Sourcing Lead, Direct

About the Role:

Wing is looking for a Sourcing Lead, Direct to join our Sourcing team. This role is onsite based in Palo Alto, CA. You will lead the strategy for our hardware supply chain design, build and develop our team of global sourcing managers and enable Wing’s growth by partnering closely with engineering, operations, legal and finance teams. Your leadership across both the direct team, our suppliers, and with cross-functional stakeholder partners will ensure that the hardware supporting Wing’s services can be built cost-effectively at scale, meet quality and compliance standards, and are delivered on time.

Our team moves fast and we will look to you to learn quickly, lead with conviction and build strong relationships both internally and externally. This is a role with high impact and high influence, spanning many cross functional teams and work-streams across engineering, legal, finance, quality, manufacturing, product management and more. You are equally comfortable in deep dive technical conversations around new product design as you are at our partner factories, scaling mass production. Most importantly, you consider the team’s success your success, and you are genuinely excited about enabling the growth and development of your team members. 

What You’ll Do: 

• Lead commercial engagement and sourcing strategy for our full hardware supply chain across both aircraft and ground infrastructure 
• Critically evaluate our current supplier portfolio and create a long term strategy for each commodity & technology to support Wing’s innovation roadmap
• Mentor, coach and close the negotiations to secure best contractual terms and pricing for our supplier partnerships
• Partner closely with internal cross-functional teams, our suppliers and our contract manufacturers to ensure quality and manufacturability of our assemblies 
• Partner closely with our engineering and other technical teams to drive the right partner selection for design and development from concept through mass production
• Create the strategy and apply the playbook across all our hardware for new supplier market research, qualification and industrialization 
• Assess and mitigate long term supply chain risk, especially in regulated markets 
• Mentor and coach the team in developing successful, long-term supplier relationships globally
• Build trust and lightweight, yet scalable processes with all cross functional teams

What You’ll Need: 

• 12+ years of experience developing and managing global supplier relationships and bringing high-volume products from concept to mass production 
• 5+ years of directly managing global supply chain teams 
• A Bachelor's Degree in a technical field (e.g., mechanical, industrial, or electrical engineering) is preferred, but equivalent practical experience in supply chain, manufacturing, military service, or consulting will also be considered
• Ability to have hard conversations with peers, direct reports and partners while preserving trust and relationships 
• Ability to switch between teaching, coaching and mentoring seamlessly based on individual needs of the team
• Operate across multiple cross functional teams and many projects at once, with enough insight into details to be able to provide critical inputs while keeping the end goal and strategy at the forefront
• Ability and curiosity to quickly learn and dive deep into technology and  challenges but keep the team on a fast pace of operational execution
• You are a skilled negotiator, capable of developing leverage for new technology and industry while coaching the team through complex deals
• You have deep experience structuring and negotiating legal frameworks for new IP development and licensing, Master Supply Agreements for scaled manufacturing, Capex investment schedules and custom SOWs as business needs come up
• You are skilled at developing bottoms-up cost modeling and have experience-based knowledge of cost structures for various electromechanical commodities 
• You take an AI-forward approach and automate where possible to increase the productivity of the team 
• You have scaled many products and can thoughtfully lead the team though the balance of requirements at different stages of the product development cycle (proto, EVT, DVT, PVT, MP)