Head of Manufacturing Procurement and Purchasing

Foundational Industries

8d

About The Position

Foundational is building a network of AI-native, autonomous factories for modern contract manufacturing. We’re reshoring critical supply chains so companies can produce high‑quality products domestically, quickly, and at competitive cost.
Foundational exists to make reindustrialization practical. Our factories are autonomy-first, reconfigurable by design, and orchestrated by a unified, AI-native factory operating layer that connects design through production.
Recent breakthroughs in robotics and physical AI have shifted autonomous manufacturing from a theoretical promise to a deployable capability, triggering a global race to operationalize these systems at scale. The challenge is no longer whether autonomy works, but who can integrate AI-native robotics into real production environments.
The ability to manufacture advanced products domestically is now central to U.S. economic competitiveness and national security. Foundational is focused on deploying these capabilities at scale during a decisive decade for American industrial leadership.
We are hiring a Head of Manufacturing Procurement and Purchasing to build and lead Foundational’s procurement strategy across materials, components, and external manufacturing services. This role is responsible for establishing a resilient, cost-effective, and scalable supply base that supports autonomous factory operations and high-reliability customer programs.
This role requires both strategic leadership and hands-on execution. You will define procurement strategy while personally leading critical supplier engagements, negotiations, and escalation. Working closely with factory operations, engineering, quality, and finance, you will ensure sourcing decisions support production readiness, cost targets, and long-term scalability.

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in manufacturing procurement, supply chain leadership, or sourcing roles within contract manufacturing, industrial, aerospace/defense, energy, robotics, or other high-reliability environments.
• Proven experience building and managing complex supplier networks at scale, including cost negotiation, long-term agreements, daily purchasing, and risk mitigation.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing economics, lead times, capacity constraints, and quality systems.
• Demonstrated ability to operate cross-functionally with engineering, operations, quality, and finance to support production execution.
• Sound judgment under pressure, with experience managing supply disruptions, escalations, and tradeoffs in live production environments.
• A builder mindset: comfortable operating in ambiguity, creating structure, and driving outcomes in a fast-moving environment.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead Foundational’s manufacturing procurement strategy, aligned with autonomous factory deployment, capacity growth, and customer requirements.
• Build and manage a strategic supplier ecosystem across raw materials, components, assemblies, and specialized manufacturing services.
• Lead supplier selection, qualification, contracting, and performance management, with a focus on quality, reliability, and continuity of supply.
• Own commercial negotiations, cost structures, and long-term agreements to support competitive unit economics and scalable production and implement regular purchasing
• Partner with engineering and factory operations on design-for-supply, make/buy decisions, and supplier readiness for new product introductions.
• Establish procurement operating rhythms: forecasting, capacity planning, inventory strategy, risk management, and contingency planning.
• Work closely with quality teams to ensure suppliers meet regulatory, compliance, and customer-specific quality standards.
• Build procurement processes and systems that scale across a network of factories while maintaining speed and accountability.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed