Senior Supplier Engineer – Automotive & Hardware Programs

Knightscope; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 165,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Medical, dental, vision

401(k)

Paid time off

Job summary

Knightscope seeks a Senior Supply Engineer to own strategic supplier relationships powering the K7 and related platforms. This senior IC on the ASR Engineering team builds the framework to supply design-led, low-volume, custom-heavy hardware reliably and affordably.

Based at our Sunnyvale HQ, you will manage the top-30% of suppliers by cost or criticality, craft multi-year agreements, and ensure on-time delivery while maintaining compliance with sourcing and security standards.

Qualifications

• Senior engineer with 10+ years in strategic supplier engineering for low-volume, high-complexity products.
• Automotive industry background required with vocabulary cadence and processes.
• Fluent in automotive supplier-development cadence (APQP, PPAP, IATF 16949, ISO 26262).
• Experience sourcing low-volume molded parts at production scale (composites, large-format injection-molded).
• Experience transitioning prototypes to production tooling and coordinating DFM with design teams.
• Familiar with McMaster-Carr and Digi-Key catalogs; able to reduce catalog sourcing as volumes mature.
• Knowledge of NIST 800-171, CMMC, SBOM and country-of-origin documentation.

Responsibilities

• Build the commercial framework with compliant master purchase agreements and pricing.
• Provide technical escalation with top-30% suppliers and enable fast hot-fix and design consultation.
• Lead the two-step handoff of integration-sourced BOM lines to Knightscope ownership.
• Run co-marketing and reference partner program with senior design leadership.
• Wean catalog-sourced parts to volume-sourced alternatives as production scales.
• Own embedded subsystem supplier strategy for compute and vision ecosystems.
• Drive cyber compliance and software supply chain security in contract language.

Skills

Strategic supplier engineering

Automotive industry experience

Contract negotiations

Sourcing

Vendor management

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Engineering degree

Mechanical Engineering preferred

Tools

McMaster-Carr catalog

Digi-Key catalog

Job description

Knightscope seeks a Senior Supply Engineer to own strategic supplier relationships powering the K7 and related platforms. This senior IC on the ASR Engineering team builds the framework to supply design-led, low-volume, custom-heavy hardware reliably and affordably.

Based at our Sunnyvale HQ, you will manage the top-30% of suppliers by cost or criticality, craft multi-year agreements, and ensure on-time delivery while maintaining compliance with sourcing and security standards.