Senior Procurement Associate

Serve Robotics•Los Angeles, CA

About The Position

At Serve Robotics, we’re reimagining how things move in cities. Our personable sidewalk robot is our vision for the future. It’s designed to take deliveries away from congested streets, make deliveries available to more people, and benefit local businesses. The Serve fleet has been delighting merchants, customers, and pedestrians along the way in Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Atlanta and Chicago while doing commercial deliveries. We’re looking for talented individuals who will grow robotic deliveries from surprising novelty to efficient ubiquity. Who We Are We are tech industry veterans in software, hardware, and design who are pooling our skills to build the future we want to live in. We are solving real-world problems leveraging robotics, machine learning and computer vision, among other disciplines, with a mindful eye towards the end-to-end user experience. Our team is agile, diverse, and driven. We believe that the best way to solve complicated dynamic problems is collaboratively and respectfully. JOB OVERVIEW The Senior Procurement Associate is responsible for driving financial and operational outcomes through strategic sourcing, vendor management, and contract governance. The role owns assigned spend categories end-to-end, with accountability for cost savings, cost avoidance, spend under management, contract compliance, and supplier risk mitigation. This position partners closely with Finance, Engineering, Operations, and Legal to ensure procurement decisions support company growth while maintaining strong cost controls, commercial discipline, and scalable processes.

Requirements

5-7 years of experience in procurement, strategic sourcing, or supply chain
Demonstrated ability to deliver measurable cost savings and cost avoidance
Strong financial and analytical skills, including cost modeling and business case development
Experience negotiating complex commercial agreements
Proven ability to influence stakeholders across functions

Nice To Haves

Experience in hardware, robotics, manufacturing, or technology-driven environments
Familiarity with ERP and procurement systems such as NetSuite, Coupa, SAP, or Ariba
Experience in a high-growth or scaling organization
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Supply Chain, Engineering, or related field; MBA a plus

Responsibilities

Own sourcing strategy for assigned categories, including delivery of annual cost savings and cost avoidance targets
Lead RFPs, RFQs, and supplier evaluations using total cost of ownership analysis and financial modeling
Deliver Finance-validated hard savings through pricing, scope, and commercial negotiations
Increase spend under management by transitioning ad hoc purchasing to preferred suppliers and formal contracts
Manage supplier relationships with ongoing tracking of pricing adherence, SLAs, on-time delivery, and quality
Maintain high contract compliance within managed categories and reduce off-contract spend
Reduce supplier concentration risk through vendor rationalization and dual sourcing where appropriate
Identify and mitigate supplier continuity, financial, and operational risks
Partner with Legal and Finance to structure, negotiate, and execute supplier contracts
Actively manage renewals, expirations, and pricing escalators to prevent value leakage
Negotiate payment terms that support cash flow and working capital objectives
Partner with Finance and FP&A on budgeting, forecasting, and variance analysis for procurement-managed spend
Quantify and report hard savings and cost avoidance using Finance-approved methodologies
Support audit and compliance requirements through strong documentation and policy adherence
Provide clear, data-driven procurement insights to leadership
Design and improve procurement processes that scale with company growth while maintaining controls
Improve requisition-to-PO and contract cycle times without compromising governance
Drive adoption of procurement systems to improve policy compliance, data quality, and reporting accuracy
Act as a strategic partner to Engineering, Operations, and other stakeholders on vendor strategy
Challenge requirements or vendor selections that are not cost-effective or scalable
Mentor junior team members as the procurement function grows