Supply Chain & Procurement Lead

Universal Quantum Ltd.; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited paid holiday allowance

Flexible schedule

10% matching pension

Private health/dental insurance

Personal development budget

Relocation support

Job summary

Universal Quantum Ltd. in the United Kingdom seeks a Supply Chain Manager to lead the design and operation of a global supply chain for quantum hardware. The ideal candidate will have over 5 years of experience in procurement within complex sectors, strong negotiation skills, and experience in fast-paced environments. Benefits include competitive salary, equity options, unlimited holiday, and more. Join us in transforming industries through quantum technology.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in supply chain, procurement, or operations within hardware or aerospace sectors.
• Experience working in fast-paced, highly dynamic environments.
• Proven experience in designing and operating global supply chains.

Responsibilities

• Design and run a global supply chain for quantum hardware delivery.
• Manage critical supplier relationships and negotiations.
• Oversee international logistics and compliance.

Skills

Supply chain design and management

Supplier negotiation

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

At Universal Quantum

We are building the next generation of quantum computers — machines capable of solving problems once thought impossible. Our technology has the potential to transform industries from healthcare to aerospace, materials science, and beyond. As we scale from breakthrough R&D to global delivery, resilient execution becomes as critical as technical innovation.

What You’ll Accomplish

• Design and actively run a global supply chain supporting the delivery of highly complex quantum hardware.
• Personally own critical supplier relationships and negotiations, particularly for long‑lead, high‑risk, or strategically important components.
• Build and operate procurement processes day to day, including approvals, vendor onboarding, and exception handling, while laying the groundwork for future scale. This could extend all the way to inventory management at the beginning.
• Identify and manage supply chain risk hands‑on, stepping in directly to resolve issues that could impact engineering progress or delivery milestones.
• Select, implement, and operate fit‑for‑purpose tools and systems, prioritising clarity and speed over over‑engineering.
• Oversee international logistics in practice, including coordination of shipments, documentation, and compliance with customs, duties, and tariffs.
• Work embedded with engineering, finance, and legal, translating technical, commercial, and regulatory constraints into executable supply decisions.

The 3 Most Critical Attributes We’ll Use to Compare Candidates:

1. Strategic designer & architect— able to design & build scalable supply & procurement functions.
2. Hands‑on contributer— enjoys getting into the weeds as a “doer”.
3. Commercially sharp problem‑solver— a confident negotiator who makes sound trade‑offs under real delivery pressure.

Must‑have Skills:

• Experience working in fast‑paced, highly dynamic environments with high ambiguity (e.g. building the plane as it takes off!)
• 5+ years’ experience in supply chain, procurement, or operations within hardware, deep tech, aerospace, or similarly complex sectors.
• Proven experience in both designing and operating global supply chains.
• Strong, hands‑on supplier negotiation and vendor management experience with business‑critical suppliers.
• Experience building and running procurement processes, policies, and approval frameworks.
• Familiarity with international shipping, customs, duties, and trade compliance (direct export control experience a plus; ability to manage external specialists essential).
• Strong cross‑functional collaboration skills.

Nice‑to‑have Skills:

• Experience in highly regulated or government‑adjacent environments.
• Previous exposure to software SCM, its risk management, and understanding of open source licenses
• Direct experience with export control or ITAR‑style constraints.
• Prior experience selecting and implementing procurement or supply chain systems.

Benefits

Competitive salary, equity options, an unlimited paid holiday allowance, flexible schedule, a 10% matching pension, a generous parental support policy, private health/dental insurance, personal development budget, group life insurance and relocation support.

We are committed to nurturing diversity and inclusion

At Universal Quantum, we’re passionate about working with and for all kinds of minds. As a proud signatory of the Tech Talent Charter (TTC), we have made a number of formal commitments to help to hold ourselves accountable to both our team and peers. This includes pledging to collaborate and share best practices with others, to continuously develop plans to drive inclusion across our business, and to collect and share our diversity data annually. We welcome team members from all backgrounds, and work to create an environment where everyone can flourish freely.