Sr. Manager, Supply Chain (Data Operations)

SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 185,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Long-term incentives

401(k) retirement plan

Medical, vision, and dental coverage

Paid vacation

Job summary

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is seeking a Sr. Manager, Supply Chain (Data Operations) to lead a data sourcing team that fuels AI model training.

You will define sourcing strategies, expand a global supplier network, and ensure data quality and delivery targets align with engineering roadmaps. The role requires 6+ years in related fields, strong leadership, and a track record of delivering high-signal datasets in fast-moving environments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher required with 6+ years in business, supply chain, engineering, procurement, strategy/operations, or technology.
• Experience leading data operations or technical sourcing in fast-moving environments.
• Strong leadership, negotiation, analytical, and cross-functional skills.

Responsibilities

• Build, lead, and mentor a sourcing team focused on high-quality data acquisition across major taxonomy categories.
• Define category strategies with engineering and model performance teams; develop exclusive datasets.
• Oversee global supplier network and end-to-end sourcing to meet targets.
• Negotiate major agreements on pricing, volume, quality, and exclusivity.
• Improve sourcing processes, workflows, tools, and planning systems.
• Track KPIs; provide updates to senior leadership.

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

Sr. Manager, Supply Chain (Data Operations)

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.

SR. MANAGER, SUPPLY CHAIN (DATA OPERATIONS)

We are seeking a leader to grow and manage SpaceXAI’s data operations team. This team is responsible for defining the strategy for sourcing high-quality data to train our model and rapidly expanding the data pipeline. This team will focus on working with external partners to source evaluations and specialized research datasets that power the training, validation, and continuous improvement of our model. You will define the overall sourcing and category strategies for your team, grow and manage a global network of data suppliers and partners, align targets with engineering roadmaps and objectives, uphold data quality standards, and deliver high-signal datasets at the cost, quality, and speed required. The ideal candidate is an experienced people leader with deep expertise in data operations or technical sourcing and a track record of delivering results in fast-moving environments.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing sourcing team focused on high-quality data acquisition across major taxonomy categories (e.g., agentic tool use, coding)
• Define category strategies in partnership with engineering and model performance teams and come up with creative strategies to build a strong pipeline of exclusive and proprietary enterprise datasets
• Oversee the global supplier network and end-to-end sourcing and supplier qualification to meet aggressive acquisition and delivery targets
• Negotiate major agreements focused on pricing, volume, quality, exclusivity, and reliable delivery, committing budget only to datasets that meaningfully improve model performance
• Continuously improve, standardize, and scale sourcing processes, workflows, tools, and planning systems
• Track team and category KPIs; provide regular updates and recommendations to senior leadership

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree and 6+ years of experience working in one or more of the following; or 10+ years of experience working in one or more of the following in lieu of a degree:
  • Business
  • Supply chain
  • Engineering
  • Procurement
  • Strategy and operations
  • Technology

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Technical understanding of AI training data, including annotations, evaluations, research datasets, and how dataset quality affects model performance
• Experience in fast-paced AI, ML, or data infrastructure environments
• Background building or managing global supplier networks for services, data, or other high-variability commodities
• Strong leadership, negotiation, analytical, and cross-functional skills
• Proven ability to secure supply and manage cost, quality, and delivery against aggressive targets
• Experience with data analysis, spend analysis, and performance metrics
• Ability to tackle complex and ambiguous problems with high ownership

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

Pay Range: $185,000.00 - $260,000.00

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].