Senior Manager, Supply Chain (Robot Production)

Job description

Job responsibilities

• Be on the floor: at our facility, at our manufacturing partner and at suppliers; first articles, line-down calls and recoveries are yours.
• Build the supplier base: source, qualify and manage suppliers for machined and cast structures, gears and actuators, motors, PCBAs, harnesses, shells, batteries and sensors; two sources for every critical sub-system.
• Develop domestic suppliers for the sub-systems that need them, and keep the content records that come with selling into regulated markets.
• Run the commercial work day to day: RFQs, should-cost, piece price and tooling negotiation, payment and warranty terms; work with Legal on supplier agreements.
• Sit in design reviews from the start: flag long-lead, single-source and high-risk parts before design freeze; bring supplier capability into the design.
• Own clear-to-build and the plan: every unit on the schedule has a complete kit before it starts; a rolling plan the line, the partner and the suppliers all see; capacity planning with suppliers ahead of demand;
• Own the BOM in production: cost roll-ups by phase, engineering change control with the design team and Manufacturing Engineering, cost-down from pilot to volume.
• Build the supplier quality loop with Manufacturing Engineering and Quality: first article and PPAP where it applies, incoming inspection, supplier scorecards and quarterly reviews, corrective action and recovery.

Job requirements

• You have built a supplier base for a hardware product going into production, not managed or handed to you, and you produce results in weeks, not quarters.
• Deep experience with machined and cast metal parts, gears or actuators, motors, PCBAs and harnesses, and the suppliers who make them; you read drawings and GD&T.
• You have developed new suppliers in new regions and qualified them to a standard.
• Strong commercial record: you have negotiated price, tooling and terms with suppliers and contract manufacturers.
• You are fluent in BOMs, change control, should-cost and cost roll-ups, and comfortable with the people who design the product.
• 8 or more years in supply chain, sourcing or supplier development for complex hardware, with time in a mature organization so you know what the systems look like at scale; you have led a small team or are ready to;
• Bonus: robotics or automotive; contract manufacturer selection and transition; import and export compliance; APICS or CPSM.