Procurement Manager

Solcoa Industries•San Francisco, CA

6d•$100,000 - $145,000•Onsite

About The Position

Solcoa is developing a process to convert rare earth oxides into high-purity metals and is scaling toward thousands of tonnes of annual production. The Procurement Manager owns purchasing for the company’s development work, equipment builds, and plant operations. Working closely with engineering, research, and operations, this hands-on role ensures that equipment, materials, and services are delivered on time, to specification, and at the right cost. The role also builds supplier relationships and purchasing systems to support the company as it scales. The position is full-time and on-site in Alameda, California. Compensation includes a competitive base salary and generous stock options. Solcoa offers comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, as well as company-provided lunch daily. Visa sponsorship is available if needed.

Requirements

At least 2 years of procurement, purchasing, or supply chain experience in manufacturing, industrial equipment, chemicals, metals, or a related technical environment.
Experience sourcing custom parts or capital equipment as well as materials and consumables needed to operate a facility.
Ability to work with engineering drawings, bills of materials, and technical specifications, and clarify requirements with engineers and suppliers.
Strong commercial judgment and a track record of negotiating favorable terms while protecting quality and delivery.
Strong organization and follow-through to manage multiple orders, changing priorities, and urgent sourcing needs.
Hands-on experience with purchasing or ERP systems and spreadsheets; comfort building processes in a fast-paced startup.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting a pilot plant, new facility buildout, or manufacturing scale-up.
Familiarity with high-temperature equipment, vacuum systems, refractory materials, specialty metals, or chemical feedstocks.
Experience with domestic and international sourcing, freight coordination, and import documentation.
Experience establishing a procurement function or improving purchasing and inventory systems at an early-stage company.

Responsibilities

Own purchasing from request through delivery for process equipment, custom fabricated parts, raw materials, consumables, spare parts, and outside services.
Work with engineering, research, and operations to translate drawings, bills of materials, and production plans into sourcing requirements and purchasing schedules.
Find, qualify, and develop suppliers; run requests for quotations, compare technical and commercial proposals, and negotiate pricing, payment terms, lead times, and warranties.
Monitor open orders and long-lead items, follow up with suppliers, resolve delays, and coordinate freight and receiving.
Develop reliable sources for critical materials and components, including alternate suppliers where single-source dependencies pose risks to cost, quality, or delivery.
Work with technical teams to resolve supplier quality issues, substitutions, and nonconforming deliveries; maintain specifications, certificates, and purchasing records.
Establish purchasing processes, approval workflows, and supplier records; make purchase orders, delivery dates, inventory needs, and spend visible to the team.
Track supplier performance and total landed cost, and identify savings and standardization opportunities.