Manager, Supply Chain (Starship)

About the role

The SpaceX supply chain organization is critical to Starship's mission. To capitalize on SpaceX's technological and market-changing successes, our team will help manage an agile yet robust supply chain that enables the company's competitive advantage. The department includes procurement, planning and fulfillment, supplier development and quality, logistics, and inventory. SpaceX's supply chain will play a key role in enabling it to meet ambitious growth targets and help make us a multi-planetary species.

The Manager of Supply Chain at SpaceX is responsible for defining and implementing policies and strategies for near- and mid-term sourcing results. The incumbent will make strategic decisions that impact the department and have broad influence across SpaceX organizations. Success in this role will require strong communication skills, sourcing intuition and best practices, and commodity management experience to systematically grow and mature SpaceX suppliers into strategic partners.

Responsibilities

• Team Leadership:
• Manage the Starship team of Supply Chain Sourcing Managers and Specialists. Lead, direct, and review the teams' work, spending substantial time on people management responsibilities. Responsible for defining the structure of the teams and providing mentorship and strategic development planning for first- and second-level direct reports
• Manage the team by providing clear direction that aligns with the strategy and priorities of the company
• Hire, develop, and retain top talent to meet current and future business needs
• Demonstrate innovation, technical excellence, attention to detail, self-direction, & courage
• Develop and enhance transactional processes to gain organizational efficiency
• Manage KPIs, including inventory and spend to match program targets
• Ensure accurate system signals, including accuracy of demand signals (so that they match program rate), BOMs, upstream and downstream lead times, etc.
• Supplier Development:
• Manage vendor relationships and grow the supply base as needed in alignment with the broader team sourcing strategy
• Assess supplier capabilities, technologies, and their ability to execute component/assembly manufacturing requirements successfully. Manage validation exercises to demonstrate initial feasibility through full-scale production of transferred work
• Manage supplier improvement programs. Drive improvements utilizing Lean methodologies, supplier scorecards, and supplier audits, ensuring supplier compliance while driving systematic problem-solving and process improvement plans to deliver value
• Provide program leadership necessary to ensure that product quality, delivery, and cost achieve business and customer expectations
• Interface with Starship teams to prioritize supplier development needs by commodity to improve cost competitiveness or supply constraints
• Drive supplier selection through robust qualification processes
• Deliver results as measured by key metrics such as part yield, cost, defect rate, etc.
• Self-Management & Relationship Management:
• Be assertive, optimistic, resilient, and welcoming of change
• Engages interest and participation of others and has a collaborative approach to working together
• Contribute to the team proactively
• Be self-aware and able to work on own initiative
• Show moral courage, openness and honesty in all dealings
• Develops and maintain strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders to ensure optimal performance
• Communicate efficiently across internal and external stakeholders
• Take a diplomatic approach to relationships

Basic Qualifications

• Advanced degree and 4+ years of experience working in one or more of the following; or bachelor's degree and 6+ years of experience working in one or more of the following; or 10+ years of experience working in one or more of the following:
• Engineering
• Purchasing
• Contract negotiation
• Material or production planning
• Operations or supply chain management
• Material cost control
• Master production scheduling
• 2+ years of experience in personnel management with formal direct reports

Preferred Skills and Experiences

• Familiarity or experience working with aerospace components
• Strong ability to read drawings and blueprints, with an understanding of manufacturing complexity
• Experience with technical procurement, manufacturing, or designing production components
• APICS certification
• Lean Six Sigma certification
• Ability to prove a strong track record of leadership and team building
• Remarkable problem-solving skills with a bias for speed and positive impact
• Ability to learn quickly and prioritize appropriately to meet customer and company needs
• Exceptional analytical and organizational skills
• Excellent customer service skills, produce exceptional work at all times, highly self-motivated
• Effective written, verbal, and presentation communication skills
• Strong technical knowledge and skills in current technologies and applications (e.g., MS Office Suite, SQL, Power BI, etc.)
• Detail-oriented and able to respond quickly to a fast-moving and ever-changing environment
• Holds themselves to the highest ethical standards and conducts all activities with the highest integrity

Additional Requirements

• Must be able to pass an Air Force background check for Cape Canaveral
• Must be able to travel - up to 50% of the work week; travel may be required, including international travel
• Must be able to work extended hours and/or weekends as needed to meet major milestones
• This position is based in Starbase, TX, and requires being onsite; remote work is not considered

Itar Requirements

• To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.