Senior Lead - Legal Counsel, Intellectual Property & Brand Protection - #51330

Location: Zurich

Technology

In short

On is looking for a pragmatic, business-minded lawyer to join our Intellectual Property Team as Senior Lead, Intellectual Property & Brand Protection Counsel. In this role, you will play a critical role in proactively protecting On’s trademarks, designs, and innovations. You will thrive here if you can independently manage complex matters, anticipate issues before they escalate, and provide clear, practical advice in a fast-moving global business.

Your Mission

• Advise global and regional teams on a broad range of intellectual property matters, including brand protection, anticounterfeiting, and enforcement.
• Lead global brand protection and anti-counterfeiting investigations and actions efficiently and aligned with business objectives.
• Develop and implement enforcement strategies.
• Partner with cross-functional teams and build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholder groups, conduct trainings and raise IP awareness.
• Build scalable processes, playbooks, and guidelines and drive practical solutions that reflect both global priorities and regional requirements.
• Support strategic IP projects as needed.

Your story

• Law degree and 7+ years of legal experience, including in-house experience.
• Experience at a global consumer-facing brand is preferred.
• Strong commercial judgment, with the ability to balance legal risk and business objectives.
• Excellent negotiation, communication (Fluent English) and analytical skills.
• Ability to provide clear, practical advice in high-pressure, fast-moving environments.
• Collaborative style and strong relationship-building skills across diverse teams and stakeholders.
• Process-minded and curious, with a track record of improving how legal work gets done.
• Comfortable operating independently, prioritizing effectively and working across unfamiliar legal or business issues.

About the Team

Being part of the On Legal Team means working as an entrepreneurial, solutions-oriented partner to the business. We move quickly, think commercially, and work closely across regions and functions to help On grow responsibly. You will have autonomy, visibility, and the opportunity to shape intellectual property at On.

Zürich

Just by the banks of the Limmat you’ll find our largest global hub in Zürich West – On Labs – where you can hike up 12 floors through our custom-built spiral trail.

Förrlibuckstrasse 190,
8005
Switzerland

Location

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.

Build the better you

What to expect

We want to set everyone up for success, so here’s the lowdown on how we hire. Our process is a two-way street – bringing you into our culture, while helping us learn how you think.

Our full process can last about eight weeks from application to offer, because we care about getting it right. These steps explain how we usually do things.

Before you get started, feel free to consider if you want to work with us. Strange question? Well, we give people a lot of space to navigate their day-to-day and that style isn't for everyone. We want you to be passionate about what you do and be sure this is the right fit. Because when skills and passion combine – it creates that 'Wow' moment.

• Step One

  It starts with you...

  You'll start by submitting your application to a specific role. We try to keep this step as simple as possible. We do get a lot of applications, but we review them all. If you're a good fit to the role, a recruiter will follow up with you directly. If you didn't receive a reply, or were unsuccessful this time around, we encourage you to look for other possible matches at On.

• Step Two

  Interview with a recruiter

  What ignites your spirit? This is where we’ll start getting to know all about you and what makes you tick – and it’s your first chance to get a feel for our culture. Chatting with a member of our talent team, you’ll learn more about On and how we work. We’ll learn about what motivates you and what you could bring to the team.

• Step Three

  Interview with a hiring manager

  Ready to dig into the details? This second interview will be held with your future manager and will focus on the specifics of the job. Together you’ll delve into your unique skills and experiences and how they could be relevant at On. It's also a time to assess how you might feel working side-by-side. Bring any questions you have about the job, the team or anything else you might like to know – this is an open forum.

• Step Four

  The Case Study

  What's your style? This task will help us understand how you think, face a challenge and give insight into your novel ideas. Designed to give everyone their best shot, your case study is based on something you might typically experience on the job. This is your chance to show us what you’ve got. So express yourself. Be you.

• Step Five

  The Experience Day

  Your first taste of the Oniverse. This is a time to meet some of the people you'll be working closest with. In person or virtually, you'll get a feel for the day-to-day at On and the people who make it happen. You'll chat with a few potential teammates - the conversations will be as equally driven by the role and your experience as by our values. We believe how you do things is just as important as what you do.

• Step Six

  The Result

  Are we a good fit? We’ll get together internally to share our feedback and decide if we’re a match. We know that job searching is a big time investment, so it’s not a decision we take lightly. It’s also time for you to reflect on the experience – are we the right place for you? No matter the outcome, we’ll give you meaningful feedback.