In Short
As the Senior Lead Footwear Developer for Performance Running, you will play a pivotal role as the strategic technical consultant for our most critical product category. Based in our Zurich HQ, your primary responsibility is to ensure high-level alignment between design intent and manufacturing feasibility. Instead of getting involved in the granular execution of every product, you will provide the necessary technical governance and cross-functional support to maintain performance integrity as the category scales.
The Senior Lead Development role will report to the Senior Lead Run Footwear Development on the Performance Run team, supporting global footwear initiatives.
Apply online using the form below. Please note that only applications matching the job profile will be considered.
Your Mission
- Technical Stewardship: Act as the primary technical advisor during the briefing and design phases to ensure that performance running concepts align with global manufacturing capabilities.
- Strategic Synchronization: Facilitate technical alignment between Zurich-based Design/Product Management and Asia-based execution teams, preserving the "performance soul" of the category across all franchises.
- Process Enablement: Support the evolution of development standards by identifying technical bottlenecks and recommending best practices that enhance category-wide efficiency.
- Advisory & Escalation Support: Serve as the senior technical point of contact for Asia-based development partners, providing guidance on complex technical challenges and assisting in the resolution of high-level production escalations.
- Performance Quality Assurance: Assist in the validation of fit, feel, and durability standards, ensuring that technical benchmarks are consistently met across diverse factory partners.
- Knowledge Facilitation: Foster a culture of technical excellence by mentoring the broader development team and translating complex innovation breakthroughs into actionable development frameworks.
Your Story
- Experience: 8–12+ years in footwear development, particularly in high-performance running with a focus on technical complexity.
- Influential Leadership: Demonstrated ability to influence product direction and technical outcomes through advisory roles, rather than direct management or project ownership.
- Systemic Thinking: Profound understanding of how performance tooling, materials, and construction impact the global supply chain and product lifecycle.
- Collaborative Bridge: Exceptional ability to navigate HQ and regional dynamics, acting as a "technical translator" between creative vision and factory execution.
- Strategic Judgment: Highly adept at evaluating technical trade-offs and providing recommendations that balance innovation with commercial viability.
- Consultative Communication: A trusted voice capable of guiding stakeholders toward technically sound decisions while fostering robust cross-functional relationships.
Attributes of a Successful Candidate
- The Technical Advisor: You may not be involved in every tech pack, but you are the go-to person for consultation when design challenges push the boundaries of physics.
- The Strategic Partner: You concentrate on the "how" and "why," ensuring that the category's technical roadmap remains strong and scalable.
- The Alignment Specialist: You thrive in bridging teams, ensuring that no technical detail gets "lost in translation" between Zurich and our global manufacturing partners.
About the Team
Join the Zurich-based Footwear Development team as a senior pillar of expertise for the Performance Running category. This high-performance collective of engineers, developers, and makers represents the technical heart of the brand.
In Zurich, our team serves as the primary link among Biomechanical Research, Material Science, Design, and Sourcing, ensuring that every innovation is grounded in technical reality before it reaches the athlete.
Our mission is to continually elevate the performance and technical attributes of our running footwear. We are dedicated to not just facilitating product creation, but also engineering the ultimate "ride." Within the Performance Run vertical, you will collaborate with specialists who are passionate about developing the best-fitting, highest-performing, and most desirable running products in the market.
We take pride in our culture of technical rigor and "Swiss Engineering," constantly challenging the status quo to overcome the most complex biomechanical hurdles in the industry. Your role within this team will be crucial in ensuring that as our category expands, our technical standards and the performance "soul" of our running footwear remain uncompromised.