Senior Specialist - Color Designer Performance Footwear

In short

Color has the power to shape our thoughts, moods, and emotions, influencing us both physiologically and psychologically. As a Senior Color Designer for Performance at On, you play a pivotal role in redefining the brand's identity through a disruptive, top-of-the-line color strategy. This is not a role for someone who just "colors within the lines"—we are looking for a visionary who creates the color blocking that completely changes product architecture and shifts how the brand reads on the track, road, and court. You will craft compelling, elite color stories that resonate with high-performance athletes, align with brand values, and drive the future of our fast-paced performance categories.

Your mission

• Disruptive Color Blocking & Creation: Lead the creation of innovative color blocking strategies that alter product perception, maximize visual impact, and redefine how performance products read on and off the road, track, and court.
• Elite Performance Contextualization: Strategize and execute consumer-focused color work specifically tailored to the elite performance world.
• Independent Project Management: Act as an autonomous force, efficiently managing workloads through a rapid, fast-paced environment.
• Out-of-the-Box Narrative Building: Develop highly creative narratives that push boundaries while maintaining a connection to the overarching CD color umbrella, utilizing advanced renders and dynamic visual communication to bring these concepts to life.
• Cross-Functional Synergy (Apparel HT2): Deeply collaborate with the Apparel Color Design team to constantly check, co-create, and lock in Head-to-Toe (HT2) integration for our elite performance gear, ensuring a unified brand statement.
• Cross-Functional Influence (Inline Footwear): Act as the "lightning strike" for the Inline Performance Footwear team; be highly proactive and vocal in sharing these collaborative insights and elite concepts, ensuring the energy successfully trickles down to influence and shape the commercial footwear area.
• Digital & Physical Execution: High-level execution of color CADs, PLM data management, and the continuous building of a cutting-edge digital and physical inspiration library rooted in contemporary art, culture, and sports fashion.
• Strategic Stakeholder Presentation: Present complex color proposals, concepts, and emotional narratives with high-fidelity renders and clear visual communication to gain immediate buy-in from internal leadership and external partners.

Your story

• Bachelor's degree in Industrial Design, Color Sciences, Graphic Design, Fine Arts, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in the footwear industry, with a proven track record specifically within high-performance footwear.
• A portfolio that demonstrates "out-of-the-box" thinking, complex color-blocking expertise, and an innate understanding of how color interacts with movement.
• Demonstrated ability to work completely independently, self-manage stress, and make critical design decisions under tight deadlines.
• Deep technical knowledge of color processes across technical, performance-driven materials.
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite and 3D visualization programs.
• Fluent in English (written and spoken); any additional languages are a plus.