Supply Growth Manager - Calico

About Calico AI

Calico AI is transforming how consumer brands bring products to life — we are the agentic AI copilot for sourcing, production, and global supply-chain orchestration.

Calico serves as the intelligence layer for global manufacturing, automating design-to-delivery decisions for leading apparel and accessories brands. Our multi-agent system connects brands with a vetted network of factories across Vietnam, Mexico, Turkey, India, China, and beyond — optimizing for speed, cost, compliance, and reliability.

We’re building the world’s most dynamic AI-powered supply engine, and our supplier network is the backbone of it. This role is directly responsible for growing, diversifying, and strengthening that backbone across continents and product categories.

Calico AI is seeking a Supply Growth Manager to lead global capacity planning and supplier acquisition across Asia, South America, and emerging markets.

This is a high-impact, externally-facing role — ideal for someone who is part diplomat, part strategist, and part operator. You’ll identify new factories, evaluate their capabilities, negotiate partnerships, and ensure Calico has the right capacity in the right regions to support our rapidly growing customer base.

You’ll work closely with the COO, Supply Operations, Commercial, and Product teams to expand and strengthen Calico’s supplier network using data-driven insights, strong cross-cultural communication, and deep industry knowledge.

Global Capacity Strategy & Expansion

• Build and own Calico’s long-range capacity plan aligned with brand demand forecasts, category expansion, and regional diversification goals.
• Identify gaps in current capacity — by category, region, compliance requirement, or price point — and develop plans to close them.
• Develop and maintain a forward-looking view of global supply hotspots (e.g., rising manufacturing hubs, geopolitical shifts, cost changes).
• Recommend new markets and regions to explore based on performance data, risk indicators, and customer needs.

Supplier Acquisition & Onboarding

• Source, vet, and onboard new factories across Asia, South America, and other strategic regions.
• Conduct capability assessments covering quality, capacity, compliance, costing, engineering sophistication, and production specialty.
• Negotiate commercial terms, MOQs, costing frameworks, timelines, and partnership agreements.
• Build strong early-stage partnerships with factories and ensure seamless handoff into Calico’s internal operating systems.

Cross-Cultural Relationship Management

• Serve as Calico’s primary relationship-builder with new factory partners, adapting communication styles to different cultures and business norms.
• Build trust‑based relationships with senior factory leadership (owners, GMs, production heads) to secure strategic commitmentsli>
• Leverage multilingual communication where possible to strengthen rapport, reduce friction, and accelerate onboarding.

Market Intelligence & Opportunity Analysis

• Monitor global supply market trends, wage shifts, raw material availability, and category-specific innovations.
• Identify emerging suppliers or niche capabilities that can unlock new opportunities for Calico (e.g., performance fabric mills, specialized outerwear factories, artisanal workshops).
• Maintain a structured view of competitors, pricing landscapes, and regional regulations.

Operational Integration & Alignment

• Partner with Product and Data teams to refine how new supplier data flows into Calico’s platform and AI agents.
• Work closely with Supply Operations to ensure new factories integrate smoothly into ongoing capacity, compliance, and performance frameworks.
• Collaborate with Commercial teams to match new supplier capabilities with brand opportunities
• Support customer-facing conversations when highlighting new capabilities or newly onboarded regions.

Travel & Field Engagement

• Represent Calico during on-site visits, audits, and relationship-building meetings across Asia and South America.
• Attend industry events, trade fairs, and conferences to expand Calico’s footprint and pipeline of new suppliers.

• 8–10 years of experience in apparel or…