Manager, Soft Goods Materials, Global Suppy Management

Apple Inc.; Cupertino (CA); Hybrid; USD 204,000 - 307,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock programs

Medical and dental coverage

Retirement benefits

Product discounts

Relocation assistance

Educational expense reimbursement

Job summary

Apple Inc. is seeking a strategic GSM Manager for Softgoods Materials in Cupertino. You will lead a high-performing team, shaping long-term material supply chains and vendor strategy while partnering with executives globally to ensure supply resilience and quality for differentiated materials.

You will drive cost governance, negotiate with suppliers, and align material readiness with product roadmaps, with hybrid in-office requirements and up to 20% travel.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of professional experience in global operations, supply chain management, or high-volume manufacturing.
• Direct experience managing, mentoring, and developing professional teams.
• Proven track record establishing and managing senior executive relationships with international suppliers.
• Experience defining long-term supply chain strategies and managing team workload and programs.
• Strong understanding of value-added manufacturing, cost engineering (should-cost), and manufacturing operations.
• Experience leading commercial agreements, contract and cost negotiations, supplier financial assessments, and risk mitigation.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or Business/Operations.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop a GSM team to meet program milestones.
• Bridge engineering innovation with business execution and vendor strategy.
• Drive sourcing strategies aligned with product roadmaps and operations goals.
• Oversee resource allocation, capacity planning, and workload management.
• Negotiate cost frameworks and governance with cross-functional teams.
• Ensure supplier readiness, quality, and ramp plans across programs.

Skills

Global operations

Supply chain management

People leadership

Executive relations

Strategy & planning

Cost governance

Negotiation

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Business/Operations degree

Job description

Manager, Soft Goods Materials, Global Suppy Management

Cupertino, California, United States Operations and Supply Chain

Apple is seeking an experienced, strategic, and people-first leader to join our Softgoods Materials Global Supply Management (GSM) team. This specialized business group manages the end-to-end lifecycle of Apple's highly differentiated and unique materials—from initial sourcing and development through mass production and ongoing supply continuity. Our portfolio spans many different textiles, polyurethane films, and adhesives. Our world-class material supply chains must be unique, innovative, and specialized to enable Apple's rigorous performance and quality standards.As the GSM Manager, you will lead, develop, and mentor a high-performing team of Global Supply Managers. You will bridge engineering innovation with business execution, drive the long-term material supply chain and vendor strategy, negotiate cost, execute supply, and manage executive-level partnerships with a network of global suppliers. You will ensure that Apple's material supply chains are resilient, responsive, and structured to support both current programs and future product roadmaps.

Description

As the GSM Manager, you will lead, develop, and mentor a high-performing team of Global Supply Managers. You will bridge engineering innovation with business execution, drive the long-term material supply chain and vendor strategy, negotiate cost, execute supply, and manage executive-level partnerships with a network of global suppliers. You will ensure that Apple's material supply chains are resilient, responsive, and structured to support both current programs and future product roadmaps.

