Global Supply Chain Director

Protolabs•Maple Plain, MN

12d•$159,700 - $182,500•Hybrid

About The Position

The Protolabs Network Global Supply Chain Director will lead the growth and performance of our global manufacturing partner ecosystem, shaping the future of how we deliver for customers worldwide. This strategic leadership role owns partner network expansion, supplier strategy, operational excellence, capacity planning, and cost optimization across key global regions. As a critical driver of Protolabs' growth strategy, you will define and execute our Network fulfillment vision, ensuring scalable capabilities, world-class partner performance, and a competitive global supply chain. This role leads a team of 16 supply chain professionals across the U.S., Europe, India, and China, including three Regional Supply Chain Managers responsible for supplier strategy, partner development, and operational performance within their regions.

Requirements

A Bachelor’s degree in supply chain, engineering, Business, or a related field.
12+ years’ experience of progressive roles within Supply Chain Management, Supplier Development. Operations Management, especially within a Network-based fulfillment model.
5+ years of management experience leading teams and cross-functional initiatives.
Proven track record of building and developing international supply chains, specifically across all Asia regions, Mexico, as well as domestically in the United States or Europe.
Demonstrated experience in leading and managing supply teams, with a solid track record of improving supplier performance, team performance and supporting organizational growth.
Expertise in developing and nurturing strategic relationships with key manufacturing partners, ensuring strong collaboration and partnership growth.
Hands-on experience in strategically planning supply networks, including developing capacity and capabilities to meet commercial and pricing demands.
Ability to innovate and implement strategic solutions to complex supply chain and logistics challenges specific to the network model.
Technical experience with core manufacturing technologies: CNC Machining, Injection Molding, and 3D Printing.
A deep understanding of the manufacturing industry's technological advancements, materials, and post-processing options.
Ability to identify and implement best practices for manufacturing consistency and improvement of network performance.
Ability to lead through change and drive transformation initiatives within the supply chain to meet evolving business needs and support multiple priorities.
Negotiation expertise to manage and strengthen partnerships with key manufacturing partners

Nice To Haves

Certifications such as APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) or Six Sigma Black Belt.
Proven experience working within a network business model, particularly in a manufacturing context.
Understanding platform dynamics, including multi-sided markets and how to leverage network effects for pricing and capacity balancing.
Experience with data analytics tools and software to monitor and predict supply chain trends.

Responsibilities

Strategically plans our global partner network in line with commercial needs and pricing demands.
Identify and mitigate potential risk or disruptions to the regional supply chains, including consideration of supply allocation and dependency on key partners.
Drive a disciplined partner evaluation and onboarding process, ensuring new partners can reliably deliver to Protolabs quality, lead time, and cost expectations.
Build demand forecasting and capacity planning capabilities that enable proactive management of partner utilization and prevent delivery failures.
Build and manage a pipeline of prospective manufacturing partners to proactively fill capacity and capability gaps before they impact customer outcomes.
Monitor regional ecosystems, including material providers and secondary vendors, to help ensure seamless delivery and maximize our customer offer.
Establish and maintain a comprehensive supplier performance management framework with clear KPIs for quality, on-time delivery, responsiveness, and customer satisfaction.
Conduct supplier evaluations to monitor regional network performance including on-time shipping, quality metrics, and key platform metrics.
Establish policies processes that ensure robust guidelines and controls. Implement areas of improvement to manage our supplier relationships in the most scalable, efficient way possible.
Develop strategic relationships with our most important Manufacturing Partners in all regions to ensure high engagement and retention. Ensure that suppliers' needs, which are critical to the business, are acknowledged and addressed.
Develop and maintain supply chain resilience strategies, including geographic diversification and contingency routing protocols.
Partner with Global Product Manager to support new capabilities. As needed, develop supply capacity for new capabilities, such as material or technologies and post-processing options, to expand our regional offering and meet customer demands.
Contribute to the combined offering roadmap, with our Manufacturing Partners and our Protolabs Factory stakeholders.
Build a high-performing team, aligning our regional staffing and skills with overall business objectives and growth plans.
Lead team initiatives and unify efforts across regions. Monitors team performance and manages talent to ensure high engagement, individual development, and career progression.
Ensure stakeholder alignment as a member of our overall Network Operations team. This role will partner closely with our Product Management, Sourcing, Partner Operations, Logistics, and Quality teams to drive initiatives and optimize our KPI scorecard.