Sr. Sourcing Manager, New Product Introduction

Pendulum® is leading a revolution to improve physical and mental health by understanding, restoring, and enhancing the human microbiome. Studies link the microbiome to metabolism, diabetes, longevity, immune health, cancer prevention, well-being, and skin health. Pendulum develops proprietary probiotic pipelines and a discovery platform to identify novel bacterial strains and prebiotics, manufacturing them in an anaerobic environment at scale. Their medical probiotics have transformed the consumer probiotics market into a new category of therapeutic offerings. Pendulum earned a spot on Forbes Magazine’s “The Next Billion Dollar Startups” list due to explosive revenue and customer growth.

About the role

We are looking for a Sr. Sourcing Manager, New Product Introduction to own the sourcing workstreams that enable Pendulum’s innovation pipeline from concept through commercial launch. This role serves as the primary sourcing partner to the Product team, establishing the sourcing roadmap, owning raw material strategy, and driving supplier and raw material readiness. The ideal candidate brings strategic sourcing expertise, strong project-management skills, and the ability to create structure in ambiguous situations.

Responsibilities

• Raw Material Strategy
  • Own the sourcing workstream for new products from concept through commercialization
  • Translate product concepts and technical requirements into executable sourcing strategies
  • Own raw material strategy across probiotics, active ingredients, excipients, flavors, and other emerging categories
  • Partner with Product to establish achievable sourcing milestones and proactively resolve risks that threaten committed launch dates
  • Keep stakeholders and leadership informed of sourcing progress, risks, tradeoffs, and decisions
• Supplier Leadership
  • Own sourcing strategies and commercial relationships across Pendulum’s raw material portfolio
  • Build supplier networks that support innovation, commercial supply, cost competitiveness, and continuity
  • Lead supplier identification, selection, qualification, commercial readiness, and material availability for new products
  • Lead supplier negotiations involving pricing, contracts, payment terms, capacity, forecasts, and long-term agreements
  • Develop second sources and new supplier relationships that improve capability, resilience, or speed
  • Establish supplier expectations and lead performance reviews focused on quality, delivery, responsiveness, innovation, cost, and continuous improvement
• Cross-Functional Execution & Sourcing Representation
  • Serve as the sourcing subject-matter expert throughout product commercialization
  • Partner closely with Product, Quality, Regulatory, Supply Planning, Packaging, Contract Manufacturing, Manufacturing, and Finance
  • Build tools and processes that improve launch predictability, supplier visibility, and sourcing execution
  • Lead strategic sourcing initiatives outside established category ownership as business priorities evolve

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Engineering, Business, Operations, or a related field, or equivalent experience
• 8+ years experience in strategic sourcing, supplier management, raw materials, new product introduction, or supply chain within a manufacturing environment
• Experience sourcing complex materials within nutraceuticals, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, cosmetics, or another regulated industry
• Experience partnering with cross-functional teams to commercialize new products by developing effective sourcing strategies
• Demonstrated experience leading supplier negotiations, including assessing cost drivers, evaluating supplier pricing, and identifying negotiation opportunities
• Strong analytical skills, including spend analysis, should-cost modeling, pricing analysis, and financial evaluation
• Advanced proficiency with Netsuite ERP as well as Google Sheets and/or Microsoft Excel

Skills

• Strong project-management skills without needing to be the overall program manager
• Ability to bring structure, priorities, and clear action plans to ambiguous challenges
• Strong commercial judgment and supplier-development capability
• Clear, proactive communication with technical, commercial, and executive stakeholders
• Ability to independently drive multiple sourcing workstreams to completion
• Curiosity and flexibility to take on new categories and emerging business challenges

What Success Looks Like

In the first year, success means that:

• The Product team has a trusted sourcing partner who independently drives NPI sourcing activities
• Sourcing milestones, risks, and supplier readiness are clearly defined and actively managed
• Fewer launch issues result from materials, suppliers, commercial terms, or sourcing execution
• Pendulum has stronger raw material strategies and a more resilient supplier network
• New sourcing challenges are addressed quickly without gaps in ownership

Schedule

• Hybrid role based in San Francisco, CA, with an expectation of working in the office 2-3 days per week
• Occasional travel (approximately 10-20%) to supplier and manufacturing sites

Pay

$162,900 - $181,000

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, and Vision
• Commuter Benefits
• Life & STD Insurance
• Company match on 401(k)
• Flexible Time Off (FTO)
• Equity