NPI Materials Program Manager

At Ouster, we build sensors and tools for engineers, roboticists, and researchers, so they can make the world safer and more efficient. We've transformed LIDAR from an analog device with thousands of components to an elegant digital device powered by one chip-scale laser array and one CMOS sensor. The result is a full range of high-resolution LIDAR sensors that deliver superior imaging at a dramatically lower price. Our advanced sensor hardware and vision algorithms are used in autonomous cars, drones and many other applications. If you’re motivated by solving big problems, we’re hiring key roles across the company and need your help!

 

Position Summary

The  New Product Introduction (NPI) Materials Program Manager owns global material planning, strategic procurement, and supply chain execution for advanced mechanical, electrical, and electromechanical components. This role supports early-stage hardware builds, engineering prototypes, and Supplier Build Readiness (SBR) phases. Acting as the critical operational bridge between hardware engineering and a global manufacturing footprint, this position ensures seamless product launch velocity, risk mitigation, and 100% material continuity.

Key Responsibilities

NPI Material Planning & Procurement

• Prototype to Production Execution: Manage end-to-end material planning, purchasing, and order execution to support and execute NPI and Special Build Requests (SBR) across company-owned and Contract Manufacturer (CM) production sites.
• Long-Term Demand Planning: Drive purchase order (PO) placement and long-term order forecasting for quarterly requirements based on engineering schedules, and build matrices specific to New Product Introduction (NPI) and supporting the transition to mass production.
• Clear-To-Build (CTB) Management: Maintain, audit, and manage multiple complex clear-to-build (CTB) trackers, forecast trackers, and material status documents to aggressively flag and mitigate component shortages.
• Financial Reconciliation: Partner with corporate accounting to drive the invoice reconciliation process, ensuring accurate resolution for POs, receipts, and invoices under ownership.

Supplier Coordination & Logistics

• Ecosystem Orchestration: Coordinate with a broad, international supplier base to ensure material readiness, manage long lead times, and maintain build continuity for all NPI-related activities.
• Drop-Shipment Integration: Manage complex global drop-shipment logistics for new component revisions; coordinate with CMs to validate receiving, manage Inspection Report (IR) processing, align Purchase Order/Sales Order (PO/SO) workflows, and guarantee precise fulfillment.
• Forecasting: Support granular forecasting and supply planning for complex sub-assemblies and cable configurations, including quarterly forecast sharing, shipment tracking, and order management.

Program & Cross-Functional Execution

• Timeline Synchronization: Partner closely with Commodity Managers, Program Management, and Engineering Leads to manage component schedules, factory build timelines, and physical material readiness across multiple new parallel hardware programs.
• Engineering Liaison: Support all NPI-related purchasing requests, NPI related tooling expenditures, and tactical operational needs for the Hardware Engineering, Reliability, and Manufacturing Engineering teams.
• Governance & Rhythm: Lead and participate in recurring critical operations reviews, including CM NPI alignment meetings, executive dashboard reviews, and technical supplier coordination meetings.

What We’re Looking For

Required Qualifications

• Experience: 5+ years of experience in supply chain, materials management, or procurement program management within a high-tech hardware, semiconductor, or electronics manufacturing environment.
• NPI Expertise: Demonstrated experience managing NPI materials across a multi-supplier ecosystem, tracking mechanical, precision-machined, and electromechanical components.
• Systems Proficiency: Strong proficiency with top-tier Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems ( NetSuite preferred ).
• Contract Manufacturing Literacy: Direct experience working with international contract manufacturing partners, electronics manufacturing services (EMS), and drop-shipment logistics.
• Advanced Analytics: Ability to build and maintain complex data tracking tools (CTB trackers, forecast sheets, order status dashboards);  advanced MS Excel/Google Sheets skills are mandatory .
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Proven ability to lead and drive cross-functional alignment across Engineering, Operations, Quality, and external supplier teams independent of day-to-day supervision.
• Technical Literacy: Ability to read, interpret, and audit product Bills of Materials (BOMs).
• Strategic Execution: Strong problem-solving skills, critical thinking capabilities, and attention to detail for everyday tactical execution.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Supply Chain Management, Operations Research, or a highly quantitative field preferred.

Preferred Qualifications

• Industry Background: Experience in LiDAR, robotics, autonomous systems, machining, or advanced sensor hardware industries.
• Financial & Cost Auditing: Familiarity with Costed Bill of Materials (CBOM) reviews, standard costing processes, and pricing alignment for pre-production hardware assemblies.
• Global Exposure: Experience managing international suppliers, particularly with manufacturing corridors in Asia.
• Hybrid Operations: Background supporting both early-stage NPI/prototyping and active sustaining/mass production builds simultaneously.

The base pay will be dependent on your skills, work experience, location, and qualifications. This role may also be eligible for equity & benefits. ($120,000 - $150,000)

 

We acknowledge the confidence gap at Ouster. You do not need to meet all of these requirements to be the ideal candidate for this role.

 

Ouster is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer that pursues and hires a diverse workforce. Ouster does not make employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnic or national origin, nationality, sex, gender, gender-identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, military status, or any other basis protected by local, state, or federal laws. Ouster also strives for a healthy and safe workplace, and prohibits harassment of any kind. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, Ouster considers qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.