Global Supply Manager

About Zipline

Zipline is the world's largest and most experienced drone delivery service. We are on a mission to serve all humans equally by ensuring access to food, medicine and essential goods anytime, anywhere. We design, build, and operate the world's largest autonomous logistics system, delivering critical supplies quickly and reliably. Today, Zipline operates on four continents, makes a delivery somewhere in the world every 30 seconds, and has completed millions of deliveries to date, including blood, vaccines, medical supplies, food, and retail products.

Our customers include the world's largest and most prominent healthcare systems, governments, retailers, restaurants and global businesses who rely on us to save lives, reduce emissions, increase economic opportunity, and provide delivery from point A to point B as fast as possible. The drone is only 15% of what we've built to enable seamless, reliable, global operations.

Our system strengthens supply chains, reduces congestion, and gives people time back. With more than 140 million commercial autonomous miles safely flown, Zipline is redefining access to healthcare, consumer products, and food across the globe.

We operate at a global scale and are looking for practical problem solvers who thrive on real-world challenges and rapid growth. Our team is motivated by building systems that have a direct, meaningful impact on people's lives and by scaling the future of logistics. We are seeking people who sculpt from first principles, enjoy facing adversity, and can do the impossible at record breaking speeds.

We're hiring a Global Supply Manager to own end-to-end commodity strategy and supplier performance for mission-critical hardware that enables Zipline's autonomous aircraft and global delivery operations. You will operate at the intersection of manufacturing ramp execution, product engineering, and global sourcing—delivering reliable, scalable supply for systems where component failure or late deliveries directly impact flight operations and customer outcomes. This is an in-person role based at our HQ in South San Francisco with regular on-site supplier engagements and 20–30% travel to supplier sites across North America, Asia, and Europe.

• Own one or more critical commodity/category portfolios (examples: avionics/electronics assemblies, motors/actuators, battery packs, composite airframe structures, or machined flight-critical components) end-to-end: sourcing strategy, supplier selection, contract terms, qualification, ramp to volume, and long-term supplier development.
• Set and deliver measurable targets within your portfolio: first-year goals for cost reduction (%), supplier on-time delivery (OTD) improvement points, quality reduction targets (PPM), qualification cycle-time, and ramp throughput milestones. Own missed-target escalation and recovery plans.
• Lead competitive source selection and negotiations for multi-year, multi-million-dollar supply agreements, including pricing, capacity commitments, lead-time guarantees, penalties, and IP/technical data rights where applicable.
• Manage supplier qualification and performance: drive PPAP/qualification plans, scorecards, QBRs, corrective action plans, and on-site audits to hold suppliers to AS9100/ISO
  9001 quality and traceability expectations when required.
• Integrate with Engineering, Supplier Industrialization, Manufacturing Operations, Materials Planning, and Program Management to translate design and production requirements into supplier deliverables, readiness gates, and acceptance criteria; be the primary commercial and operational owner during design-to-production transitions.
• Architect and execute risk mitigation strategies (dual sourcing, inventory buffers, localization, vertical integration assessments) and manage supply disruption responses, including cross-functional incident leadership and supplier recovery execution.
• Drive supplier cost-down and value-engineering initiatives with quantifiable savings and tactical roadmaps tied to production volume forecasts and BOM changes.
• Own supplier disputes, claims, and contractual compliance; negotiate settlements and corrective remedies to protect Zipline's operational continuity.

• 5+ years of hands-on sourcing, commodity management, or supplier leadership experience supporting high-reliability hardware production (aerospace, defense, robotics, automotive, or medtech). Senior candidates with deeper scale should map experience to specific commodities named above.
• Proven track record negotiating and managing multi-million-dollar supplier contracts and delivering quantifiable outcomes (e.g., % cost savings, OTD improvement, PPM reduction, ramp throughput achieved). Provide concrete examples in your application.
• Deep technical familiarity with at least one critical commodity area (electronics assemblies, motors/actuators, batteries, composites, precision machining) and the associated supplier ecosystem and…