Senior Supply Engineer

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

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

Stock options

Paid time off

Job summary

Knightscope seeks a Senior Supply Engineer to own strategic supplier relationships powering hardware programs, including the K7 robot and K1/H1 platforms. You will build multi-year, multi-million-dollar agreements and manage top-30% suppliers from Sunnyvale HQ.

This senior IC role requires automotive supplier development cadence, tooling investment experience, and strong cyber/compliance knowledge to ensure secure, high-quality components across production ramps.

Qualifications

• 10+ years as a senior engineer with strategic supplier engineering in low-volume, high-complexity programs.
• Automotive industry background with APQP, PPAP, IATF 16949, ISO 26262 familiarity.
• Experience sourcing and qualifying low-volume molded parts at production scale (composites, SMC/RIM, injection-molded).
• Transitioning from prototype manufacturing to production tooling and coordinating DFM with designers.
• Familiar with catalog sourcing tools (McMaster-Carr, Digi-Key) and reducing catalog dependency as volumes grow.
• Understanding of TAA/BABA compliance and country-of-origin documentation; software supply chain security frameworks (NIST 800-171, CMMC, SBOM).
• On-site Sunnyvale; travel 15–25%.

Responsibilities

• Build the commercial framework with compliant master purchase agreements and offshore stocking terms.
• Provide rapid technical escalation with top-30% suppliers and enable hot-fix and failure analysis within hours.
• Lead the two-step handoff of BOM lines to direct Knightscope ownership and reduce external consulting spend.
• Coordinate co-marketing and reference partner programs with design leadership.
• Wean catalog parts to volume-sourced alternates while protecting production ramp responsiveness.
• Own embedded subsystem supplier strategy across AI compute and vision ecosystems.
• Drive supplier cyber compliance and software supply chain security via contract language and monitoring.

Skills

Strategic supplier engineering

Low-volume / high-complexity programs

Automotive supplier cadence (APQP/PPAP

Sourcing & supplier qualification

DFM coordination

NIST 800-171 / CMMC / SBOM familiarity

Education

Engineering degree (Mechanical preferred)

Tools

McMaster-Carr catalog

Digi-Key catalog

Job description

About Knightscope

Knightscope (NASDAQ: KSCP) is a security technology company building the nation's first Autonomous Security Force — autonomous machines, AI-driven software, and elite security professionals operating as one integrated managed service. The Company is on a mission to make the United States of America the safest country in the world. One Team. One Force.

Job Summary

Knightscope is seeking a Senior Supply Engineer to own the strategic supplier relationships that power our hardware programs — the K7 Autonomous Security Robot, the K1 family (Hemisphere, Capsule, Super Tower), and the H1 wearable Augmented Security Agent platform. This senior individual-contributor role on the ASR Engineering team builds the commercial, technical, and relational framework required to supply design-led, low-volume, custom-heavy physical AI platforms reliably, affordably, and with the responsiveness autonomous systems demand.

About The Role

Reporting to the K7 Chief Program Engineer and partnering closely with the K1/H1 Chief Program Engineer, you will own the top-30% supplier portfolio in each program — by cost or by criticality — and build the multi-year, multi-million-dollar strategic agreements that determine the pace and cost of every program ramp. The role exists because Knightscope’s hardware programs have accumulated strategic supplier dependencies that require supplier engineering attention a transactional procurement function was never designed to provide. You will sit inside the CPE arc at our Sunnyvale HQ — when a supplier issue surfaces, you own it until it is resolved.

Location Requirement

Full-time, on-site at Sunnyvale HQ (No relocation provided)

Key Responsibilities

• Build the commercial framework, with compliance built in — negotiate Master Purchase Agreements with volume-based pricing, tariff-deferred offshore stocking (TAA countries only), warranty terms fit for mission-critical use, and forecast/cancellation mechanisms. Maintain a TAA- and BABA-compliant portfolio with no PRC sourcing for parts or embedded software, and structure tooling investments that protect Knightscope’s IP.
• Provide ready‑five technical escalation — build direct relationships with the principal engineers at every top-30% supplier; make hot‑fix, failure analysis, and design consultation accessible in hours rather than weeks; read drawings, understand the platform at module level, and write the engineering escalation email yourself.
• Transition sourcing in-house — lead the two‑step handoff of integration‑partner‑sourced BOM lines to direct Knightscope ownership, transfer customer‑of‑record status at each strategic supplier, and reduce outside consulting spend by substituting your own sourcing capability.
• Run the co‑marketing and reference partner program — structure the non‑monetary value Knightscope offers suppliers (visibility on a deployed physical AI platform, case studies, “powered by” branding) as a commercial lever, in coordination with the Chief Design Officer and Creative Director.
• Wean the BOM off catalog‑sourced parts — transition high‑spend catalog lines (McMaster‑Carr, Digi‑Key, distributor stock) to volume‑sourced alternates as production warrants, structuring release agreements that preserve responsiveness without retail pricing.
• Own embedded subsystem supplier strategy — track the AI compute and embedded vision ecosystem (NVIDIA Jetson, Qualcomm, Ambarella, Hailo, TI, Mobileye), keep Knightscope a credible partner, and re‑engineer accumulated dependencies so Knightscope drives technical direction.
• Drive supplier cyber compliance and software supply chain security — qualify suppliers against NIST 800‑171, CMMC, SBOM completeness, and signed‑update mechanisms, serving as the supply‑chain‑side counterpart to the Director of Cybersecurity through contract language and ongoing posture monitoring.

Required Qualifications

• Senior engineer, 10+ years, with strategic supplier engineering experience in low‑volume, high‑complexity, custom‑heavy product development.
• Automotive industry background required — must walk in already speaking automotive vocabulary and cadence fluently.
• Fluent in automotive supplier‑development cadence: APQP, PPAP, IATF 16949, ISO 26262 (functional safety / ASIL), run‑at‑rate validation, tooling kickoff, SOP/SORP dates, PSW signoff, and supplier scorecards.
• Strong background sourcing and qualifying low‑volume molded parts at production scale — composite, SMC/RIM, and/or large‑format injection‑molded, ideally including outdoor‑rated body panels or structural enclosures.
• Demonstrated experience managing the transition from prototype manufacturing methods to production tooling, including tooling investment structuring and DFM coordination with industrial designers.
• Fluent in the McMaster‑Carr and Digi‑Key catalogs as deliberate engineering tools, with the discipline to wean parts off catalog sourcing as volumes mature.
• Fluent in TAA and BABA compliance and country‑of‑origin documentation; familiar with software supply chain security frameworks (NIST 800‑171, CMMC, SBOM) and able to enforce them through supplier qualification and contract language.
• Engineering degree required; Mechanical Engineering preferred.
• Comfortable in both technical and commercial conversations with supplier engineering leadership; patient, detail‑oriented, and commercially savvy without being mercenary. Able to work on‑site at Sunnyvale HQ, with travel to suppliers as needed (approx. 15–25%).

Compensation & Benefits

• Base Salary: $165,000 – $190,000 (DOE)
• Equity: Stock options
• Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, 401(k), paid time off
• Location Requirement: Full-time, on‑site at Sunnyvale HQ