Supplier Industrialization Engineer, Fabrication

panthalassa; Portland (ME); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Panthalassa, a renewable energy and ocean technology company, is seeking a Supplier Industrialization Engineer to bridge early designs and external manufacturing, focusing on steel fabrication including welding and machining. You will own supplier sourcing, DFMs, audits, and change management to scale from low to high-volume production.

The role requires strong interpersonal skills, collaboration in a scrappy, fast-moving environment, and a track record of delivering robust supplier processes.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience in Technical Sourcing, Supply Chain Engineering, Global Sourcing, or Manufacturing Engineering.
• Deep blueprint & GD&T literacy: read and interpret complex drawings, machining requirements, and tolerancing.
• Core Manufacturing Process Expertise: machining, welding, large forgings/castings lead times and sourcing.
• Knowledge of welding techniques for large steel structures, including process selection and distortion control.
• Technical supplier vetting: auditing vendor shop floors against part geometry requirements.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Self-motivated and able to work independently

Responsibilities

• Technical Sourcing & Evaluation: analyze designs to determine manufacturing sources.
• Design for Manufacturing (DFM): provide feedback on tolerances, materials, and volumes.
• Supplier Capability Auditing: conduct onsite audits and develop new suppliers.
• Technical Interface & Change Management: be the technical contact for suppliers and release packages.
• Supplier Relationship Management: build long-term partnerships with contract manufacturers and suppliers; align SOWs and drive improvements.
• Supplier Performance Management: guide suppliers in achieving quality, cost, and lead-time targets

Skills

Technical sourcing

GD&T literacy

Manufacturing engineering

Welding engineering

Vendor vetting

Communication

Independence

Education

Bachelor's degree in Welding/Mechanical/Industrial Engineering

Tools

CAD tools

Job description

About the Company

We are a renewable energy and ocean technology company committed to rapidly developing and deploying technologies that will ensure a sustainable future for Earth by unlocking the vast energy potential of its oceans. Our focus is on capturing civilizational levels of ultra-low-cost renewable energy for applications including computing and affordable renewable fuels delivered to shore.

The company is a public benefit corporation headquartered in Portland, Oregon, and backed by leading venture capitalists, philanthropic investors, university endowments, and private investment offices. We operate as an idea meritocracy in which the best ideas change the company's direction on a regular basis.

Our staff have worked at organizations such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing, Tesla, Apple, Virgin Orbit, Astra, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, New Relic, Bridgewater, Raytheon, Disney Imagineering, and the US Army and Air Force, as well as research universities, startups, and small companies across a range of industries.

About the Job

Our core technology is the node, a device that produces energy in the ocean's harshest conditions for years at a time without human maintenance or intervention.

This role requires an engineer's technical mindset paired with excellent communication skills and strong supplier management expertise. As a Supplier Industrialization Engineer, you will own the critical bridge between early product designs and external manufacturing reality at third party vendors, specifically for steel fabrication including welding and machining. This encompasses everything from early supplier sourcing assessments, to industrialization and quality control activities. As Panthalassa scales, you will lead the transition of components from low-volume production to high-volume production suppliers.

Candidates should have strong interpersonal skills and be able to thrive in a creative, scrappy, and collaborative environment in which the best ideas change the company's direction on a regular basis. We strive to be the best engineering team on the planet and we compensate our team accordingly.

Responsibilities

• Technical Sourcing & Evaluation: Analyze new engineering designs, CAD models, and blueprints at early stages to determine appropriate manufacturing sources based on part complexity, material requirements, and vendor technical capabilities.
• Design for Manufacturing (DFM): Support DFM during early product development by giving design teams feedback grounded in supplier capability: what our suppliers can produce, to what tolerances, with which materials, and at what volumes.
• Supplier Capability Auditing: Conduct onsite supplier audits and provide assessment for sourcing decisions, developing new suppliers to meet Panthalassa's product needs.
• Technical Interface & Change Management: Act as the primary technical point of contact for suppliers including sharing release packages, bill of materials, and communicating change orders.
• Supplier Relationship Management (SRM): Build long-term, high-trust partnerships with key contract manufacturers (CMs), steel fabricators, machining and casting suppliers. Ensure Statement of Work (SOW) alignment with project requirements, actively manage partner milestone completion, and drive continuous improvement in quality, cost, and lead times.
• Supplier Performance Management: Manage and enhance production and product quality. Guide suppliers in developing robust processes and procedures for efficient, high-quality product manufacturing.

Required Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience in Technical Sourcing, Supply Chain Engineering, Global Sourcing, or Manufacturing Engineering.
• Deep blueprint & GD&T literacy: Proven ability to read and interpret complex engineering drawings, machining requirements, and geometric dimensioning and tolerancing.
• Core Manufacturing Process Expertise: Deep familiarity with the manufacturing constraints, lead times, and sourcing strategies for machining, welding, and large forgings/castings.
• Knowledge of welding techniques applicable to large steel structures, including selection of welding process, joint design, and control of distortion and residual stress.
• Technical supplier vetting experience: Comfort auditing a vendor's shop floor capabilities (e.g., machining envelopes, weld automation, non-destructive testing/NDT limits) against a part's geometric requirements.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Self-motivated and capable of working independently.

Desired Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Welding Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering or a related technical discipline.
• Experience using CAD tools to review designs, pull dimensional data, or suggest DFM modifications.
• Experience managing overseas suppliers (e.g., tracking material authenticity, international tariffs, working with time zone differenc

If you are an excellent engineer, regardless of your background, we want you to apply.