Supply Chain Manager, Robotics Hardware

1. Supply Continuity & Material Planning

• Sourcing & Order Strategy: Determine order quantities and negotiate RFQ/RFP pricing, weigh over-ordering vs. under-ordering risk, and align sourcing timelines with S&OP/demand forecasts and production schedules.

• Cost Reduction & Risk Planning: Drive cost reduction through should-cost analysis, BOM cost modeling, and bulk pricing, while managing lead times, safety stock, and second-source strategies against EOL and tariff risk.

• Vendor & Manufacturing Relationships: Manage relationships with PCB/board fabrication houses, CNC/machining shops, and contract manufacturers (CM/ODM), spanning small-batch and high-volume production.

• RMAs & Supplier Quality: Handle RMAs for defective parts, and support supplier quality (SQE), first-article inspection (FAI), and component qualification processes.

• Continuous Improvement: Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on inventory accuracy, supplier performance, forecast accuracy, and operational efficiency.
  
  

2. Production & Demand Fulfillment

• Throughput Continuity: Ensure payloads, assemblies, and finished systems are built and delivered to meet all downstream demand requirements.

• Cross Functional Alignment: Collaborate with Manufacturing, Engineering, Program Management, and Finance to align production plans with forecasted demand.

• Scheduling & Prioritizations: Manage production schedules and material allocation during periods of constrained supply.

• NPI Support: Support new product introductions (NPI) by ensuring supply chain readiness from prototype through production.

• Executive Visibility: Provide supply chain visibility, metrics, and reporting to executive leadership.
  
  

3. Asset Management

• Chain of Custody: Own chain-of-custody tracking for components, prototypes, and payloads. Recording ownership and location through receiving, integration, and handoff to customers.

• Asset Tracking Systems: Implement barcoding and tracking systems for high-value assets and maintain change-tracking systems for Hardware team inventory.

• Purchase & Cost Records: Build and maintain systems tracking purchase history (quantities, costs, and rates paid over time) supporting spend analysis, budgets, and procurement KPIs.

• Education: B.S., M.S., or equivalent experience in Supply Chain Management, Industrial Engineering, Business, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.

• Experience Level: Minimum of 3+ years of hands-on experience in procurement or supply chain management.

• Procurement & Supply Chain Experience: Experience in hardware procurement and supply chain management, including strategic sourcing, vendor/supplier selection, and make-vs-buy decisions.

• Logistics & Forecasting: Strong understanding of MRP/ERP systems, inventory planning, and demand forecasting.

• Vendor Negotiation: Experience negotiating with vendors, fabrication houses (PCB, CNC), and contract manufacturers, including contract terms, SLAs, and pricing agreements.

• Asset & Inventory Systems: Strong organizational systems experience such as asset tracking, inventory management, or equipment/asset management at scale, including barcoding and chain-of-custody systems.

• Financial Acumen: Comfort with cost modeling, BOM cost analysis, budgeting/forecasting, and total cost of ownership (TCO) evaluations.

• Systems Thinking: Ability to work cross-functionally with engineering, finance, and legal to align procurement strategy with product roadmaps.

• Scaling: Experience scaling supply chains from prototype or low-volume production to large-scale, high-volume manufacturing across multiple vendors.

• Field Environments: Experience supporting hardware deployed in harsh, diverse industrial field environments such as construction, energy, and mining, across global deployments.

• Deployed Robotics: Experience supporting robotics deployed in real world settings such as autonomous vehicles, drones, or ruggedized robots, spanning wheeled, quadruped, or humanoid embodiments.

• Systems & Tools: Experience with ERP/MRP or PLM systems, spend analysis, procurement KPI reporting, and cross-functional roadmap alignment.

• Legal & Compliance: Experience working directly with Legal on procurement contracts (MSAs, NDAs, IP/liability terms), and familiarity with export controls (ITAR/EAR) and conflict minerals compliance.

• Certification: APICS/ASCM, CPSM, or related supply chain certification.

• Cross Functional Hardware Knowledge: Familiarity with hardware domains such as mechanical components, electrical systems, sensors, robotics/actuation, LiDAR, or embedded computing.