Head of Supply Chain & Manufacturing Strategy

Skydio; San Mateo (CA); On-site; USD 230,000 - 303,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Health insurance

401K

Paid vacation

Job summary

Skydio is seeking a seasoned leader to drive hardware manufacturing strategy in the United States, building secure, compliant supply chains and guiding SkyForge investments. You will shape onshore capabilities, supplier development, and make-versus-buy decisions across critical commodities.

You will partner with Regulatory, Manufacturing Engineering, GSMs, and Finance to align product design with cost, risk, and domestic-content goals, reporting to the Head of Hardware Operations.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in supply chain, manufacturing operations or operations strategy.
• 3+ years in regulated hardware sourcing or comparable environments.
• Experience influencing component and supplier selection during design, through NPI and design reviews.
• Proven ownership of multi-tier country-of-origin or trade compliance programs.
• Strong make-versus-buy/vertical integration analysis experience.
• Track record turning technical findings into executive decisions.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute the hardware manufacturing strategy and onshore plans.
• Set priorities for securing and onshoring supply across critical commodities.
• Decide whether to develop suppliers, bring work in-house, or design around constraints.
• Lead make-versus-buy and vertical integration assessments with cross-functional teams.
• Maintain live risk profiles for product lines against regulations and cost.
• Collaborate with GSMs, Manufacturing Engineering, and Finance in design reviews.

Skills

Supply chain strategy

Manufacturing operations

Regulatory compliance

NPI collaboration

Vendor management

Cost and onshoring analysis

Country-of-origin knowledge

Job description

Skydio is the leading US drone company and the world leader in autonomous flight, the key technology for the future of drones and aerial mobility. The Skydio team combines deep expertise in artificial intelligence, best-in-class hardware and software product development, operational excellence, and customer obsession to empower a broader, more diverse audience of drone users, from utility inspectors to first responders, soldiers in battlefield scenarios, and beyond.

About The Role

Skydio is committed to becoming a world class manufacturing company. U.S. policy is moving toward secure, domestic drone supply chains and evolving policy on component origin, supplier eligibility, market access and import duties are raising the bar for every manufacturer in the industry. Skydio has historically been at the forefront of investing in US manufacturing and blue supply, and we are doubling down on our commitments to ensure America leads the next frontier of flight. This role will drive the strategic plan to build the drone manufacturing mecca and the stable and compliant supply chains that feed it.

Building on a head start

Skydio is the largest U.S.-based drone manufacturer, and we have treated secure supply chains as a strategic investment from the start. All of our current drone solutions, including X10, Dock for X10 and R10, are on the Blue UAS Cleared List. We have outgrown four U.S. manufacturing facilities in eight years. In April 2026 we committed $3.5 billion over five years to expand U.S. manufacturing through our SkyForge initiative, R&D and supply chain development. That includes a new U.S. factory five times the size of our current space and directing more than $1 billion to domestic suppliers. Through SkyForge, select suppliers will co-locate production with Skydio and work alongside our engineers, expanding and in some cases starting domestic manufacturing of critical parts. You will spearhead the SkyForge initiative and help decide where that investment goes and make sure it pays off: which components to onshore first, which suppliers to develop, and which capabilities to bring in-house.

Skydio is committed to becoming a world class manufacturing company. U.S. policy is moving toward secure, domestic drone supply chains and evolving policy on component origin, supplier eligibility, market access and import duties are raising the bar for every manufacturer in the industry. Skydio has historically been at the forefront of investing in US manufacturing and blue supply, and we are doubling down on our commitments to ensure America leads the next frontier of flight. This role will drive the strategic plan to build the drone manufacturing mecca and the stable and compliant supply chains that feed it.

What You'll Navigate

• NDAA restrictions and the American Security Drone Act
• The Blue UAS Cleared List and Blue UAS Framework
• The DDP Supply Chain Framework and its phased component requirements
• The FCC Covered List and equipment authorization
• Section 232 tariffs and country-of-origin requirements

