Principal Engineer - Innovation

In Short

At On, everything we do is deeply rooted in innovation at its core, that’s why we’re looking to create a new team of talented engineers that will help us re-define how people move supported by our digital products. All while leveraging cutting-edge and state of the art technology.

As part of this mission, we’re looking for a Principal Engineer that will help us think ahead of our times and push the boundaries of On’s digital landscape while keeping a small cross-functional team of engineers on track to fulfill our mission.

In this role, you’ll be based in our Zurich office, directly reporting to a member of the Engineering Leadership Team and working within a dedicated cross-functional team including product, design, strategy and more. Think of it as an internal incubator for innovative digital experiences based on AI, AR, mobile, web or any other technologies that can help us think forward. Your entrepreneurial and result-driven mindset, combined with strong hands-on technical oversight and execution skills, will make you a key member of the team on which On’s future digital innovation is built.

Your mission

• Drive Execution: You'll oversee the technical strategy and execution of multiple projects within this space while serving as the main technical point of contact within and outside the team. This involves navigating ambiguity and taking ownership in areas with many unknowns and open questions, guiding the team through complex problem spaces.

• Lead Innovation: You’ll be leading a team that will be exploring areas of technology that no one else at On is currently looking at. Therefore, you will need to ensure that you find clarity for the team but also bring that knowledge to the rest of the organization when it’s the most valuable.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: You'll partner closely with product, design, and the rest of the cross-functional team on a daily basis to ensure seamless delivery in order to strategically conduct experiments and innovative projects that align with the broader product roadmap.

• Technical Guidance & Standards: You'll collaborate with the leadership team in Technology and beyond to establish and advocate for best practices in system design, scalability, and code quality, consistently raising the bar across the organisation.

• Team Leadership & Development: You'll build, lead, mentor and empower a cross-functional team of engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence and continuous improvement. You'll work to unite the team and champion initiatives to boost overall productivity such as AI coding agents or upskilling the team on how to use the latest technologies.

Your story

• You hold a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical field.

• You have solid experience in software development, demonstrating a broad technical expertise spanning across various technologies (backend and frontend) together with deep system architecture skills.

• You are well seasoned in fast paced environments such as start-ups or creative agencies where rapid experimentation and iteration goes beyond building the perfect solution from the beginning.

• You remain hands on while keeping a good balance with long-term strategic thinking helping the team move forward in any way needed either by bootstrapping a new service or setting a clear plan and deliverables for the current roadmap.

• You bring proven experience as a Principal Engineer or Systems Architect, including the design, creation and maintenance of brand new large scale systems.

• You possess strong problem-solving skills to tackle complex technical and product challenges, are a genuine team player, and communicate exceptionally well in English.

• You are confident with rapid product development and iterations through testing, experimentation and controlled rollouts in production environments.

• You are confident working with a modern tech stack, including proficiency in at least one Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) language or TypeScript, NestJS (or similar frameworks), together with PostgreSQL, AWS / GCP, GraphQL including Apollo Federation and Kafka Streams.

• Direct experience building applications with LLMs, RAG pipelines, and Generative AI toolchains. Experience working with Agentic AI paradigms and Model Context Protocol (MCP) is a significant plus.

• Experience working with external partners and technology vendors that will help us shape our north star technology landscape.

Nice to have

• Experience as Engineering Manager or team lead including building and leading cross-functional teams from the ground up, driving significant technical initiatives, and demonstrating strong business acumen.

• You have hands-on experience in defining sourcing strategies to attract top-tier engineering talent and are committed to continuously raising the bar within your team through effective mentorship and professional development.

• Experience with frontend frameworks such as Vue, React and Angular.

• Experience with AR, voice assistants and wearables (such as smart watches) is a significant plus.

Attributes of a successful candidate

• Pragmatic Problem Solver: You excel at tackling complex challenges with practical, efficient solutions, always prioritising simplicity and avoiding unnecessary system complexity.

• Collaborative Influencer: A true leader, you're adept at guiding team decisions and fostering consensus through professional and constructive influence.

• Committed to Growth and Feedback: You're comfortable providing candid feedback to both peers and leadership, and equally eager to integrate feedback from others to continuously elevate your own expertise.

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.