SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars.
SOURCING MANAGER (STARSHIP)
The Starship Supply Chain Sourcing Manager is a critical player in developing the supply base, cost strategy, and sourcing plan to enable the scaling of Starship production to support Starship's mission to make human life multiplanetary. To capitalize on SpaceX’s technological and market changing successes, this exciting role will be part of managing an agile yet robust supply chain capable of maintaining production rate goals, quickly incorporating design changes for engine reliability, and cost optimization to support the goals of the entire Starship program. This is a high visibility role with the opportunity to develop and optimize the sourcing strategy for critical Starship hardware, primarily forgings and complex machined parts while developing our vendor base to scale with the program.
This role will mostly entail strategic technical procurement, supplier development and quality management, logistics/packaging optimization, cost negotiations, and extremely effective communication with stakeholders. This role directly impacts Starship's ability to hit aggressive program cost goals and develop a world-class supply chain!
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Utilize good risk management intuition to balance cost, reliability, and production rate based on knowledge of program goals and context in a highly dynamic environment – and make effective risk calls knowing when to prioritize one over the other.
- Analyze supplier spend, capacity, technical capabilities, and core competencies to develop overall supplier negotiation and engagement strategies. Implement sustainable cost controls based on domain knowledge of part families and develop cost reduction improvement plans with suppliers to support aggressive Starship cost goals.
- Analyze commodity vendor base to understand gaps in supplier core competencies, technical capabilities, and partnership, in order to develop/expand core supply base as necessary, and monitor/report out vendor performance in cost, quality, and delivery. Develop + maintain strong relationships with strategic suppliers.
- Work directly with key suppliers and Starship strategic partners to develop and implement sourcing and cost management strategies that support stable products as well as new product development. Present commodity roadmaps + supply landscape to internal stakeholders to brief partner teams on sourcing strategy.
- Ensure work centers are clear to build on time by driving fulfillment from the vendor base to SpaceX and that lineside inventory health is meeting specifications like sensible min/max/reorder-points that are aligned to the MRP Demand plan.
- Have extreme ownership of the work center inventory health overall working closely with production counterparts and engineering to develop robust understanding of supply base ability to stay on top of start and finish dates and scale production rates.
- Manage production process or design change cut-ins while balancing risk of NPI to engine reliability and overcommunicating with stakeholders to project manage NPI effectively.
- Mitigate sole/single source risk and ensure continuity of supply by developing and leading commodity strategies for sheet metal, raw material, complex machined parts, hardware, and other aerospace components from cradle to grave. Will act as the supplier interface for all RFIs, RFPs and RFQs.
- Provide guidance to internal customers on design for manufacturability and trade analysis for precision CNC machined components, as well as partner with internal resources to drive adoption of low-cost parts.
- Proactively investigate new market trends, supplier roadmaps, and collaborate with engineering on best path from a technology, cost, and supply standpoint.
- Visit supplier facilities and accurately assess operational capability, financial health, and capacity in order to award contracts in support of new product development and long-term production, while conducting comprehensive supplier analysis, including strategic direction, capacity, market and industry position, and risk assessment.
- Proactively update SpaceX management and engineering teams on all critical supply issues, with the ability to present value propositions to executives when necessary.
- Solve problems to recover from late breaking changes or shortages. Ensure that the production reality (work center cycle time) is supported by a credible and well-thought out inventory demand-supply plan (vehicle exit rate).
- Be the “go to” resource for engineering, supply chain, manufacturing, and new product introduction teams when determining best value suppliers, NPI sourcing plans, make vs. buy, should cost, buy complete strategies, and lead times, etc.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
- Advanced degree and 3+ years of experience working in one or more of the following; or bachelor’s degree and 5+ years of experience working in one or more of the following; or 9+ years of experience working in one or more of the following:
- Engineering
- Purchasing
- Contract negotiation
- Operations or supply chain management
- Cost control
PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:
- Technical procurement, manufacturing, and vendor management experience – preferably complex machined components, forgings, or raw materials in an aerospace/high volume manufacturing industry.
- Drive negotiation process to ensure that Starship pricing meets/exceeds Best-In-Class expectations, while meeting/exceeding Best-In-Class quality, in addition to driving continual cost reduction and avoidance initiatives through ad-hoc price negotiations.
- Experience in new product introduction (NPI) and mass production (MP) with the ability to read technical drawings, data sheets, fabrication drawing, BOMs and all related files.
- Strong experience in vendor management, contract negotiation, and demonstrated experience in technically driven cost reductions.
- Exceptional analytical, problem solving, and organizational skills with proficiency in MS Office Suite, SQL, Access, etc.
- Effective written, verbal, and presentation communication skills with the ability to effectively communicate risks and mitigation solutions.
- Ability to learn program context and production goals quickly to be able to prioritize appropriately to meet customer and company needs.
- Detail-oriented, self-motivated, and able to respond quickly to a fast-moving and ever-changing environment while striving for excellence in domain knowledge.
- Conducts all activities with the highest levels of integrity.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
- Must be able to travel up to 15%.
- Must be able to work extended hours and/or weekends as needed.
- This position is based in Starbase, TX and requires being onsite - remote work not considered.
ITAR REQUIREMENTS:
- To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.
SpaceX is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SpaceX is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.
Applicants wishing to view a copy of SpaceX’s Affirmative Action Plan for veterans and individuals with disabilities, or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should reach out to [email protected].
Skills Required
- Advanced degree plus 3 or more years of experience in engineering, purchasing, contract negotiation, operations or supply chain management, or cost control
- Bachelor's degree plus 5 or more years of relevant experience, or 9 or more years of relevant experience without a specified degree
- Ability to travel up to 15%
- Ability to work onsite in Starbase, Texas; remote work is not considered
- Must be a U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident, refugee, asylee, or eligible to obtain required ITAR authorizations
- Technical procurement, manufacturing, and vendor management experience, preferably with complex machined components, forgings, or raw materials in aerospace or high-volume manufacturing
- Experience with new product introduction and mass production, including reading technical drawings, data sheets, fabrication drawings, bills of materials, and related files
- Strong vendor management, contract negotiation, and technically driven cost-reduction experience
- Proficiency in MS Office Suite, SQL, and Access
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, organizational, written, verbal, and presentation skills
SpaceX Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about SpaceX and has not been reviewed or approved by SpaceX.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity grants are a core part of total compensation, with periodic company-run tender offers that create liquidity before any public listing. These mechanisms can make the equity component feel materially valuable in practice.
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Healthcare Strength — The package includes comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, with on-site clinics and health resources at major sites. This breadth of coverage is presented as a strong element of the offering.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Major locations feature on-site amenities such as fitness facilities, food/coffee, clinics, and other conveniences. These lifestyle perks enhance day-to-day value alongside cash and equity.
SpaceX Insights
What We Do
SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches the world’s most advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk to revolutionize space transportation, with the ultimate goal of making life multiplanetary. SpaceX has gained worldwide attention for a series of historic milestones. It is the only private company ever to return a spacecraft from low-Earth orbit, which it first accomplished in December 2010. The company made history again in May 2012 when its Dragon spacecraft attached to the International Space Station, exchanged cargo payloads, and returned safely to Earth — a technically challenging feat previously accomplished only by governments. Since then Dragon has delivered cargo to and from the space station multiple times, providing regular cargo resupply missions for NASA.
