Global Supply Chain Director

Job Description

Job Description

Be yourself at Protolabs  

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification.  We are an equal opportunity employer, and we are committed to building a diverse team that feels they are valued in the workplace.  So do you feel you do not meet every single requirement but still intrigued? We encourage you to still apply!  You can help make our company even better.  We do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, age, mental or physical ability, or any way you represent yourself.  We strongly believe diversity makes for more successful teams. 

Why Protolabs? 

We are the leaders in digital manufacturing.  We hire doers, makers, and creative thinkers who tackle our roles with an entrepreneurial spirit.  Our culture is centered around meaningful work that brings new and innovative products to market at unprecedented speeds.  We are a diverse team that comes from all walks of life and take pride in our team who is smart, genuine, humble, and passionate about what we do.  It’s our people who fuel our creativity and make our culture feel like home. 

This is a HYBRID role - onsite Tuesday-Thursday in Maple Plain, MN. 

The Protolabs Network Global Supply Chain Director will lead the growth and performance of our global manufacturing partner ecosystem, shaping the future of how we deliver for customers worldwide. This strategic leadership role owns partner network expansion, supplier strategy, operational excellence, capacity planning, and cost optimization across key global regions. As a critical driver of Protolabs' growth strategy, you will define and execute our Network fulfillment vision, ensuring scalable capabilities, world-class partner performance, and a competitive global supply chain.

This role leads a team of 16 supply chain professionals across the U.S., Europe, India, and China, including three Regional Supply Chain Managers responsible for supplier strategy, partner development, and operational performance within their regions.

• Global Partner Portfolio Development:
  • Strategically plans our global partner network in line with commercial needs and pricing demands.  
  • Identify and mitigate potential risk or disruptions to the regional supply chains, including consideration of supply allocation and dependency on key partners.
  • Drive a disciplined partner evaluation and onboarding process, ensuring new partners can reliably deliver to Protolabs quality, lead time, and cost expectations.  
  • Build demand forecasting and capacity planning capabilities that enable proactive management of partner utilization and prevent delivery failures.   
  • Build and manage a pipeline of prospective manufacturing partners to proactively fill capacity and capability gaps before they impact customer outcomes.
  • Monitor regional ecosystems, including material providers and secondary vendors, to help ensure seamless delivery and maximize our customer offer. 

• Partner Performance Management:
  • Establish and maintain a comprehensive supplier performance management framework with clear KPIs for quality, on-time delivery, responsiveness, and customer satisfaction.   
  • Conduct supplier evaluations to monitor regional network performance including on-time shipping, quality metrics, and key platform metrics. 
  • Establish policies processes that ensure robust guidelines and controls.  Implement areas of improvement to manage our supplier relationships in the most scalable, efficient way possible.
  • Develop strategic relationships with our most important Manufacturing Partners in all regions to ensure high engagement and retention.  Ensure that suppliers' needs, which are critical to the business, are acknowledged and addressed.  

• Strategic Leadership:
  • Develop and maintain supply chain resilience strategies, including geographic diversification and contingency routing protocols.   
  • Partner with Global Product Manager to support new capabilities.  As needed, develop supply capacity for new capabilities, such as material or technologies and post-processing options, to expand our regional offering and meet customer demands.
  • Contribute to the combined offering roadmap, with our Manufacturing Partners and our Protolabs Factory stakeholders.

• People Leadership : 
  • Build a high-performing team, aligning our regional staffing and skills with overall business objectives and growth plans. 
  • Lead team initiatives and unify efforts across regions. Monitors team performance and manages talent to ensure high engagement, individual development, and career progression.
  • Ensure stakeholder alignment as a member of our overall Network Operations team.  This role will partner closely with our Product Management, Sourcing, Partner Operations, Logistics, and Quality teams to drive initiatives and optimize our KPI scorecard.

• A Bachelor’s degree in supply chain, engineering, Business, or a related field.
• 12+ years’ experience of progressive roles within Supply Chain Management, Supplier Development.  Operations Management, especially within a Network-based fulfillment model.
• 5+ years of management experience leading teams and cross-functional initiatives.
• Proven track record of building and developing international supply chains, specifically across all Asia regions, Mexico, as well as domestically in the United States or Europe.
• Demonstrated experience in leading and managing supply teams, with a solid track record of improving supplier performance, team performance and supporting organizational growth.
• Expertise in developing and nurturing strategic relationships with key manufacturing partners, ensuring strong collaboration and partnership growth.
• Hands-on experience in strategically planning supply networks, including developing capacity and capabilities to meet commercial and pricing demands.
• Ability to innovate and implement strategic solutions to complex supply chain and logistics challenges specific to the network model. 
• Technical experience with core manufacturing technologies:  CNC Machining, Injection Molding, and 3D Printing.
• A deep understanding of the manufacturing industry's technological advancements, materials, and post-processing options.
• Ability to identify and implement best practices for manufacturing consistency and improvement of network performance.
• Ability to lead through change and drive transformation initiatives within the supply chain to meet evolving business needs and support multiple priorities.
• Negotiation expertise to manage and strengthen partnerships with key manufacturing partners

• Certifications such as APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) or Six Sigma Black Belt.
• Proven experience working within a network business model, particularly in a manufacturing context.
• Understanding platform dynamics, including multi-sided markets and how to leverage network effects for pricing and capacity balancing.
• Experience with data analytics tools and software to monitor and predict supply chain trends.

• We offer a competitive salary and total rewards package
• We offer amazing benefits including but not limited to:
  • Health Insurance: Traditional OR High Deductible plan
  • Flexible Spending Accounts
  • Health Savings Account (including employer contributions)
  • Dental and Vision
  • Basic and Supplemental Life Insurance
  • Short-Term and Long-Term Disability
  • Paid caregiver leave
• You will receive at least 3 weeks of PTO + Wellness + Holiday Pay + Volunteer Hours
• 401k with company match and immediate vest
• Employee Stock Purchase Program at a discounted rate
• Matching grants through Protolabs foundation
• And More!

Protolabs offers a competitive total rewards package, and compensation mix vary based on position, such as base wage, as well as other earnings including incentives and commissions. Actual pay offered will vary depending on multiple factors which may include, without limitation, job function, work experience, specialized skills, training, education, and certifications

Proto Labs maintains ITAR-compliant operations in all of our United States based facilities.  Due to ITAR regulations, this role is only open to U.S. Citizens, lawful permanent residents (green card holders) or foreign nationals granted refugee or asylee status.  Individuals with temporary visas (e.g. E, F-1, H-1, H-2, L, B, J, TN or OPT) are not eligible for hire in this role.

Proto Labs, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Physical Demands:

While performing the essential duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use a computer keyboard, monitor and mouse, telephone and printer; reach with hands, and arms, talk, see and hear.  The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, stoop or kneel and must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

Work Environment:

Indoors (A/C); nonsmoking; the majority of this job function is performed in an office setting requiring normal safety precautions. However, there may be job duties that require the employee to spend time in the manufacturing areas exposed to machinery and noise; eye protection occasionally required. Occasionally works in outside weather conditions. Occasionally works near moving mechanical parts and in high, precarious places and is occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions, fumes or airborne particles, toxic or caustic chemicals, risk of electrical shock and vibration. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet to moderate.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.