What You'll Own

• Regulatory Partner: You will work closely with our regulatory team to understand current regulations, policy direction and will work directly with key partners setting this policy to help influence
• Supply Chain and Manufacturing Strategy: Determine which capabilities and technologies we onshore, vertically integrate or partner on to build robust and compliant supply chains
• Onshoring and supplier development: Set priorities for securing and onshoring supply across our critical commodities with the commodity teams. Where a domestic or allied supply base does not yet exist, decide whether to develop a supplier (including through SkyForge), bring the work in-house, or design around the constraint.
• Make-versus-buy and vertical integration: Assess which production we should bring into our U.S. facilities and build the case with Manufacturing, Supply Chain and Finance. A well-supported recommendation against integration is as valuable as one for it.
• Product compliance risk: Maintain a live, evidence-backed view of where each product line stands against each regulation. Translate it into schedule, revenue and cost terms the leadership team can act on, and report on a regular cadence.
• Supplier-of-record decisions during design: Work alongside Global Supply Managers (GSMs) and hardware engineering during NPI to set SPOR. Bring the regulatory screen into design reviews early enough that engineering can still act on it.
• Multi-tier traceability: Stand up bill-of-materials traceability to tier three and beyond, with country of origin and chain of custody, across purchased and in-house components.
• Compliance and cost together: Find moves that serve compliance, tariff and domestic-content goals at once, and look for other opportunities to drive domestic sourcing to cost parity with traditional supply chains.

What Success Looks Like

90 days:

A complete risk baseline across products and regulations, separating hard blockers from cost problems, with named owners for every gap and a first readout to leadership.

3 months:

An approved sourcing and supplier-development plan, a first vertical integration recommendation, and compliance screening built into design reviews. Each product line has a decided market-access pathway.

6 months:

No launch is surprised by a compliance gap. Onshoring and supplier investments are prioritized by where they build the most durable advantage, and make-versus-buy decisions weigh compliance, tariff and domestic-content effects together.

Required

What you bring

• 10+ years in supply chain, manufacturing operations, commodity management or operations strategy, including at least 3 in a regulated hardware environment where sourcing decisions carried legal or contractual consequences.
• Experience influencing component and supplier selection during design, through NPI, design reviews, or SPOR and approved vendor list (AVL) decisions.
• Credibility with both a sourcing organization and a factory. You can discuss capacity, tooling and yield as fluently as supplier qualification.
• Accountable ownership of a multi-tier country-of-origin, supplier compliance or trade compliance program.
• A make-versus-buy or vertical integration analysis you personally built and defended, including capex and ramp assumptions.
• A track record of turning technical findings into executive decisions, and of changing engineering or sourcing decisions you had no formal authority over.
• Obtaining FAA Part 107 certification within the first 60 days of employment is strongly encouraged for all Skydio employees and required for certain positions.

Preferred

• Working knowledge of NDAA
• 889/
• 848, country-of-origin and substantial-transformation analysis, Buy American domestic-content tests, or DFARS and FAR flow-downs
• Background in in-house manufacturing, UAS, aerospace and defense, defense electronics, or EMS and contract manufacturing
• Commodity experience in batteries and cells, motors and magnetics, imaging or thermal sensors, or PCB and PCBA
• Experience standing up a production line or bringing an outsourced process in-house
• Experience with a Blue UAS or Green UAS submission, or a DCMA or DCSA assessment
• Experience developing domestic or allied-country suppliers from scratch

How The Role Fits

• Reports to: Head of Hardware Operations. Individual contributor at hire, with a path to building a small team as the program grows.
• Peers: VP of Supply Chain and VP of Manufacturing.
• Partners: Regulatory, Manufacturing Engineering, GSMs, Program Leads, Trade Compliance and Finance.
• Visibility: Regular briefings to the leadership team on SkyForge progress. Several decisions this role informs are capital-allocation decisions.

Compensation:

At Skydio, our compensation packages for regular, full-time employees include competitive base salaries, equity in the form of stock options, and comprehensive benefits packages. Compensation will vary based on factors, including skill level, proficiencies, transferable knowledge, and experience. Relocation assistance may also be provided for eligible roles. The annual base salary range for this position is $229,500 - $302,500*. Fundamentally, we believe that equity is the key to long-term financial growth, and we ensure all regular, full-time employees have the opportunity to significantly benefit from the company's success. Regular, full-time employees are eligible to enroll in the Company’s group health insurance plans. Regular, full-time employees are eligible to receive the following benefits: Paid vacation time, sick leave, holiday pay and 401K savings plan. This position and all associated benefits are subject to applicable federal, state, and local laws, as well as the Company’s policies and eligibility criteria.

• Compensation for certain positions may vary based on the position’s location.

At Skydio we believe that diversity drives innovation. We have created a multidisciplinary environment that embraces the power of diverse perspectives to create elegant solutions for complex problems. We are committed to growing our network of people, programs, and resources to nurture an inclusive culture.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by federal, state or local anti-discrimination laws.

For positions located in the United States of America, Skydio, Inc. uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit https://www.e-verify.gov/