Head of Global Strategic Sourcing

Zipline • South San Francisco, CA

8d • Onsite

About The Position

Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced drone delivery service, aiming to serve all humans equally by ensuring access to food, medicine, and essential goods anytime, anywhere. They operate the world’s largest autonomous logistics system, making deliveries globally. The company is seeking practical problem solvers who thrive on real-world challenges and rapid growth, motivated by building systems with a meaningful impact.

This role is for an individual who can architect and lead the global sourcing strategy for a leading robotics company, building world-class supplier ecosystems to support revolutionary products, rapid manufacturing scale, and global expansion. The Head of Global Strategic Sourcing will lead Zipline’s worldwide Strategic Sourcing organization and be accountable for the commercial success of its direct supply base. This includes defining and executing sourcing strategies for all production components, managing supplier selection, negotiations, supply agreements, cost competitiveness, delivery performance, supplier development, and risk mitigation. It requires close partnership with various departments including Engineering, Operations, Manufacturing, Finance, Legal, Product, and Executive Leadership. Success depends on balancing technical innovation, commercial excellence, and operational execution while building a scalable organization.

Requirements

• 15+ years of progressive experience in Strategic Sourcing, Supply Chain, Global Procurement, Commodity Management, or Supply Chain Leadership within aerospace, robotics, automotive, advanced manufacturing, semiconductor, or other high-technology industries.
• Significant experience building and leading high-performing global sourcing organizations responsible for multiple commodities, global supply chain execution, and high-complexity commercial dealmaking.
• Demonstrated success developing enterprise sourcing strategies that support rapid product development, manufacturing scale, and global operations.
• Proven executive-level negotiation experience involving complex global supply agreements, strategic partnerships, long-term commercial contracts, and multi-year supplier relationships.
• Extensive experience leading supplier strategy across complex global manufacturing environments with demanding technical, quality, and operational requirements.
• Strong understanding of global manufacturing, supply chain economics, contract law, supplier risk management, capacity planning, and cost optimization.
• Demonstrated ability to influence executive leadership while partnering effectively across Engineering, Operations, Finance, Legal, Product Management, and Manufacturing.
• Track record of building organizational capability through leadership development, coaching, succession planning, and operational excellence.
• Strong analytical capabilities including total cost modeling, should-cost analysis, executive business reviews, market intelligence, and long-range sourcing strategy.
• Exceptional communication, executive presence, and decision-making skills with the ability to lead through ambiguity and rapidly changing business priorities.

Nice To Haves

• Experience leading Strategic Sourcing organizations supporting highly-engineered, complex products at huge production volumes.
• Background scaling supply chains for disruptive hardware companies from new product introduction through global production.
• Experience managing an international supply base across North America, Europe, and Asia.
• Demonstrated success negotiating transformational commercial agreements resulting in significant cost savings, improved supply resiliency, and long-term strategic advantage.
• Experience with aerospace, aviation, robotics, autonomous systems, medical devices, or other highly regulated manufacturing environments.
• MBA or advanced degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Business, or related discipline.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing technologies including precision machining, composites, electronics, batteries, motors, PCBAs, and advanced materials.
• Experience leading organizational transformation and building scalable sourcing processes, systems, and operational metrics.
• Experience leading large, high-performing organizations, including both individual contributors as well as “managers of managers”

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and execution of Zipline’s global sourcing strategy across all direct materials and strategic supplier relationships while building and scaling a best-in-class Strategic Sourcing organization.
• Develop and own Zipline’s end-to-end global sourcing strategy across all commodities, technologies, and production programs to support current operations and future product roadmaps.
• Lead, mentor, and develop the Global Supply Management organization, including Commodity Leads and Global Supply Managers, establishing high-performance operating mechanisms, career development, and organizational capability.
• Own executive relationships with Zipline’s most strategic global suppliers, serving as the primary commercial escalation point for critical business issues, executive negotiations, and strategic partnerships.
• Establish sourcing strategies that optimize cost, quality, delivery, capacity, resiliency, innovation, and long-term competitive advantage across the entire supply base.
• Lead negotiation of complex, high-value global supply agreements, long-term pricing strategies, capacity reservations, intellectual property protections, and strategic commercial partnerships.
• Build sourcing governance processes that ensure disciplined supplier selection, competitive bidding, should-cost analysis, contract management, and executive sourcing reviews.
• Partner closely with Engineering, Supplier Industrialization, Manufacturing, Planning, Quality, Finance, and Legal to ensure sourcing strategies enable aggressive product development timelines and production scaling.
• Drive enterprise-wide supplier performance through executive business reviews, scorecards, performance management, supplier development initiatives, and continuous improvement programs.
• Develop comprehensive supply risk management strategies including geographic diversification, dual sourcing, capacity planning, business continuity, geopolitical risk mitigation, and supplier financial health monitoring.
• Identify opportunities for vertical integration, strategic partnerships, technology investments, and supply chain transformation initiatives that strengthen Zipline’s long-term competitive position.
• Build executive reporting and sourcing metrics that provide visibility into cost performance, supplier health, delivery execution, sourcing pipeline, contractual obligations, and strategic initiatives.
• Represent Supply Chain leadership in executive reviews, product planning, manufacturing strategy discussions, and long-range business planning.
• Foster a culture of ownership, accountability, operational excellence, and first-principles thinking throughout the Strategic Sourcing organization.

Benefits

• Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws or our own sensibilities.
• We value diversity at Zipline and welcome applications from those who are traditionally underrepresented in tech. If you like the sound of this position but are not sure if you are the perfect fit, please apply!

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior