Director, Electrical Strategic Sourcing

Mainspring Energy•Menlo Park, CA

2d•Remote

About The Position

We are seeking a Director, Electrical Strategic Design Sourcing to build and lead the electrical commodity supply chain function. Reporting to the VP of Supply Chain, this role directs a team of commodity managers and program resources, owns the departmental budget, and participates with senior management to develop organizational sourcing policies and strategic plans. The Director is accountable for decisions with long-term, multi-department impact across three pillars: enabling Mainspring’s next-generation product architecture through engineering-embedded sourcing; building a best-total-cost supply chain for power conversion and electrical assemblies; and developing a fully FEOC-compliant, multi-source battery and BMS supply base.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or higher in Electrical Engineering, Supply Chain, or equivalent technical discipline
20+ years across electrical engineering, operations, and supply chain, with at least 3–5 years managing sourcing teams; experience contributing to organizational sourcing policy and process standards required
Deep technical knowledge of power electronics, PCBAs (SMT/through-hole/mixed), connectors, cable assemblies, and battery/energy storage systems.
Hands-on circuit design or PCBA layout experience a strong plus
Experience onboarding contract manufacturers for electromechanical assemblies (US/Mexico preferred); familiarity with MRP/ERP systems and inbound logistics
Proven best-total-cost commodity strategy: multi-source qualification, cost-down programs, working capital improvement, and supplier risk management
Executive presence; ability to reconcile competing stakeholder views, negotiate at senior management level, and own a departmental budget
Familiarity with FEOC, IRA/ITC, USMCA, and UL/IEC compliance-driven sourcing environments
Willingness to travel up to 40% (domestic US and Mexico; occasional international)

Nice To Haves

Experience in energy storage, battery, or distributed power generation; working knowledge of IRA battery sourcing requirements and FEOC country-of-origin tracing
Familiarity with UL 9540, UL 1973, UL 508a, or IEC 62619 safety certification frameworks
Prior experience in a hardware startup or high-growth manufacturing environment
Six Sigma or LEAN certification

Responsibilities

Build, manage, and develop a team of commodity managers and sourcing program managers; establish a management layer as the function scales.
Own the departmental budget, headcount plan, and organizational sourcing policies and process standards
Serve as the supply chain escalation point to executive leadership; reconcile competing priorities across Engineering, Finance, Legal, and Operations to drive business results
Partner with Engineering and Product Management as a core member of the product roadmap process, contributing supply chain input to feature definition across deployment environments; own DFM and DFX to ensure manufacturability, sourcing optionality, and cost competitiveness are built into designs from the earliest stages of NPI
Set and execute commodity strategy - make/buy frameworks, preferred supplier lists, risk tiering - targeting best total cost across price, lead time, quality, and working capital
Develop and implement the inbound logistics and procurement strategy for the electrical commodity portfolio; support MRP/ERP system development and ensure procurement parameters reflect supply chain strategy
Own the sourcing strategy for Mainspring’s AC-to-DC product transition, including BOM-level lead time analysis, risk buy decisions, and production readiness
Source and qualify power conversion equipment (inverters, transformers, skidded systems) across multiple suppliers to eliminate single-source dependencies; ensure business continuity and benchmark against the competitive supply landscape
Own and execute a multi-path battery and BMS sourcing strategy compliant with FEOC and IRA requirements across non-restricted geographies; monitor FEOC, IRA/ITC, USMCA, and tariff developments to adjust strategies proactively; brief executive leadership on investor-facing compliance and cost readiness
Identify, evaluate, and onboard contract manufacturers for electrical assemblies (US/Mexico, USMCA-compliant); lead rapid-turnaround sourcing for R&D electrical builds including PCBAs, connectors, cables, sensors, and electromechanical assemblies
Own should-cost modeling across the electrical commodity portfolio; lead cost-down initiatives with annual savings targets tied to product cost roadmap milestones and working capital improvement goals
Negotiate contracts from R&D quick-turn through long-term volume agreements; own supplier risk assessments, SPOF mitigation planning, and business continuity for critical commodities