Senior Lead - Footwear Developer

Overview

As a key member of the Footwear Development team, you will play a pivotal role in enhancing the strategic alignment of performance running footwear with global manufacturing capabilities. This position, based in our Zurich HQ, emphasizes high-level technical governance and cross-functional collaboration, ensuring that the performance integrity of our products is maintained as the category scales.

Your Mission

• Technical Stewardship: Serve as the primary technical advisor during briefing and design phases to align performance running concepts 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.
• Process Enablement: Enhance the evolution of development standards by identifying technical bottlenecks and advising on best practices to improve efficiency.
• Advisory & Escalation Support: Act as the senior technical point of contact for Asia-based development partners, guiding resolution of complex technical hurdles and high-level production escalations.
• Performance Quality Assurance: Support the validation of fit, feel, and durability standards, ensuring consistent adherence to technical benchmarks across factory partners.
• Knowledge Facilitation: Mentor the development team and translate complex innovation breakthroughs into actionable development frameworks.

Your Story

• Experience: Bring 8–12+ years in footwear development, specifically within high-performance running and technical complexity.
• Influential Leadership: Showcase capability to influence product direction and technical outcomes through partnership and advisory.
• Systemic Thinking: Exhibit understanding of how performance tooling, materials, and construction affect the global supply chain and product lifecycle.
• Collaborative Bridge: Navigate HQ and regional dynamics effectively, acting as a technical translator between creative vision and factory execution.
• Strategic Judgment: Evaluate technical trade-offs skillfully and recommend solutions that balance innovation with commercial scalability.
• Consultative Communication: Serve as a trusted advisor, guiding stakeholders toward sound technical decisions while nurturing strong cross-functional relationships.

Attributes of a Successful Candidate

• The Technical Advisor: Provide expertise when designs challenge the limits of physics, even if you're not managing every technical detail.
• The Strategic Partner: Focus on the methodologies and rationales that ensure a robust and scalable technical roadmap.
• The Alignment Specialist: Bridge the gap between teams to ensure that crucial technical specifications are accurately communicated between Zurich and global manufacturing partners.

About the Team

You will be part of a Zurich-based Footwear Development team renowned for its expertise in the Performance Running category. This group comprises a dynamic collective of engineers, developers, and makers dedicated to the technical advancement of our brand.

Our team serves as the essential link between Biomechanical Research, Material Science, Design, and Sourcing, ensuring that innovations are rooted in practical technical realities tailored for athletes.

Driven by a commitment to elevate the performance and technical attributes of running footwear, we go beyond product creation to engineer the ideal "ride." In the Performance Run vertical, you will collaborate with specialists devoted to producing the most effective, high-performing, and desirable running products available.

We cultivate a culture of technical rigor and "Swiss Engineering," where challenging the status quo is embraced to address the most intricate biomechanical challenges within the industry. Your role will be to uphold our technical standards and ensure the performance essence of our running footwear remains intact as the category evolves.