Senior Supply Engineer - Strategic Automotive Sourcing

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

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

401(k)

Paid time off

On-site at Sunnyvale HQ

Job summary

Knightscope, Inc. in Sunnyvale, CA seeks a Senior Supply Engineer to own strategic supplier relationships powering our hardware programs, including K7 and K1/H1 platforms. This senior IC role drives commercial, technical, and relational frameworks for low-volume, custom-heavy ASR programs.

You will own the top-30% supplier portfolio, craft multi-year strategic agreements, and ensure rapid engineering escalation and seamless BOM transitions. On-site at Sunnyvale HQ with 15–25% travel.

Qualifications

• Senior engineer with 10+ years in low-volume, high-complexity product development.
• Automotive industry background with vocabulary and cadence.
• Fluent in APQP, PPAP, IATF 16949, ISO 26262 (ASIL) and related processes.
• Experience sourcing low-volume molded parts at production scale.
• Experience transitioning prototype manufacturing to production tooling.
• Familiar with McMaster-Carr and Digi-Key catalogs.
• Knowledge of NIST 800-171, CMMC, SBOM, and software supply chain security.
• Engineering degree required; Mechanical preferred.
• On-site at Sunnyvale with 15–25% travel.

Responsibilities

• Negotiate master purchase agreements with volume pricing and warranties.
• Maintain compliant supplier portfolio with no PRC sourcing.
• Develop multi-year strategic supplier agreements for programs.
• Build direct relationships with top-30% suppliers and provide rapid escalation.
• Lead in-house transition of BOM lines from partners to Knightscope.
• Structure tooling investments and DFM coordination with design teams.
• Drive co-marketing and reference partner programs with executives.
• Manage transition from catalog parts to volume-sourced alternatives.
• Oversee embedded compute and vision ecosystem partnerships.
• Ensure cyber/compliance and SBOM updates with suppliers.

Skills

Strategic supplier engineering

Automotive industry experience

Program management

Negotiation skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Engineering degree (Mechanical preferred)

Tools

NIST 800-171 knowledge

CMMC familiarity

IATF 16949 knowledge

PPAP knowledge

BOM/Parts management

Job description

Knightscope, Inc. in Sunnyvale, CA seeks a Senior Supply Engineer to own strategic supplier relationships powering our hardware programs, including K7 and K1/H1 platforms. This senior IC role drives commercial, technical, and relational frameworks for low-volume, custom-heavy ASR programs.

You will own the top-30% supplier portfolio, craft multi-year strategic agreements, and ensure rapid engineering escalation and seamless BOM transitions. On-site at Sunnyvale HQ with 15–25% travel.