Procurement Engineer

Rival; Zürich; Hybrid; CHF 120.000 - 150.000; Vollzeit

Benefits dieser Stelle

ERP implementation experience

Zusammenfassung

RIVR, part of Amazon, Zürich, is seeking a Procurement Engineer to bridge technical and business needs for robot hardware. You will independently manage procurement of complex components, from PCBs to mechanical assemblies, handling six-figure capex, while ensuring on-time, on-budget delivery and alignment with engineering goals.

You will own vendor timelines, negotiate prices, and translate engineering requirements into production plans in collaboration with senior leaders in Zürich and

Qualifikationen

• Proven experience in technical procurement, buying, or supply chain management in a hardware-centric industry.
• Proven track record of managing and negotiating substantial purchase orders and vendor contracts.
• Ability to understand technical drawings and engineering specifications for mechanical and electrical components.
• Ability to take lead in an evolving environment with a bias for action and clarity.
• Ability to make right hardware design trade-offs (make vs. buy, OEM vs. ODM).
• Exceptional verbal and written English; harmonizing views between international teams.

Aufgaben

• Act as the primary contact for technical suppliers, handling pricing, quality issues, lead times, and contract terms.
• Independently manage purchasing for robot-specific commodities: PCBs, cables, metallic and non-metallic components.
• Lead the evolution of material tracking toward professional workflows and future ERP implementation.
• Collaborate with the CTO in Zürich and the Head of Supply Chain in Shanghai to translate engineering requirements into production plans.
• Identify supply chain risks and develop mitigation strategies.
• Support engineers in make vs. buy decisions and provide cost-justification for high-value orders.
• Oversee hardware transition from prototype to volume production and initial vendor reviews.
• Ensure procured parts meet durability, performance, and safety standards.
• Communicate findings and propose hardware corrections to non-technical partners.
• Optimize validation and testing processes for incoming hardware.
• Track supplier delivery status to ensure quality and timeliness.
• Maintain supplier relationships and feed insights back into the engineering backlog.
• Coordinate with suppliers from Europe, China, and the USA.

Kenntnisse

Procurement experience

Vendor negotiation

Technical procurement

Hardware sourcing

English communication

Tools

ERP systems

Jobbeschreibung

About RIVR, part of Amazon

RIVR, part of Amazon is a robotics company pioneering Physical AI through real-world doorstep delivery. Founded in 2024 as an ETH Zurich spin-off, RIVR developed wheeled-legged robots designed to operate in complex, unstructured environments such as stairs, gates, doors, and uneven urban terrain. We believe that achieving general physical intelligence requires solving real customer problems in the real world, where robots can learn from rich operational data at scale.

Following our acquisition by Amazon in March 2026, we are continuing this mission with greater reach and speed. By combining custom robot hardware, onboard autonomy, and cloud-based coordination, RIVR, part of Amazon is building the next generation of safe, reliable autonomous robots for last-mile delivery.

Job Description

As the Procurement Engineer at RIVR, you will be the dedicated technical-business bridge in our Zürich office, designed to take the "negotiation load" off our core engineering team.

We need a professional who can independently manage the procurement of complex robot components - from PCBs to custom mechanical assemblies - handling six-figure capital expenditures for mission-critical robotics infrastructure.

In this role, you will operate as a significant and autonomous contributor. You will solve difficult procurement challenges by applying technical best practices and materials knowledge. You will take ownership of vendor timelines and price negotiations that were previously handled by engineers, ensuring our designers can stay focused on innovation while you ensure our hardware arrives on time, on quality, and on budget.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Act as the primary point of contact for technical suppliers, managing all communications regarding pricing, quality issues, lead times, and contract terms.
• Independently manage the purchasing for robot-specific commodities: PCBs, custom cables, metallic and non-metallic components.
• Lead the evolution of our material tracking from manual spreadsheets into professionalized workflows, preparing the organization for future ERP implementation.
• Partner with the CTO in Zürich and the Head of Supply Chain in Shanghai to ensure engineering requirements are perfectly translated into production plans.
• Proactively identify supply chain risks, such as raw material shortages or price surges, and develop decisive mitigation strategies.
• Assist engineers in making the right "make vs. buy" decisions and provide detailed cost-justification studies for high-value orders.
• Support the transition of hardware from the concept/prototype phase into volume production by managing initial vendor technical reviews.
• Ensure all procured parts meet RIVR’s high standards for durability, performance, and safety requirements.
• Communicate findings and constructively propose ideas or corrections to hardware specifications to non-technical partners.
• Optimize best practices for validation and test processes related to incoming hardware.
• Track supplier part delivery status to ensure quality and timeliness.
• Maintain supplier relationships and continuously feed industrial insights back into the engineering backlog.
• Cooperate with suppliers from Europe, China and the USA.

What You Must Have

• Proven experience in technical procurement, buying, or supply chain management in a hardware-centric industry.
• Proven track record of managing and negotiating substantial purchase orders and vendor contracts.
• Ability to understand technical drawings and engineering specifications for mechanical and electrical components.
• Ability to take lead in an environment where processes are still evolving; a strong "bias for action" and clarity.
• Ability to make the right hardware design trade-offs (e.g., make vs. buy, OEM vs. ODM).
• Exceptional verbal and written English; ability to harmonize views between international teams.

Bonus Points

• Skills in bottom-up cost analysis and should-cost modeling for custom-machined or injection-molded parts.
• Experience in an early-stage startup or a high-pressure "overdrive" environment.
• Ability to use prototyping or schematic capture software (e.g., CAD, MATLAB).
• Experience with ERP systems or supporting a first-time ERP implementation.
• Experience with suppliers from all over the world.