Responsibilities

• Lead, Mentor, and Inspire
• People Development: Lead, mentor, and advocate for a team of GSM individual contributors to help them achieve their individual program milestones and long-term career goals. Create structured development plans and support continuous learning and technical depth in the group.
• Local Mentoring & Office Culture: Maintain an active onsite presence at Apple offices to foster a strong, engaged, and collaborative team environment. Provide immediate feedback, real-time coaching, and face-to-face support during critical program gates (such as Build/Ramp approvals, Executive presentations, and Cost Forums).
• Tools & Processes: Support identification and drive implementation of AI-enabled tools and process improvements across the operations and cross-functional teams.
• Formulate Strategy and Cost Governance
• Strategic & Cross-Functional Alignment: Drive the team to develop, refine, and implement sourcing strategies for Softgoods Materials that align with Apple's overarching product roadmap and operations goals. Socialize and develop cross-functional support of targeted initiatives or strategic decisions. Ensure that supply chain structures are designed for responsiveness and maximum flexibility to support changing product needs and volume demands.
• Portfolio & Project Allocation: Oversee the allocation of team resources and program assignments. Actively monitor team bandwidth, creatively restructure workloads when resource-constrained, and prioritize or develop solutions to complex program challenges.
• Cost Governance: Provide strategic oversight for the team's cost strategies. Drive the team's cost-negotiation framework, identify cost risks and opportunities, review and approve cost targets with cross-functional teams and leadership, and lead high-value negotiations.
• CapEx Management: Oversee capital expenditure planning and execution across the material supply base. Partner with suppliers and internal teams to scope, approve, and track CapEx investments required for new material development, capacity expansion, and plant qualification activities. Ensure CapEx commitments are aligned with program timelines and Apple's financial governance requirements.
• Contracts & Agreements: Support the team in executing commercial agreements with new suppliers or material development activities, and develop unique solutions as required.
• Cultivate Strategic Supplier Alliances
• Strategic Relationships: Establish, grow, and manage strategic relationships with Supplier Leadership (C-suite and company leaders) to ensure supply continuity, premium quality, strategic alignment, and prioritized support for Apple.
• Supplier Allocation Strategy: Develop and maintain supplier allocation recommendations across the material supply base. Align allocation decisions with broader supplier management strategy—balancing risk, cost, quality, and strategic supplier development to ensure Apple maintains competitive leverage and supply resilience.
• Supplier Feedback & Reviews: Lead feedback and business reviews for suppliers, driving continuous improvement in cost, quality, capacity, innovation, and sustainability.
• New Supplier Searches: Guide the team's new supplier search efforts, helping them identify, evaluate, and qualify new supplier candidates across technical and operational aspects. Support the effective onboarding of new suppliers into Apple's culture, operational standards, and requirements.
• Drive Execution and Minimize Operational Risk
• Program Leadership & Operations Schedules: Provide executive oversight for program readiness, development builds, and material ramp approvals. Own and manage material operations schedules, including key material kick-off milestones, capacity build plans, plant qualification activities, and color readiness at suppliers. "See around corners" to proactively identify risks, and develop robust mitigation activities and recommendations.
• Material Manufacturing and Quality Readiness: Ensure that supplier manufacturing processes and quality systems are fully ready to support development builds and production ramps. Drive cross-functional alignment on material readiness gates, and hold suppliers accountable to Apple's quality and process standards before ramp approval.
• Technical Support: Guide the team during material ramps through complex yield, capacity, and operational trade-offs driving to recommendations and solutions.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Apple's Industrial Design (ID), Product Design (PD), and Operations executives to ensure that materials are successfully scaled to support product roadmaps. Support and lead cross-functional teams to solve complex design and business trade-offs.
• Ability to work in Apple's hybrid office model (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday in office) with the flexibility to travel globally up to 20%.

Minimum Qualifications

• Experience: 10+ years of professional experience in global operations, supply chain management, or high-volume manufacturing environments.
• People Leadership: Demonstrated experience directly managing, mentoring, and developing professional teams (including individual career growth plans, performance management, and setting team culture).
• Executive Supplier Relations: Proven track record of establishing and managing senior executive relationships with international suppliers.
• Strategy & Resource Allocation: Experience defining long-term supply chain strategies and managing team workload, project allocations, and supply initiatives.
• Process Knowledge: Strong understanding of value-added manufacturing processes, cost engineering (should-cost modeling), and manufacturing operations.
• Negotiation & Governance: Experience leading commercial agreements, contract and cost negotiations, supplier financial assessments, and driving risk mitigation tactics.
• Education: Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Industrial, Materials Science, or similar) or Business/Operations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Material Expertise: Experience in advanced materials manufacturing, specifically with softgoods, textiles, adhesives, polyurethane, or related cosmetic and functional materials.
• Advanced Degree: MBA or Master's degree is highly preferred.

At Apple, base pay is one part of our total compensation package and is determined within a range. This provides the opportunity to progress as you grow and develop within a role. The base pay range for this role is between $204,400 and $306,600, and your base pay will depend on your skills, qualifications, experience, and location.

• Apple employees also have the opportunity to become an Apple shareholder through participation in Apple’s discretionary employee stock programs.
• Apple employees are eligible for discretionary restricted stock unit awards, and can purchase Apple stock at a discount if voluntarily participating in Apple’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan.
• Comprehensive medical and dental coverage
• retirement benefits
• a range of discounted products and free services
• reimbursement for certain educational expenses — including tuition
• discretionary bonuses or commission payments as well as relocation
• Learn more about Apple Benefits

Note: Apple benefit, compensation and employee stock programs are subject to eligibility requirements and other terms of the applicable plan or program.

Apple is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to inclusion and diversity. We seek to promote equal opportunity for all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, Veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. Learn more about your EEO rights as an applicant

At Apple, we believe accessibility is a fundamental human right. You’ll find that idea reflected in everything here — in our culture, our benefits and our digital tools. By welcoming as many perspectives as possible, we help you build a career where you feel like you belong. Learn about accessibility in Apple’s workplace Learn about reasonable accommodations for job applicants

Apple accepts applications to this posting on an ongoing basis.