Procurement Associate

Astro Mechanica; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

401(k) and stock options

PTO & holidays

Flexible work environment

Job summary

Astro Mechanica, a bold aerospace startup, seeks a Procurement Associate to move fast and drive critical parts and services into the hands of our prototyping, testing, propulsion, and manufacturing teams.

You will own supplier outreach from prospecting through receipt, build detailed trackers, clarify requirements with engineering, and push vendors to deliver on time. This hands-on role rewards initiative in a fast-paced hardware environment, with in-office collaboration encouraged.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in procurement, supply chain, or vendor coordination in hardware.
• Bias toward action with ability to unblock teams under schedule pressure.
• Exceptional organizational skills for tracking many parts, quotes, POs, and delivery dates.
• Experience with engineering requirements, drawings, specifications, and part descriptions.
• Strong supplier communication, quoting, negotiating basics, and scheduling.
• Detail-oriented, process-minded with clean trackers and records.
• Comfort with ambiguous startup environments and shifting priorities.
• Exposure to aerospace or regulated hardware is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Identify demand signals across teams to prevent blockers before they arise.
• Manage procurement from vendor prospecting through delivery receipt.
• Source parts and materials to support fast-moving technical teams.
• Maintain supplier schedules and push for on-time delivery.
• Create and maintain detailed procurement trackers covering requests, quotes, POs, and delivery dates.
• Clarify requirements with engineering and set delivery priorities.
• Build and manage relationships with suppliers and service providers.
• Grow vendor network by vetting new and existing vendors.
• Design contingency plans to mitigate supply disruptions.

Skills

Procurement

Vendor coordination

Organization

Communication

Detail-oriented

Process minded

Startup environment adaptability

Job description

ABOUT US:

Astro Mechanica is a vertically integrated aerospace company building a faster, more connected future. Our mission is to democratize high-speed flight by making supersonic travel flexible, accessible, and sustainable. We believe that rapid, on-demand, point-to-point global mobility will become the new standard for moving people and goods across the planet. To achieve this, we are integrating our advanced airframe and engine technologies—which include Duality, our proprietary dual-use propulsion system, with a new flight operations model to make supersonic transport as efficient and economical as commercial air travel is today. In the near term, we are developing adaptable, high-speed systems to close aircraft performance gaps for the United States government.

WHO WE ARE:

We’re a team of passionate engineers dedicated to advancing aerospace. We’re generalists with specialist depth, united by a flat structure and a shared obsession with building things that work well. We move fast, stay pragmatic, and let engineering excellence speak louder than hierarchy.

WHO YOU ARE:

We’re seeking a Procurement Associate who will move fast to get critical parts, materials, equipment, and services into the hands of our prototyping, testing, propulsion, and manufacturing teams. You are highly organized, detail-oriented, and execution-driven. You thrive in a fast-paced hardware environment with many moving parts. You are comfortable chasing suppliers, managing dozens of open threads, and creating the systems needed to make sure nothing falls through the cracks. You care deeply about schedule, follow-through, and clear communication. This is a hands-on tactical procurement role supporting the development, testing, and buildout of complex aerospace and industrial systems.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

As an early team member, you’ll drive our procurement and vendor operations, with the opportunity to grow into broader responsibilities across the supply chain team.

Specifically, you will:

• Root out demand signals across engineering, prototyping, testing, propulsion, and manufacturing teams to identify what needs to be purchased before it becomes a blocker

• Take parts and materials from early engineering conversations through vendor prospecting, quoting, negotiation, order placement, supplier follow-up, delivery tracking, and receipt

• Source piece parts, machined components, fabricated parts, hardware, tooling, test equipment, lab supplies, and other materials needed to support fast-moving technical teams

• Drive supplier schedule execution by maintaining regular check-ins, confirming lead times, escalating risks, and pushing vendors to deliver on time

• Create and maintain detailed procurement trackers covering open requests, RFQs, quotes, POs, supplier commitments, delivery dates, risks, and status updates

• Partner closely with engineering and manufacturing to clarify requirements, drawings, specifications, quantities, revisions, acceptable substitutes, and delivery priorities

• Build and manage relationships with critical suppliers, manufacturers, and service providers to ensure reliability and quality

• Build our vendor network by vetting and qualifying new and existing vendors

• Anticipate risks in the supply chain and design contingency plans to mitigate disruptions

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR:

• 3+ years of experience in procurement, purchasing, supply chain, operations, production control, manufacturing, or vendor coordination in a hardware environment

• Strong bias toward action; you move quickly, follow up relentlessly, and know how to unblock teams under schedule pressure

• Exceptional organization skills, with the ability to track many parts, suppliers, quotes, purchase orders, delivery dates, and open issues at once

• Experience working with technical teams and the ability to quickly understand engineering requirements, drawings, specifications, and part descriptions

• Strong supplier communication skills; comfortable calling vendors, requesting quotes, negotiating basic terms, confirming schedules, and escalating when needed

• Detail-oriented and process-minded, with the ability to create clean trackers, maintain accurate records, and build lightweight systems where none exist

• Comfortable operating in an ambiguous startup environment where priorities shift quickly and many processes are still being built

• Exposure to aerospace, export-controlled environments, AS9100 suppliers, or regulated hardware is a plus

PERKS & BENEFITS:

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, including Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)

• 401(k) program and transparent stock option plan

• Self-managed and flexible time-off policy, including PTO, paid holidays, and sick time

• Flexible work environment

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

At Astro Mechanica, we highly value in-office work to foster collaboration and strengthen our company culture. We consider working in the office five days a week an essential part of the employee's role.

Astro Mechanica is an equal opportunity employer. We proudly recruit and hire a diverse workforce and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.