Senior Staff Commodity Manager, Mechanical

Job Overview

Mainspring Energy is rapidly scaling production of its breakthrough Linear Generator technology, necessitating a highly experienced and strategic Senior Staff Commodity Manager to lead global sourcing for graphite materials and mechanical components - with a strong emphasis on isostatic impregnated graphite - and select critical mechanical components. This role is essential for developing and executing comprehensive sourcing strategies, managing supplier relationships, and ensuring the procurement of materials that meet stringent technical, quality, and commercial requirements.

The ideal candidate will be accountable for the entire lifecycle of assigned commodities, including supplier identification, technical qualification, contracting, risk mitigation, and performance monitoring. Cross-functional collaboration with engineering, materials science, operations, and quality is essential to meet business objectives and drive continuous improvement, so there is a strong preference for this hire to be able to come on site regularly.

Responsibilities

• Own and execute global commodity strategies for complex mechanical components, including CNC machining, castings, forgings, sheet metal, weldments, heat-treated parts, thermal spray, and laser cladding
• Lead the graphite materials category, defining commercial strategy for high-temperature sealing and high-performance applications in partnership with Engineering
• Drive cost reduction through should-cost modeling, DFM collaboration, and scalable supplier strategies
• Mitigate supply and technical risk through alternate sourcing, performance monitoring, and data-driven cost models
• Establish sourcing standards, best practices, and commercial frameworks that scale across mechanical categories and influence broader Supply Chain strategy
• Build long-term supplier partnerships that ensure quality, cost, delivery, and scalability beyond transactional sourcing
• Expand and diversify the global supply base to support production scaling and the transition to high-volume manufacturing, while reducing supply risk and strengthening supply chain resilience
• Lead sourcing and supplier development activities in China, managing regional risk and on-site engagement
• Set and enforce supplier standards for quality, delivery, and compliance
• Drive continuous improvement through joint process reviews, performance metrics and corrective actions
• Lead negotiation and execution of MSAs and LTAs, including pricing, liability, capacity commitments, and service-level agreements

Qualifications

• 18+ years of experience in strategic sourcing, commodity management, or supply chain leadership
• Strong background sourcing custom mechanical components and managing complex BOMs
• Engineering degree (Mechanical, Materials, Chemical preferred) or equivalent technical background
• Ability to rapidly absorb and operate in highly technical domains (e.g., advanced materials)
• ERP and procurement analytics proficiency (e.g., SAP, Oracle, NetSuite)
• Bay Area presence required

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience sourcing graphite materials for high-temperature or unlubricated applications
• Mandarin proficiency
• Advanced degree or CPSM/Six Sigma certification