Senior Staff Commodity Manager, Electrical Strategic Design Sourcing

Mainspring Energy•Menlo Park, CA

5d•Remote

About The Position

Mainspring Energy is revolutionizing power generation with the world’s most flexible and adaptable local power generation technology, the Mainspring Linear Generator. Commercial, industrial, and utility leaders are choosing Mainspring over traditional options like engines, turbines, and fuel cells to quickly and reliably deliver local power for EV charging, commercial facilities, data centers, and grid-scale operations. The Mainspring Linear Generator is fuel flexible, ramps up and down to meet demand, and utilizes a flameless reaction with near-zero NOx emissions. Backed by top-tier investors including Khosla Ventures, Bill Gates, American Electric Power, Lightrock, and General Catalyst Mainspring designs, manufactures and delivers its products to customers across the U.S. today, and we’re quickly scaling for international expansion. Inspired by our vision of the affordable, reliable, net-zero carbon grid, Mainspring is rapidly expanding within the $816B global electricity equipment market, and we’re hiring the best talent to meet growing customer demand around the globe. We welcome a broad range of backgrounds, experiences, and talents to bring fresh perspectives and ongoing innovation to our customers. We are looking to build relationships with people who share our values: Pragmatic Optimism. Building a new category of world-class power generation requires the optimism of ambition and creativity, balanced with practicality to solve problems efficiently. The challenges that arise are opportunities for growth. Excellence without Ego. We bring expertise and commitment to creating the best customer experience, from sales to deployment and service, just as we apply deep technical rigor to building and delivering world-class products. We strive for excellence and behave as leaders with the humility to acknowledge our challenges, both collectively and as individual contributors. Proactive Collaboration. The integration and cross-disciplinary nature of Mainspring’s business requires intentionally seeking out others who bring different skills, perspectives, and priorities. Our culture of inclusion and respect extends beyond our team to interactions with our partners and customers. More information can be found at www.mainspringenergy.com Job Overview We are seeking a Senior Staff Commodity Manager to lead a high-velocity, cross-functional sourcing function focused on electrical and power electronics systems. This role sits at the intersection of R&D engineering and strategic sourcing, supporting Mainspring's next-generation product platform. You will lead fast-turnaround sourcing for electrical components, PCBAs, and electromechanical assemblies to enable rapid product iteration; stand up a production-ready supply chain for new product architectures, including contract manufacturer selection, power conversion equipment, and component risk management; and develop compliant battery and battery management system (BMS) suppliers outside of FEOC (Foreign Entity of Concern) restricted countries. You will operate as the primary supply chain interface to engineering on fast-moving programs, requiring technical depth, supplier agility, and the ability to navigate regulatory and geopolitical supply chain constraints.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree or higher in Electrical Engineering, Supply Chain, or equivalent technical discipline.
18+ years of combined experience across electrical engineering, operations, and supply chain roles, with hands-on involvement in sourcing, BOM optimization, and supplier management for electrical and electronics commodities.
Experience supporting R&D and new product introduction required.
Deep technical knowledge of power electronics, industrial electrical components, PCBAs (SMT/through-hole/mixed), connectors, cable assemblies, and battery/energy storage systems.
Hands-on circuit design, power supply design, or PCBA layout experience is a strong plus.
Experience evaluating and onboarding contract manufacturers for electromechanical assemblies.
Experience managing global manufacturing partners, negotiating contracts, and optimizing bills of materials for cost, quality, lead time, and regulatory compliance.
Comfort operating in fast-paced R&D environments with shifting requirements and close engineering collaboration.
Ability to navigate compliance-driven sourcing environments, including familiarity with regulatory frameworks such as FEOC, IRA/ITC, USMCA, or UL/IEC certification.
Strong negotiation, supplier qualification, and analytical skills.
Willingness to travel up to 40% (domestic US and Mexico; occasional international).

Nice To Haves

Experience in energy storage, battery, or distributed power generation.
Working knowledge of IRA battery sourcing requirements and FEOC country-of-origin tracing.
Familiarity with UL 9540, UL 1973, UL 508a, IEC 62619, or related safety certification frameworks.
Prior experience in a hardware startup or high-growth manufacturing environment.
Experience with US and Mexico manufacturing footprints (USMCA).

Responsibilities

Lead rapid-turnaround sourcing for R&D electrical builds: prototype PCBAs, connectors, cables, sensors, power distribution components, and electromechanical box assemblies.
Identify, evaluate, and onboard new contract manufacturers for electrical assemblies with US and Mexico manufacturing presence (USMCA-compliant).
Own the sourcing strategy for Mainspring’s AC-to-DC product transition, including BOM-level lead time analysis, risk buy decisions, and production readiness accountability.
Source and evaluate power conversion equipment (inverters, transformers, skidded systems) across multiple suppliers to reduce single-source risk.
Develop and execute a multi-path battery and BMS sourcing strategy compliant with FEOC and IRA (Inflation Reduction Act) requirements, evaluating multiple chemistries and form factors from non-restricted geographies.
Qualify non-FEOC BMS design partners and battery cell/pack suppliers, managing the full cycle from NDA through spec distribution, quote evaluation, and development contract negotiation.
Collaborate with Engineering on DFM reviews, connector and material strategy, corrosion protection solutions, and cable redesign opportunities.
Drive supplier selection committee processes, presenting sourcing recommendations to leadership with clear trade-offs on cost, risk, and schedule.
Negotiate pricing and contracts from R&D quick-turn purchases through long-term volume agreements.
Monitor FEOC, IRA/ITC, USMCA, and tariff developments to proactively adjust sourcing strategies.