What does your team do at On?
The IT team provides sustainable and scalable backend services so that our products can be sold all over the world. As a data driven company, we’re in close contact with our customers to ensure that runners and athletes get the right product for the right purpose.

What On teams do you work closely with?
Our work touches most departments but we work with the E-commerce team and the Supply Chain and Finance teams the most.

How is your team different from counterparts in other companies?
We have flat hierarchies and we take self-management, responsibility and autonomy seriously. All software development teams are welcome to organize themselves and implement functionality - whether this is design, deployment or user feedback. We don’t separate roles and make all larger technical decisions together. We aim to learn and improve from everything we do.

What can you tell us about your team members?
We have 11 nationalities on our team and we are based in four different locations - most of us are in Berlin or Zurich though. We are mostly software engineers, but also technical product managers, quality assurance engineers and IT specialists. We like running, and going bouldering and biking too.

What is a typical day at work like?
Our day usually starts with the morning stand up meeting. Here, we update each other about the progress of our current projects. After (several) coffees or breakfast in the office, we code until lunch, then we either go for a run or eat together. In the afternoon, it’s back to coding and doing some knowledge sharing with team members or doing code reviews

What is one thing your team achieved last year that you are proud of?
We integrated a lot of partners for information exchange that help us ensure that our products are in stock and available in the right size and color.

How do you celebrate success as a team? And how do you have fun as a team?
We regularly have lunch, go out for dinner, or celebrate after work together. As much as possible, we encourage a fun atmosphere because it’s very important to us that people enjoy coming to work in the morning and that they look forward to seeing their peers.

What is a must for someone who joins the team?
You have to see your place of work as more than just a desk where you have to sit for eight hours a day. This isn’t for everybody. We are small team based in Berlin, Zurich and Portland and we are eager to continue growing with people who appreciate our culture — as well as the work itself.

What is one piece of advice you'd give to a new team member?
Don’t feel pressured to know everything about the various IT platforms from day one. Take your time to learn everything without rushing. People say you can change your life in 90 days and this is true for us too. Everybody supports you and there are no stupid questions.