Director, Strategic Sourcing

Director, Strategic Sourcing

We are seeking a highly experienced Director, Strategic Sourcing to strengthen and transform the company's external manufacturing and supplier ecosystem as we scale our surgical robotic platform.

THINK Surgical ("THINK") relies extensively on OEM and sub-tier suppliers for manufacturing, with a number of critical components and technologies currently single sourced due to technical complexity, supplier capability, intellectual property, or limited qualified alternatives. This role will be a key technical leader responsible for improving supplier capability, manufacturability, supply continuity, capacity, cost, and scalability across the supply base.

The Director, Strategic Sourcing will serve as the technical bridge between R&D, Supply Chain, Quality, the OEM, and critical sub-tier suppliers. The individual will lead supplier technical assessments, Design for Manufacturability (DFM), process capability improvement, supplier industrialization, capacity development, supplier transfers, and strategic dual-source initiatives. This role also required hands-on work directly with suppliers, challenge engineering specifications when appropriate, and translate business requirements into executable supplier strategies. This position is based at THINK's corporate office.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Strategic Sourcing Strategy
  • Develop and own the company's multi-year strategic sourcing strategy aligned with: product and technology roadmaps, commercial growth plans, COGS and margin objectives, manufacturing strategy, supply continuity requirements, geographic expansion, business continuity and resilience.
  • Establish the overall sourcing architecture for: OEM manufacturing, critical components, strategic sub-tier suppliers, regional supply, dual-source and multi-source strategies, proprietary and IP-constrained components.
• OEM Strategy and Selection
  • Develop the OEM strategy for current and future production volumes.
  • Assess OEM capabilities, capacity, cost structure, scalability, geographic footprint, and sub-tier supplier management.
  • Establish the appropriate division of sourcing responsibility between the company and OEM.
  • Negotiate long-term manufacturing agreements and commercial frameworks.
  • Secure capacity commitments required for commercial ramp-up.
  • Develop OEM performance and improvement strategies.
• Commodity Strategy
• Own the sourcing strategy for critical commodities and technologies, including but not limited to: precision machining, motors and actuators, electronics and PCBAs, sensors and optical components, cable assemblies, complex electromechanical assemblies, sterile/procedure-related components, contract manufacturing services.
• Key Supplier Selection
  • Lead strategic supplier selection for critical components and technologies.
  • Establish supplier selection criteria.
  • Lead RFQs and competitive sourcing events.
  • Coordinate cross-functional supplier evaluations.
  • Evaluate supplier technical capability, capacity, quality, financial health, cost, scalability, and risk.
  • Develop sourcing recommendations for executive approval.
  • Lead commercial negotiations and supplier award decisions.
  • Establish sourcing allocation strategies.
  • Develop long-term supplier agreements.
• Single-Source Risk Management
  • Establish and own a Critical Single-Source Risk Management Program.
  • For each critical single-source component, determine the appropriate strategy: develop a second source, negotiate capacity protection, establish long-term supply commitments, increase strategic inventory, develop alternate technology, reduce dependency through design changes, secure tooling and intellectual property rights, establish business continuity plans.
• Cost and COGS Strategy
  • Own the strategic sourcing portion of the company's COGS reduction roadmap.
  • Supplier cost benchmarks
  • Competitive sourcing strategies
  • Volume leverage strategies
  • Supplier negotiation strategies
  • Cost-reduction roadmaps
  • Commercial negotiations
  • Long-term agreements
  • Partner with R&D and Manufacturing Engineering to identify design-to-cost and supplier-enabled cost reduction opportunities.
• Strategic Supplier Development
  • While the primary accountability is Strategic Sourcing, this role will coordinate closely with Advanced Manufacturing Engineering to improve supplier capability where needed to achieve sourcing objectives.
  • Prepare a supplier for commercial ramp
• Supplier Transfer and Second-Source Strategy
  • Establish business case
  • Identify candidate suppliers
  • Lead sourcing events
  • Establish commercial strategy
  • Coordinate qualification plans
  • Establish transition timing
  • Manage supply continuity during transition
  • Negotiate tooling and transition costs
  • Establish volume allocation

Supervisory Responsibilities

• N/A

Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Operations, or related technical discipline.
• 15+ years of progressive experience in strategic sourcing, supplier engineering, manufacturing, operations, or related fields.
• 5+ years of leadership experience in strategic sourcing, supplier development, manufacturing, or supply-chain management.
• Proven experience developing and executing commodity strategies.
• Demonstrated experience selecting and managing OEMs / contract manufacturers and complex sub-tier suppliers.
• Strong experience with global supplier networks.
• Demonstrated success in managing single-source and constrained-supply situations.
• Experience leading strategic negotiations and supplier selection for high-value or technically complex components.
• Strong technical understanding of manufacturing processes and engineering requirements.
• Strong executive communication, negotiation, and influencing skills.
• Ability to balance technical, commercial, operational, quality, and strategic considerations.
• Strong understanding of precision manufacturing and manufacturing processes.
• Demonstrated experience with Design for Manufacturing/Design for Assembly, GD&T, tolerance stack-up, process capability, and manufacturing process development.
• Experience evaluating supplier technical capabilities and manufacturing capacity.
• Experience leading supplier development, industrialization, or supplier transfer projects.
• Strong analytical and structured problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional projects without direct authority.
• Excellent written, verbal, and executive communication skills.
• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally to suppliers and OEM manufacturing sites.
• Proficiency in utilizing Lean, Six Sigma, and other continuous improvement methodologies.
• Knowledge of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and applicable Quality System Standards.

Preferred:

• Advanced degree.
• Ability to navigate Project Management methodology.
• Experience in medical devices, surgical robotics, aerospace, automotive, semiconductor, or other highly regulated/high-precision industries.
• Experience with medical device hardware, electrical, and software development, sterile medical instrumentation and disposables, in a regulatory environment.
• Experience with precision machining, motors/actuators, electronics/PCBAs, sensors, optical components, or complex electromechanical assemblies.
• Experience with APQP, PPAP, FAI, PFMEA, control plans, MSA, SPC, and process validation.
• Six Sigma Black Belt or equivalent process-improvement experience.
• Experience developing dual-source strategies for technically complex components.
• Experience managing IP-constrained or proprietary single-source technologies.
• Experience with global supplier networks and international manufacturing.

Competencies

• Drive results
• Influencing and negotiation skills
• Optimize work processes
• Decision quality

Physical Demands & Work Environment

• Must be able to remain in a stationary