Manager, Supply Chain Operations

About the role

As Supply Chain Operations Manager, you'll own the supply chain engine behind Vay's commercial fleet scale-up. From Tier-1 supplier negotiations and BOM cost-out to international logistics, customs, warehouse operations, and production readiness, you'll make sure our vehicles and Remote Driving Stations keep moving. This is a high-autonomy, hands-on leadership role where you'll lead Procurement and Warehouse & Logistics, partner directly with Engineering, Production, Finance, and Fleet teams, and report to the VP Engineering Operations.

What you'll do

• Lead the Supply Chain Operations team across Procurement and Warehouse & Logistics, setting clear ownership, OKRs, cadences, and team structure.
• Own strategic sourcing, supplier selection, qualification, negotiations, and performance management across ECUs, semiconductors, computers, sensors, connectivity hardware, harnesses, cabling, mechanical parts, and PCBA.
• Drive cost-out programs, dual-sourcing strategy, and supplier localization across Europe, the US, and Asia.
• Translate fleet expansion plans into procurement, capacity, inventory, and supply plans, while maintaining a flexible BOM cost overview per configuration.
• Own procurement and inbounding for vehicle and Remote Driving Station BOMs across rolling production builds and SOPs, ensuring production readiness against company-level commitments.
• Lead inbound and outbound logistics, customs, import/export, warehouse operations, safety stock policy, and landed cost transparency.
• Improve the operating system: ERP flows, PO lifecycle, stock accuracy, ETAs, invoice matching, inbounding, warehouse digitalization, and handoffs across the chain.

What you'll need

• 7–10+ years in supply chain, procurement, or operations within hardware, automotive, aerospace, manufacturing, robotics, EV/mobility, defense, or another complex hardware environment.
• 2–3+ years leading teams, with a strong track record of building structure, ownership, and operational rhythm.
• Proven experience improving a hardware supply chain at volume, making existing processes measurably better across quality, speed, cost, and reliability.
• Deep experience across strategic procurement, supplier negotiations, demand and supply planning, inventory management, international logistics, and customs across US, EU, and Asia.
• Strong analytical and cost-modeling skills, with a clear negotiation track record and measurable savings.
• Hands-on operating style: comfortable working daily in an ERP, reading BOMs, chasing freight forwarders, walking a warehouse, and solving issues directly.
• Fluent English and willingness to work onsite in Berlin, with occasional supplier visits and roughly one trip per quarter to Vay sites.

Nice to have

• Experience with Odoo ERP.
• Familiarity with Superset and Jira.
• Startup or scale-up experience.

What they offer

• ESOP stock options: A stake in Vay's future.
• Unlimited Paid Vacation Days.
• Subsidised Deutschland ticket (Berlin), Urban Sports Club or FitX membership.
• €350 Home Office Set-up and relocation financial assistance.
• Fully funded German lessons.
• 30% off Vay rides and exclusive external discounts.