Manager, Operations Engineering - Supply Chain

Apptronik•Austin, TX

About The Position

The Operations Engineering Manager, Supply Chain, leads supply chain readiness, Approved Vendor List (AVL) governance, supply chain risk management, and configuration management for Apptronik’s humanoid robot platform. The role connects product development with supplier and manufacturing execution, ensuring builds have qualified sources, accurate product data, and materials that meet program cost, quality, and schedule requirements. This is a hands-on leadership position that manages the operations engineering team and drives execution from prototype builds through production ramp in partnership with Engineering, Strategic Sourcing, Procurement, Supplier Quality, and Manufacturing. The manager owns supply chain readiness planning for prototype, validation, pilot, and production builds; leads procurement- and build-readiness assessments; supports early supplier involvement and design for manufacturability; and manages material readiness, shortages, long-lead items, risk buys, and the transition to sustaining production. The role also governs AVL data and supplier qualification, develops and drives supply chain risk mitigations, and maintains configuration controls and baselines across product lifecycle management (PLM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. It coordinates engineering changes and their supply, cost, schedule, qualification, inventory, and implementation impacts while Engineering retains technical design approval. The manager leads and develops the operations engineering team, runs readiness, risk, and change reviews, and improves workflows, data quality, reporting, and automation.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Manufacturing, or Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain Management, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
Seven or more years of relevant experience in operations engineering, NPI supply chain, supplier development, configuration management, or related hardware manufacturing roles.
Two or more years of direct people management experience, with demonstrated leadership of cross-functional NPI programs.
Demonstrated success taking complex electromechanical products from development into production, with direct responsibility for supply chain or supplier readiness.
Working knowledge of relevant commodities such as precision machined parts, gears and actuators, motors, PCBAs, sensors, cable harnesses, and battery or power systems.
Hands-on experience with BOM management, AVL governance, supplier qualification, engineering changes, and configuration control in PLM and ERP systems.
Ability to interpret engineering drawings, specifications, and manufacturing requirements and translate them into supplier and procurement readiness actions.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to quantify cost, schedule, inventory, and supply continuity tradeoffs.
Effective people leadership and cross-functional communication, with a record of resolving technical and supply issues and driving decisions in a rapidly changing development environment.

Nice To Haves

Experience in humanoid robotics, industrial robotics, automotive, aerospace, or other complex electromechanical product environments.
Experience with Siemens Teamcenter or comparable PLM platforms and integration of product data with ERP and manufacturing systems.
Experience with supplier industrialization, production ramp, and structured qualification methods such as APQP, PPAP, or FMEA.

Responsibilities

Own integrated supply chain readiness plans for prototype, validation, pilot, and production builds, aligning supplier qualification, tooling, capacity, and material delivery with program milestones.
Lead Procurement Ready and Build Ready assessments by subassembly, verifying released BOMs, drawings, specifications, approved sources, lead times, material availability, and documented exceptions.
Drive early supplier involvement and design for manufacturability with Engineering and Strategic Sourcing, incorporating cost, lead time, supplier capability, and scalability into design reviews.
Maintain BOM-level material readiness, track shortages and long-lead items, and drive recovery actions with clear owners and committed dates.
Coordinate approved risk buys with Procurement and manage the transition to sustaining production, documenting sourcing, capacity, configuration baselines, and remaining risks.
Own AVL processes and data integrity, including part-to-manufacturer and vendor relationships, approved manufacturing sites, qualification status, and sourcing restrictions.
Coordinate supplier and component qualification and record required approvals before sources are released for purchasing.
Drive qualification of alternate and second sources for critical parts; control supplier additions, changes, suspensions, and removals and keep purchasing systems aligned with approved sourcing decisions.
Own the platform supply chain risk register and assess risks including single-source exposure, geographic concentration, supplier financial health, capacity, lead times, tooling dependencies, obsolescence, counterfeit exposure, and business continuity.
Drive supply chain risk mitigation plans, escalate residual risks and decisions, maintain country-of-origin and supplier traceability data, and partner with Legal, Compliance, and Product Security on applicable requirements.
Own configuration control processes for part numbering, BOM structures, revision levels, release status, and lifecycle data across PLM and ERP systems.
Align engineering and manufacturing BOMs, drawings, specifications, approved sources, and material master data with Engineering and Manufacturing; maintain controlled configuration baselines for each build.
Coordinate engineering change requests and orders through cross-functional review, documenting cost, supply, schedule, qualification, and inventory disposition impacts while Engineering retains technical design approval.
Control change effectivity across purchase orders, supplier work in process, inventory, and build lots; ensure suppliers acknowledge revisions and approved deviations or substitutions before implementation.
Maintain configuration history and reconcile as-built records with released configurations, including serial and lot traceability and approved deviations, working with Manufacturing and Quality.
Lead, coach, and develop the operations engineering team; set priorities, allocate resources, and hold owners accountable for deliverables and issue resolution.
Run regular readiness, risk, and change reviews, providing leadership with status, recovery plans, and decisions needed to protect program milestones.
Standardize workflows, improve PLM and ERP data quality, reporting, and automation, and define handoff and decision responsibilities across Engineering, Sourcing, Procurement, Supplier Quality, and Manufacturing.