Global Supply Manager - Special Projects

The Global Supply Manager – Special Projects will be responsible for managing global supplier relationships, executing sourcing initiatives, and ensuring the supply of mission-critical components for special projects and programs.

This role requires deep collaboration with Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Program Management, and Finance to support an aggressive product development and production ramp roadmap. The GSM operates with considerable independent judgment, executing sourcing and supplier strategies aligned to departmental objectives, while ensuring that commercial decisions support engineering performance, total cost of ownership, and program timing. This individual will play a critical role in building a scalable procurement function that supports the company’s rapid growth and global expansion. The successful candidate will be both a strategic thought partner to functional leaders and a hands-on operator capable of driving sourcing initiatives, optimizing spend, and developing supplier partnerships that align with Divergent’s long-term objectives.

• Develop sourcing strategies for assigned categories, including:
    ○ Components: Gas fluid handling and pneumatics, electrical and mechanical assemblies, motors, bearings, valves, COTS, etc.
    ○ Material processing: machining, grinding, coatings, non-destructive testing (Visual, Ultrasonic, Radiographic), etc.
    ○ Indirect: facility equipment, services, consumables, MRO
• Analyze global supply markets to identify capable suppliers for performance, cost, scalability, and risk
• Lead supplier selection process from RFx through sourcing award, including should-cost analysis, total landed cost modeling, and commercial/technical tradeoff recommendations
• Define and improve sourcing SOPs for assigned categories in partnership with Purchasing leadership
• May support development of multi-year commodity strategy and supplier roadmap for assigned categories (S5)
• Serve as category subject matter expert, advising cross-functional partners on supply market dynamics and risk exposure (S5)

• Act as the sourcing lead for internal product development, supporting program platform milestones (concept through SOP)
• Translate project BOMs and schedules into actionable procurement plans across prototype, pilot, and production phases
• Support engineering in managing design iterations with suppliers and ensuring manufacturability and scalability
  Track and manage part readiness for critical build events
• Independently identify supply risks and implement mitigation plans to protect program timing
• Lead complex cross-functional readiness reviews for high-visibility build events (S5)

• Serve as the primary commercial interface for global suppliers; ensure accountability across pricing, lead time, quality, and risk
• Drive supplier development and qualification processes in collaboration with Quality and Engineering teams
• Work with suppliers on value engineering, lead time optimization, capacity ramp, and risk mitigation
• Manage long-lead items, sole-source suppliers, and supplier tooling with high rigor
• Lead structured supplier performance reviews and corrective action follow-up
• Influence executive-level supplier discussions related to capacity, long-term agreements, or strategic partnerships (S5)

• Build and maintain cost models for key components based on process knowledge, materials, labor, and margin benchmarks
• Conduct cost reduction initiatives, VA/VE sessions, and alternate source qualification efforts
• Lead negotiations on pricing, payment terms, tooling amortization, and IP protection
• Track actual vs. forecasted material costs; report on sourcing variances and mitigation plans
• Lead complex negotiations involving long-term agreements or capacity reservations with limited oversight (S5)
• Provide strategic cost modeling insights to support product-level or commodity-level margin improvement initiatives (S5)

• Partner with:
    ○ Hardware & Product Engineering: Support design-for-supply, technical feasibility reviews, and change management
    ○ Manufacturing & Integration: Align sourcing with line build sequencing and materials flow
    ○ Hardware Program Managers: Communicate part status against schedule, mitigate delivery risk
    ○ Finance: Ensure procurement budgets and capital forecasts are aligned and reconciled
    ○ Legal: Support supplier contract development, including MSAs, NDAs, and licensing/IP terms
• Act as a resource to peers and junior team members on sourcing best practices
• May inform cross-functional sourcing strategy discussions at the product or platform level (S5)

• Ability to lawfully access information and technology that is subject to US export controls 
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Business, or related technical field; advanced technical degree or MBA is a plus
• 4+ years of experience in procurement, strategic sourcing, or supply chain management in high-tech hardware environments (capital equipment, automotive, aerospace, robotics, additive manufacturing)
• Demonstrated experience managing technically complex, high-value component categories (e.g., motion systems, optics, sensors, high-precision mechanicals)
• Proven success managing suppliers through NPI, rapid development, and low-to-mid volume production
• Strong contract negotiation skills and experience with long-lead procurement strategies, tooling agreements, and commercial risk mitigation
• ERP and PLM fluency (e.g., NetSuite, SAP, Arena, Windchill)
• Data fluency—able to synthesize and report supply KPIs, BOM cost trends, and supplier performance metrics
• Demonstrated ability to operate with significant autonomy and influence decisions within and between teams (S5)

• Experience sourcing in highly regulated environments (ISO 9001, AS9100, IATF 16949)
• Familiarity with additive manufacturing, aerospace product development, industrial automation, or digital fabrication
• Technical ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, CAD models, BOMs, and material/process specs
• International sourcing experience and cross-border logistics exposure
• Recognized internally as an advanced individual contributor or category expert within a defined technical domain (S5)

• This position is based onsite in our Torrance, CA office.