Supplier Sourcing Engineer - Supply Chain
Full-Time
$110k - $171k/yr
Mid
Bachelor's
Oakland, CA, USA
In Person
Operations & LogisticsProcurement & Sourcing
About the job
Requirements
- A bachelor's degree in engineering or another technical field is required.
- At least 3 years of experience in sourcing engineering, supplier engagement and development, or design of electronics and/or mechanical devices is required.
- Domain expertise in value/procurement engineering or total-cost-of-ownership-related work at the component and product level is required.
- Ability to travel up to 25% of the time is required.
Responsibilities
- Conduct supplier selection for a specific product using the approved supplier list.
- Partner with strategic suppliers to accelerate product development through concept scoping to solidify requirements, feature trade-offs and trade tables, should-cost and clean-sheet models, joint design development via clear statements of work, and simulation of mechanical and electronics designs.
- Order and maintain inventory for prototype and new product introduction builds.
- Drive development and consolidation of a manufacturing bill of materials with Quality and Manufacturing to ramp production internally and with suppliers while maintaining high flexibility.
- Manage capital expenditures throughout new product introduction.
- Conduct value-stream mapping to optimize supply-network lead time and flexibility.
- Complete bill-of-materials risk assessments, including alternate component sourcing.
- Ensure all component qualifications are completed before production.
- Reduce complexity through commonality optimization and component and supplier rationalization.
- Lead cost-engineering activities to converge the bottom-up cost curve to product cost and maximize total cost of ownership across the product lifecycle.
- Manage ad hoc cost issues, including tariffs, import/export costs, and cost inflation.
Desired Qualifications
- A master's degree or advanced technical degree is preferred.
- Deeper experience in design and development of electronics and/or mechanical devices is preferred.
- Experience with advanced sourcing activities, including work as a commodity or sourcing manager, is preferred.
- Experience in supplier development across technology, process, supply chain, or related areas is preferred.
- Experience with early supplier engagement before product or engineering requirements are realized is preferred.
- Familiarity with developing high-tech products in a high-mix, low-volume environment is preferred.
- Exposure to a fast-paced startup environment is preferred.
About the company
Arxlight develops autonomous interceptor drones for air and missile defense. The drones use LWIR sensors, computer vision, autonomy software, and an integrated GNC stack to autonomously detect, identify, and intercept threats through sensor fusion and automated flight. It differentiates itself with a defense-first, stealth-mode approach and by recruiting senior engineers to build a sensor-rich platform tailored for national security rather than consumer markets. The goal is to deliver next-generation capabilities for air and missile defense and counter-drone operations for military and national-security customers.
Company Size
N/A
Company Stage
N/A
Total Funding
N/A
Headquarters
N/A
Founded
N/A
Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- August 2026 hiring shows active buildout across 18 on-site roles in Oakland.
- Website and postings emphasize integrated air defense, matching urgent U.S. counter-UAS demand.
- Experienced founders and senior engineering recruiting signal credible execution momentum.
What critics are saying
- No public funding, contracts, or deployed systems; revenue timing stays opaque.
- April 2026 post-production leadership roles imply Arxlight lacks fielded products today.
- Anduril, Lockheed Martin, and nLIGHT can outspend Arxlight before 2027 procurement.
What makes Arxlight unique
- Stealth-mode Oakland team builds autonomous interceptor drones for air and missile defense.
- Hiring spans LWIR, computer vision, GNC, firmware, and robotics hardware roles.
- Paul White joined June 2025 after drone engineering leadership at Anduril.
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Benefits
Flexible Work Hours