwear Material Specialist based in our Ho Chi Minh City office, you will push performance materials to the next level of innovation, aligning directly with On’s sustainability and materiality vision. Focusing on material development, technical execution, and production capabilities, you will bridge short-term execution with our long-term material strategy. Reporting to the Footwear Materials Lead, Vietnam, and collaborating closely with local development teams, you will act as a vital link for the Zurich HQ team—ensuring the seamless execution of footwear materials from early development through to final production. YOUR MISSION: ● Manage end-to-end material sourcing in alignment with On’s global strategy. ● Identify, onboard, and manage high-performing material suppliers, analysing lead times and production processes. ● Evaluate and drive material-specific targets in line with On’s sustainability roadmap. ● Proactively identify opportunities to elevate material performance, advance circularity, and optimise production efficiencies. ● Partner with the lab team on physical testing criteria and standards. YOUR STORY: ● You have a degree in Footwear Textile Sciences, Textile Engineering/Technology, but you're not ready to stop learning just yet. ● A real expert in your field, you’ve worked in the global footwear industry, or a relevant industry, for at least 5 years, with Asia suppliers. ● Affinity for Footwear design and technology, particularly in the technical performance category. ● A true team player, you lead with integrity and thrive in collaborative environments where shared success outweighs individual compromise. ● Able to balance creativity with organisation and discipline in a fast-paced environment. ● Good command of English, Mandarin is a plus. YOUR TEAM: The Materials team at On operates at the precise intersection of creativity and technical innovation. We translate visionary design concepts into high-performance materials through deep technical expertise, while proactively introducing disruptive, next-generation concepts from our global supplier network. Serving as the vital connective tissue between Design, Development, and Product Management, our team is rapidly gaining momentum. As the strategic importance of materials takes center stage in our product creation process, we are looking for proactive, entrepreneurial minds ready to make an immediate impact and shape the future of running.   On is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating a work environment that is fair and inclusive, where all decisions related to recruitment, advancement, and retention are free of discrimination.

On

IN SHORT The Senior Specialist, Footwear Compound & Bottom Unit Costing drives cost engineering excellence and pricing transparency for compound and bottom units within the Global Footwear Sourcing & Costing Team.  In this capacity, by blending polymer science expertise with strong "should-cost" modeling and negotiation, this role ensures long-term cost efficiency, scalability and product commercialization with partnering cross-functionally from innovation to commercialization.    YOUR MISSION * Cost Engineering & Modeling: Develop, validate & maintain "should-cost" models for polymer-based compounds (outsoles, midsoles, and speedboards) utilized in footwear manufacturing. Connect technical polymer-science-driven solutions to commercially viable costing solutions. * Strategic Negotiation: Lead formula & market-based pricing discussions with global chemical/ material suppliers to secure competitive landing costs and long term commercial agreements. * Market Intelligence: Analyze global petrochemical markets and raw material indices to deliver risk-mitigating forecasts. Establish frameworks connecting raw material costs to compound pricing. * Cost Governance & Analytics: Build and standardize databases, assumptions and tracking tools for chemical materials to support global strategic cost initiatives. * Sustainable Material Costing: Establish financial and costing frameworks for sustainable polymers, aligned with On's sustainability goals. * Cross-functional Collaboration: Act as the strategic costing partner, aligning with Polymer Science & Engineering, Innovation, Footwear Sourcing, and external business partners to manage compound & bottom unit costing process within Product Creation & Commercialization timeline.   Your story * 05+ years of experience in material costing, compound development, polymer/ chemical engineering or footwear manufacturing engineering. * Education: Bachelor’s degree in Chemical/ Polymer Engineering, Polymer Science, Finance or Business. * Technical & Commercial Business Acumen: Strong understanding of footwear bottom construction & foam technologies; proven ability to translate technical specs into commercial savings. * Analytical Skills: Advanced proficiency in Google Sheets/ Excel, financial modeling, and index-based pricing mechanisms. Experience with PLM systems is preferred. * Soft Skills: Entrepreneurial mindset; exceptional communication skills with the ability to challenge suppliers and align stakeholders in a dynamic, global matrix environment. * Languages: Professional fluency in English, additional language skills are a plus. * Preferred Qualifications: Expertise in high-performance materials designed to transform the underfoot experience. Comprehensive knowledge of manufacturing techniques, including IM, CMP, SCF, and high-pressure injection molding. Previous engagement with sustainable material solutions and initiatives aimed at carbon reduction.   MEET THE TEAM You will join the Global Footwear Costing team, a group focused on delivering precision and transparency in footwear & material costing. We prioritize data-driven decisions and collaborative problem-solving to support the brand's long-term growth and innovation goals.