Senior Supply Chain Manager, Fauna
About the team
Fauna Robotics, an Amazon company, is building capable, safe, and intuitive robots for everyday life. Our goal is simple: make robots people actually want to live and interact with in everyday human spaces.
We believe the future of robotics won't arrive until building for it becomes far more accessible. Today, too much effort is spent reinventing the fundamentals. We're changing that by developing tightly integrated hardware and software systems that make it faster, safer, and more intuitive to create real-world robotic products.
Our work spans the full stack: mechanical design, control systems, dynamic modeling, and intelligent software. The focus is not just functionality, but experience. We're building robots that feel responsive, expressive, and genuinely useful.
At Fauna, you'll work at the frontier of this space, helping define how robots move, manipulate, and interact with people in natural environments. It's an opportunity to solve hard problems across hardware and software with a team focused on making robotics accessible and rewarding to build.
Key job responsibilities
Supply Chain Function Building
Build the supply chain operating model for robotics hardware development, pilot builds, and production ramp
Define ownership boundaries across sourcing, procurement, planning, inventory, logistics, supplier quality, and contract manufacturing
Create the metrics, dashboards, and operating processes needed to manage supplier performance, material availability, cost, and supply risk
Define the future supply chain organization, including role scope, hiring needs, and handoff points as Fauna scales
Hire, mentor, and manage supply chain contributors and contractors as the team grows
Strategic Sourcing & Supplier Development
Develop and execute sourcing strategies across mechanical, electrical, and electromechanical categories
Own supplier selection, qualification, onboarding, and long-term development for critical components
Negotiate pricing, lead times, MOQs, payment terms, NRE, tooling, and capacity commitments with domestic and international suppliers
Develop and maintain AVL strategies, including alternate sources for critical or sole-sourced components
Partner with engineering during NPI to influence component selection toward manufacturability, availability, cost, and supply resilience
Build supplier scorecards, manage performance, and drive corrective actions for chronic delivery, quality, or responsiveness issues
Materials Planning & Inventory Management
Establish planning processes that translate build plans, forecasts, and BOM requirements into material plans, procurement actions, and supplier commitments
Manage inventory strategy to balance build readiness, working capital, and obsolescence risk
Track material availability, shortage risk, and delivery commitments against engineering and production schedules; drive resolution through supplier escalation, alternate sourcing, expedites, and engineering substitutions
Improve BOM, MRP, and inventory data integrity in partnership with engineering, manufacturing, and finance
Contract Manufacturer & Production Materials Execution
Lead supply chain coordination with contract manufacturing partners, including material readiness, kitting, consigned versus turnkey decisions, and production support
Monitor supplier OTD, component yield, and incoming quality; drive corrective actions for production-impacting constraints
Own the end-to-end PO lifecycle from requisition through receipt, reconciliation, and closure
Directly manage critical transactions where needed during early-stage execution, while building processes and team capacity to scale
Cost, Risk & Operational Readiness
Lead cost reduction efforts through negotiation, re-sourcing, supplier consolidation, should-cost analysis, and design-to-cost partnership with engineering
Identify and manage supply chain risks including sole-source exposure, supplier capacity, geopolitical risk, logistics constraints, and obsolescence
Build and improve supply chain tools and systems from development through production, including ERP/MRP setup or optimization
Manage inbound logistics, freight strategy, and customs coordination as needed
Basic Qualifications
5+ years of program or project management experience
Bachelor's degree in Business, Operations, Supply Chain Management, Engineering, or a related field
7+ years of supply chain, strategic sourcing, procurement, materials management, or related hardware operations experience
Experience building or improving supply chain processes, systems, operating mechanisms, or team structures
Experience managing suppliers, negotiating commercial terms, and driving supplier performance improvements
Experience with BOM-driven planning, MRP/ERP systems, purchase order execution, and inventory management
Experience supporting hardware development, NPI, pilot builds, production ramps, or contract manufacturing operations
Experience using data, metrics, and operational reviews to identify risks, drive decisions, and improve performance
Preferred Qualifications
Master's degree in Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, or Business Administration, or Master's degree in engineering, statistics, computer science, operations research, business analytics, information systems or equivalent
Experience building supply chain functions from the ground up in an early-stage or high-growth hardware environment
Experience hiring, mentoring, or managing supply chain teams, contractors, or cross-functional contributors
Experience with robotics, automation, consumer electronics, or complex electromechanical products
Experience with NPI supply chain, including AVL development, DFM/DFx feedback, cost modeling, and transition to production
Experience managing commodities such as high-torque actuators, custom battery packs, structural castings, cable harnesses, motors, sensors, PCBAs, or custom mechanical assemblies
Experience working directly with contract manufacturers, including consigned materials, turnkey materials, production readiness, and material liability
Experience leading cost reduction, re-sourcing, supplier consolidation, or second-source initiatives