Manager, Supply Chain (Starship)

SpaceX; Hawthorne (CA); On-site; USD 145,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Medical / Dental / Vision coverage

401(k) plan

Paid vacation & holidays

Employee discounts

Job summary

SpaceX in Hawthorne, CA seeks a Manager of Supply Chain (Starship) to define and implement sourcing strategies, manage a team of buyers, and drive cost-saving initiatives across hardware categories for both prototyping and production stages.

The role requires strong communication, supplier development, and risk management skills to scale SpaceX suppliers into strategic partners and support ambitious growth.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with 6+ years in purchasing, material planning, or supply chain.
• 3+ years in a management role with direct reports.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of sourcing specialists, sourcing managers, and/or global supply managers to ensure continuity of supply.
• Drive improvement, standardization, and scalability of planning, workflow, tools, and resources.
• Assess employee performance and provide feedback; address issues with corrective actions or performance plans.
• Own vision and strategy for assigned categories through NPI and production phases, including cost management, negotiations and supplier development.
• Visit supplier facilities to assess capability, financial health, and capacity for contracts in new product development and production.
• Conduct supplier analysis including capability, capacity, risk, and market position.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to define SLAs and KPIs for suppliers and evaluate performance.
• Present value propositions to SpaceX executives related to contracts, cost reviews, and supply issues.
• Provide design for manufacturability guidance and trade analysis for components for prototyping and production.
• Ensure partners support prototype builds with equipment and materials for development.
• Negotiate long-term contracts to protect SpaceX interests.

Skills

Purchasing / procurement

Material / production planning

Operations / supply chain management

Engineering

Master production scheduling

People leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars.

MANAGER, SUPPLY CHAIN (STARSHIP)

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:

• Lead a team of sourcing specialists, sourcing managers, and/or global supply managers to ensure continuity of supply for all hardware within the scope of ownership
• Drive improvement, standardization, and scalability of operational planning, workflow, tools, and resources
• Assess employee performance, provide positive and constructive feedback, facilitate conflict resolution, and address repeat issues with corrective actions, performance improvement plans, or disciplinary means
• Own vision and strategy for assigned categories through NPI and production phases. Methods may include, but are not limited to: cost management, contract negotiations, supplier development, supplier performance management, industry research, and long-term strategic sourcing
• Visit supplier facilities and accurately assess operational capability, financial health, and capacity in order to award contracts in support of new product development and long-term production
• Conduct comprehensive supplier analysis, including strategic direction, capacity, market and industry position, and risk assessment
• Collaborate with stakeholders to define service level agreements (SLAs) and key performance indicators (KPIs) for suppliers and evaluate performance across critical metrics: business outcomes, cost savings, quality, and delivery timeliness
• Present value propositions to SpaceX executives, including those related to contract awards, cost reviews, cost reduction strategies, and critical supply issues
• Provide guidance to internal customers on design for manufacturability and trade analysis for mechanical components and assemblies, onboarding requirements, and quality
• Ensure partners are prepared to support all prototype builds with appropriate equipment and materials for successful product development, ramp-up, and production
• Negotiate long-term contracts to ensure continuity of supply and protect SpaceX interests

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree and 6+ years of experience in one or more of the following, or 10+ years of experience in one or more of the following:
  • Purchasing or procurement
  • Material or production planning
  • Operations or supply chain management
  • Engineering
  • Master production scheduling
• 3+ years of experience in a management role with direct reports

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Experience sharing information and influencing others across organizational lines, internally and externally
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to make presentations to suppliers, team members, internal customers, and senior management
• Demonstrated exceptional achievements at SpaceX and/or previous companies to execute improvement projects quickly, while maintaining product reliability and mission success
• Experience directly negotiating contracts
• Prior formal people leadership experience
• Organized and self-driven, capable of working independently with little direction
• Ability to conduct all activities with integrity and urgency

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Must be able to travel for short and extended trips as needed; up to 50%
• Must be able to work long hours and weekends as needed
• Must be able to work onsite in Hawthorne, CA. Remote work is not considered.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

Pay Range: $145,000.00 - $200,000.00

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience.

Base salary is just one part of your total rewards package at SpaceX. You may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of company stock or long-term cash awards, as well as potential discretionary bonuses and the ability to purchase additional stock at a discount through an Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You will also receive access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, paid parental leave, and various other discounts and perks. You may also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation and will be eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year. Employees accrue paid sick leave pursuant to Company policy which satisfies or exceeds the accrual, carryover, and use requirements of the law.

• 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 .

SpaceX is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SpaceX is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Applicants wishing to view a copy of SpaceX’s affirmative action plan for veterans and individuals with disabilities, or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should reach out to [e-mail].

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in SpaceX’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.