Strategic Sourcing Manager
At Serve Robotics, we’re reimagining how things move in cities. Our personable sidewalk robot is our vision for the future. It’s designed to take deliveries away from congested streets, make deliveries available to more people, and benefit local businesses. The Serve fleet has been delighting merchants, customers, and pedestrians along the way in Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Atlanta and Chicago while doing commercial deliveries. We’re looking for talented individuals who will grow robotic deliveries from surprising novelty to efficient ubiquity. Who We Are We are tech industry veterans in software, hardware, and design who are pooling our skills to build the future we want to live in. We are solving real-world problems leveraging robotics, machine learning and computer vision, among other disciplines, with a mindful eye towards the end-to-end user experience. Our team is agile, diverse, and driven. We believe that the best way to solve complicated dynamic problems is collaboratively and respectfully. JOB OVERVIEW We’re seeking a Strategic Sourcing Manager to lead sourcing, negotiation, and procurement for key indirect spend across Finance, Operations, IT, Software, and Facilities. This role develops sourcing strategies, manages suppliers, and drives cost efficiency across categories like SaaS, IT hardware, cloud, and workplace services, requiring a strategic, hands-on problem solver with strong negotiation skills and experience in a fast-growing environment. JOB DUTIES Develop and execute comprehensive multi-year sourcing strategies to align with technical and company roadmaps. Partner with Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Finance and Program Management to guide complex sourcing and product selection decisions. Lead commercial negotiations, including market intelligence, pricing, supply agreements, and contracts (SOWs/MSAs) ensuring best-in-class cost, quality, and reliability. Develop and maintain strategic supplier relationships to drive innovation, improve service levels, and achieve cost efficiencies. Partner with key suppliers on roadmap alignment, ensuring their development capabilities match the company’s technical and growth needs. Lead quarterly business reviews (QBRs) with critical suppliers to evaluate performance, identify opportunities, and ensure accountability. Own the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for your area(s) of expertise. Optimize TCO with the company’s need to experiment, move quickly and iterate, while proactively identifying and mitigating supply chain risks (e.g., capacity constraints, EOL) Drive process improvements within the sourcing workflows, tools, and reports to expedite R&D velocity Create supplier assessment tools, and monitor supplier performance to assess their ability to meet quality, timing and delivery requirements EXPERIENCE, QUALIFICATIONS, & SKILLS 8+ years of experience in Sourcing/Procurement with specific expertise in one or more of the following categories: SaaS software, facilities/workplace, IT/networking equipment, or cloud services 2+ years as a Strategic Sourcing Manager, owning at least one spend category in full Proven track record of successful contract negotiation,supplier management, and category strategy execution Experience implementing procurement processes and workflows from ground up Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and relationship-building skills Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, or a related field (or equivalent experience) Preferred Qualifications Experience in a high-growth or scaling environment Proficient in NetSuite and Google Workspace Knowledge of manufacturing process controls and quality assurance principles Ability to interpret technical datasheets and specifications Proven ability to drive cross-functional collaboration and deliver measurable sourcing outcomes