Global Supply Manager, Hardware & Consumables

Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced drone delivery service, ensuring access to food, medicine, and essential goods anytime, anywhere. We design, build, and operate the world’s largest autonomous logistics system, delivering critical supplies quickly and reliably across four continents. With over 140 million commercial autonomous miles safely flown, Zipline is redefining access to healthcare, consumer products, and food globally.

About You And The Role

We are seeking a strategic problem-solver to own global commodity strategy and drive end-to-end supply chain outcomes for our autonomous robotic aircraft system. This in-person role is based at our HQ in South San Francisco and requires 20-30% travel to manage critical global suppliers and partners in North America, Asia, Europe, and other key regions.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the global commodity strategy for fasteners, consumables, adhesives, and related OTS parts, balancing cost, quality, availability, risk, and scalability.
• Transform a transactional, highly fragmented OTS category into a strategic sourcing space through supplier consolidation, demand aggregation, and part standardization.
• Build a comprehensive view of category spend, SKU usage, supplier overlap, pricing, and demand to identify and prioritize cost-saving and operational consolidation opportunities.
• Partner with Engineering to rationalize and standardize fasteners and consumables across products and programs, reduce unnecessary part proliferation, and influence designs toward preferred components and suppliers.
• Lead supplier consolidation and sourcing initiatives that improve commercial leverage, reduce administrative complexity, streamline ordering and replenishment, and strengthen continuity of supply.
• Design, implement, and scale Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) programs with strategic suppliers, including min/max levels, replenishment triggers, point-of-use inventory, inventory ownership, service-level expectations, and performance metrics to improve material availability while reducing on-hand inventory and transactional workload.
• Drive measurable total-cost savings through competitive bidding, pricing negotiations, volume aggregation, should-cost analysis, alternative sourcing, value engineering, and inventory optimization.
• Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with suppliers to support production and development builds, serving as the primary point of contact for operational and commercial issues.
• Define and track supplier KPIs including on-time delivery, quality, responsiveness, inventory accuracy, and cost performance; conduct regular supplier reviews and drive corrective actions for performance deviations.
• Create, manage, and track purchase orders to ensure timely and accurate delivery of materials, while improving ordering discipline and reducing transactional burden through scalable processes.
• Identify and mitigate supply risks including late deliveries, quality issues, capacity constraints, single-source exposure, and obsolescence; monitor supplier readiness for upcoming builds and escalate risks with clear recovery plans.
• Support cost tracking and reporting by monitoring supplier pricing, purchase-order spend, savings realization, and BOM impact.
• Work cross-functionally with Engineering, Quality, Planning, Supplier Industrialization, and Production to ensure supplier readiness and alignment with program milestones.
• Support change management activities including part transitions, specification updates, supplier onboarding, and migration to preferred or standardized components.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Finance, Business, or a related discipline.
• 2+ years of experience in Purchasing, Supply Chain, Commodity Management, Supplier Management, or Engineering, or 1+ year with a Master’s degree.
• Experience managing suppliers in a manufacturing environment; experience with fasteners, adhesives, consumables, MRO, or similar OTS categories is preferred.
• Ability to develop a fact-based commodity strategy from fragmented spend, part, supplier, and demand data and translate it into an executable sourcing roadmap.
• Excellent analytical, negotiation, and problem-solving skills with a strategic mindset, hands-on approach, and strong sense of urgency.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and a collaborative, team-first mindset.
• Proficiency in Excel, Project, PowerPoint, and Word.

Skills

• Experience creating a strategic commodity from a decentralized or transactionally managed OTS, hardware, consumables, or MRO category.
• Proven success consolidating fragmented suppliers and operations while delivering measurable cost savings, improved service levels, and reduced supply-chain complexity.
• Experience leading fastener or hardware standardization and preferred-part initiatives in aerospace, robotics, electronics, automotive, renewable energy, or other advanced manufacturing industries.
• Experience implementing or managing Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI), Kanban, point-of-use replenishment, vending systems, or automated inventory management programs, including defining inventory parameters, supplier responsibilities, service levels, and performance metrics.
• Experience managing complex global supply chains, international suppliers, import/export regulations, and international trade practices.
• Proven success negotiating large or complex contracts and commercial agreements.
• Strong strategic thinking, emotional intelligence, and the ability to inspire and influence teams without direct authority.
• Flexibility to adapt to changing business needs, product designs, production priorities, and technologies.
• Multilingual proficiency is a plus.

Pay

The starting cash range for this role is $121,800 - $251,000. The final cash pay will depend on experience, qualifications, skills, working location, and projected impact. The total compensation package may also include equity compensation, discretionary annual or performance bonuses, sales incentives, benefits such as medical, dental, and vision insurance, and paid time off.

Schedule

This role requires 20-30% travel to manage critical global suppliers and partners in North America, Asia, Europe, and other key regions.