Strategic Sourcing Manager

Intuitive Machines • Palo Alto, CA

1d • $123,000 - $236,000 • Remote

About The Position

Intuitive Machines – West is seeking a Strategic Sourcing Manager to build and manage a supply chain that can support both high-volume, cost-efficient, schedule-driven commercial production and traditional low-volume, high-reliability government and legacy space programs. The role is based in Palo Alto, California, or Houston, Texas, with remote work considered.

The position leads procurement and supplier partnerships, adapting sourcing strategies to each program’s cost, schedule, and risk profile. It combines scaling repeatable supply chains for serial spacecraft production with sourcing custom, mission-specific hardware that requires extended qualification, traceability, and mission assurance. The manager works closely with business development, contracts, program management, engineering, quality, and other functions to translate customer requirements into procurement strategies and support effective design decisions.

The role requires familiarity with the space industry and satellite systems, sound judgment in balancing traditional risk-averse sourcing with approaches that address cost and schedule challenges, and the ability to operate across compliance-heavy and fast-moving environments. Travel of up to 20% and communication outside standard work hours may be required.

The position offers professional development opportunities, including dedicated development time, conference attendance, industry training, peer collaboration, paid certifications, and education reimbursement. It is incentive eligible. The posting provides annual base-pay ranges by location: $123,000–$205,000 in Colorado, New Jersey, and Delaware; $135,000–$225,000 in the Washington, DC metropolitan area; and $142,000–$236,000 in California. Other locations have market-driven ranges.

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
• Bachelor’s degree in business, engineering, supply chain, or a related field; four additional years of related experience may substitute for the degree.
• At least 8 years of experience sourcing from a global supply base using varied contractual models, including development, supply, licensing, and service agreements.
• At least 2 years of functional lead, supervisory, or management experience, or equivalent experience leading multifunctional or cross-functional teams.
• Proven success working on cross-functional new product introduction (NPI) projects.
• Technical knowledge of high-volume manufacturing products and industry practices.
• Ability to travel up to 20% and communicate outside standard work hours as needed.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a changing environment and adapt across projects, including high-volume and traditional low-volume programs.
• Solid understanding of the space industry’s evolution and general technical familiarity with satellite systems and subsystems.
• Judgment to apply traditional, risk-averse sourcing practices where appropriate and challenge legacy approaches to address cost and schedule problems.
• Comfort working across structured, compliance-heavy sourcing and fast-moving, scale-focused sourcing.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills.

Nice To Haves

• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.
• Government procurement experience.
• Lean Six Sigma process improvement experience.
• Space products procurement and supply chain experience.
• Industrialization experience in the automotive industry.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders, including suppliers, engineering, legal, finance, manufacturing, and logistics.
• Detail-oriented, self-motivated, and able to respond quickly in a fast-moving, changing environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead procurement and supplier partnership initiatives, tailoring sourcing strategy to each program’s risk, cost, and schedule profile.
• Analyze suppliers to identify new and existing sources, optimize cost structures, and ensure continuity of supply.
• Lead cross-functional assessment of supplier technical capability, industrial capacity, and quality systems to determine suitability for high-rate production or low-volume, high-reliability work.
• Drive continuous improvement to address supplier quality, cost, delivery, lead time, and risk compliance.
• Build relationships with business development, contracts, program management, engineering, and quality stakeholders to translate customer requirements into procurement strategies.
• Partner with engineering on design decisions that support efficient and resilient supply plans, including design for manufacturability at scale or mission assurance for one-off builds.
• Architect and scale a repeatable, agile supply chain for serial production of spacecraft and subsystems.
• Qualify suppliers for industrial-scale output while managing cost-down roadmaps and lead-time compression.
• Manage sourcing for custom, mission-specific hardware with extended qualification and traceability requirements.
• Navigate government contracting requirements, including FAR/DFARS flow-downs, and long-lead procurement cycles.

Benefits

• Paid time off.
• Health and welfare insurance.
• 401(k).
• Dedicated time for professional development.
• Conference attendance, industry training, and peer group collaboration.
• Paid certifications.
• Education reimbursement.
• Incentive-eligible compensation, with a target based on contribution, company performance, and/or individual results.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager