Senior Sourcing Specialist

The role

You will manage the end-to-end procurement process for precision-machined components. You will work with engineering, production, and quality teams to source, evaluate, and manage suppliers for space hardware.

What you will do

• Own purchasing for machined components and similar commodities from quote stage to delivery
• Send RFQs, place POs, and run open order report meetings with key suppliers
• Develop understanding of supplier capacity, lead times, and cost trends
• Work with supply chain engineering to develop a preferred supplier network
• Work with design engineering teams to understand upcoming design releases and part changes
• Build strong relationships with suppliers and negotiate pricing and lead times
• Identify part supply constraints and create mitigation plans
• Maintain part and planning master data
• Support purchasing of various commodities and inventory operations

Required qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in the field of Supply Chain, Engineering, Business, or Finance
• Minimum 2 years of relevant experience, ideally within space, aerospace, precision medical devices, pharmaceutical manufacturing, biotech/life sciences or similar
• Willingness and ability to travel up to 50% of the time
• Strategic sourcing of machined components or propulsion components
• Experience translating engineering designs into demand and supply plans
• Extensive experience using MES/ERP software
• Highly adept relationship building and influencing skills
• Detail-oriented and able to respond quickly to a fast-moving and ever-changing environment

Nice to have

• Technical knowledge and skills in coding and computer applications, (e.g. MS Office Suite, VBA, Smartsheet, SQL, Confluence, JIRA, Power BI, ION etc.)
• Proactive, quick learner, and ability to prioritize efforts to meet customer and company goals
• Ability to develop and maintain strong internal and external supplier relationships in a fast-moving and ever-changing environment
• Exceptional analytical and organizational skills
• Excellent customer service skills, highly self-motivated
• Effective written, verbal, and presentation communication skills
• Previous work as a machinist, plus understanding of manufacturing and the material flow process

Benefits

• Stock options
• Long-term cash awards

Before you apply

• Must be a U.S. person (U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident, or protected individual)
• Must be lawfully authorized to work in the U.S.

About the company

Varda is accelerating the development of commercial space infrastructure, from in-orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable and economical reentry capsules. The company is headquartered in El Segundo, California.