Senior Lead - Legal Counsel, Trademarks and Brand Protection

About the role

In short On is looking for a pragmatic, business-minded lawyer to join our Intellectual Property Team as Senior Lead - Legal Counsel, Trademarks and Brand Protection. 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.

Responsibilities

• Advise global and regional teams on a broad range of intellectual property matters, including trademark, trade dress, copyright, and brand protection matters.
• Conduct comprehensive clearance searches and provide risk assessments for new products and marketing campaigns.
• Develop and implement strategies around protection and enforcement of trademark, trade dress, copyright, and designs.
• Collaborate with external counsel on enforcement and contested proceedings.
• Lead brand protection and anti-counterfeiting investigations and actions.
• Draft and negotiate IP-related agreements, including co-existence, settlement, licensing, and collaboration agreements.
• Build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholder and industry groups, conduct trainings, and raise awareness around IP topics.
• Build scalable processes, playbooks, and guidelines and drive practical solutions that reflect both global priorities and regional requirements.
• Support strategic IP projects, including litigations, as needed.

Requirements

• Law degree and 8+ years of legal experience, including in-house experience.
• Experience at a global consumer-facing brand is preferred.

Skills

• Strong commercial judgment, with the ability to balance legal risk and business objectives.
• Excellent negotiation, communication 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.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision benefits.
• Industry leading PTO package.
• Competitive 401k program.
• 11 paid US holidays.
• Corporate office closure between Christmas and New Year.
• Product perks.
• Supportive, team-oriented atmosphere with access to personal self-care for physical and mental well‑being.

Pay

Typical cash compensation range for this position inclusive of base + bonus + equity = $255,000‑$275,000. Individual compensation packages are based on various factors unique to each candidate including experience, industry knowledge, qualifications, skill set, and location.