As a Sourcing Engineer on our team, you will be given the challenge of driving strategy, analysis and leadership of the Sourcing of plastics, fibers, metals and other chemicals supporting both internal and external consumables manufacturing. Markforged’s proprietary Materials are a key to our customer success and enable us to bring our best-in-class technical additive manufacturing products to market.  You will work with suppliers on critical engineering development programs to bring new and exciting products and materials to our customers.  You’ll also work closely with our production and manufacturing operations to ensure availability of key technical materials at the right quality and cost. 

The ideal candidate will bring strong sourcing strategy and analysis experience including experience with a variety of supply partners in a technical product environment.  We’re looking for strong communication skills, a positive attitude and a willingness to take on challenges. This individual needs to be self-motivated, bring deep experience within the industry, be fluent in category management, and be willing to learn and adapt within a fast-paced organization.

What will you own?

• Develop sourcing strategies for materials categories and key materials spend areas
• Support key qualifications of supplier materials and subcontracted processing services
• Identify, evaluate, develop and qualify new materials supply partners for critical business needs
• Drive continuous improvement in delivered quality levels, service and cost
• Develop strong supplier relationships and negotiate contracts with supply partners to ensure best costs and service for Markforged
• Annual cost savings targets and development of a strong cost savings project pipeline
• Support Materials Sourcing needs for development programs, including supplier selection, process development, contracting, Pilot builds, materials qualification and launch planning
• Identify, evaluate, and recommend materials suppliers as necessary to support development and production program needs
• Drive project schedules to achieve key deliverables and project milestones that meet higher level business objectives and timelines
• Support all materials supply needs for development programs, including supplier selection, process development, contracting, and materials qualification and launch planning
• Help manage supply materials risk by conducting supplier risk assessments, communicating risk exposure, and developing and executing on mitigation plans 
• Monitor supplier capacities to ensure no unexpected capacity constraints occur
• Recommend and initiate process improvements including quality, efficiency, inventory and cost improvements

Important Note: 

Although we list out what we generally look for, we are very likely missing other attributes and skills that you have that could make you a great fit, but are not currently listed. Research has shown this especially applies to women and other marginalized groups, who tend to apply if they check 100% of every box, versus men who apply if they hit roughly 60%. The point we’re getting at, it doesn’t hurt to take a chance and apply!

What you have:

• Passion for materials development and production Sourcing category management
• At least 2+ years applied experience as a Sourcing Analyst, Buyer or Category Manager with previous materials category responsibility environment, ideally with custom products and annual $5M+ spend responsibility 
• Strong knowledge and experience with supply partners, plastics, materials or chemicals a plus.
• Prior experience evaluating, developing and contracting with new supply sources in the AM materials industry,
• Experience or exposure to complex commercial agreement development and related negotiations
• Skilled at supply partner risk analysis and related mitigation strategies.
• Experience working as a liaison between Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality and supply partners to introduce new products and lead continuous improvement projects.
• Ability to independently lead cross-functional Sourcing materials projects to completion
• Strong verbal and written communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively across internal departments and with external partners
• Comfortable with single-source negotiations, managing conflict, and escalating issues when appropriate
• Highly motivated and organized individual with sharp analytical and process mindset 
• Highly skilled in G-Suite apps
• Demonstrated cost reduction experience and track record with a range of categories and projects
• Enjoys challenging the status quo and sharing new ideas
• Willing to travel periodically both domestically and internationally 
• Thrives in a fast-paced dynamic  environment