What are the responsibilities and job description for the Director of Supply Chain position at AMPERA INC?
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Competitive salary
- Dental insurance
- Donation matching
- Employee discounts
- Health insurance
- Opportunity for advancement
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
- Wellness resources
Position Summary
The Director of Supply Chain is a hands-on startup leader responsible for building the supply chain function from the ground up. This role will establish core processes, policies, and organizational structure for purchasing, sourcing, supplier management, and logistics while supporting rapid hardware development and early deployment of micro nuclear reactor systems. The Director will work closely across engineering, quality, licensing, manufacturing, and program teams to ensure the supply chain enables speed, compliance, and scalability from first-of-a-kind builds through early commercialization.
Key Responsibilities
Supply Chain Strategy, Organization & Processes
- Build the supply chain and purchasing function from inception, including org structure, roles, and near-term hiring plans.
- Define and implement core supply chain policies and procedures (procurement, supplier qualification, contracting, change control, and documentation).
- Establish repeatable processes suitable for a startup environment while anticipating future regulatory and production scale requirements.
- Serve as the primary supply chain interface to executive leadership for cost, schedule, and risk decisions.
Strategic Sourcing & Supplier Relationships
- Identify, qualify, and onboard key suppliers for safety-critical, nuclear-grade, and high-precision components.
- Develop strong, long-term supplier partnerships with a focus on transparency, technical collaboration, and early engagement.
- Lead supplier negotiations, framework agreements, and purchasing strategies for long-lead and high-risk components.
- Implement supplier performance management, including quality, delivery, responsiveness, and cost controls.
- Identify, qualify, and onboard suppliers capable of meeting nuclear‑grade, high‑precision, and safety‑critical requirements.
- Negotiate long‑term agreements for critical components.
- Manage supplier performance, risk, cost, quality, and delivery, including dual‑source strategies for critical items.
Quality, Compliance & Regulatory Alignment
- Partner closely with Quality and Licensing teams to embed nuclear-quality expectations into supply chain processes from day one.
- Support development and flow-down of quality requirements (e.g., NQA-1, AS9100 or equivalent) into supplier contracts and purchase orders.
- Lead or support supplier audits, qualification reviews, and corrective action processes.
- Ensure material traceability, documentation control, and configuration management for safety-related and regulated components.
Cross-Functional Collaboration & Program Support
- Work hand-in-hand with Engineering to support design-for-manufacturability and design-for-supply-chain decisions.
- Collaborate with Manufacturing and Program Management to align procurement plans with build schedules and development milestones.
- Lead materials planning, long‑lead procurement, and logistics planning to meet aggressive program schedules.
Cost, Schedule & Risk Management
- Develop early-stage cost models, budgets, and forecasts to support program planning and investor discussions.
- Identify supply chain risks typical of FOAK nuclear hardware (long lead items, limited suppliers, capacity constraints).
- Define and execute mitigation strategies including dual sourcing, early procurement, and strategic inventory.
- Provide clear, data-driven input to schedule and readiness reviews.
Systems, Tools & Infrastructure
- Select and implement right-sized tools and systems (ERP/MRP, purchasing workflows, supplier databases) appropriate for a startup.
- Establish KPIs and dashboards to track supplier performance, procurement status, quality issues, and cost.
- Scale systems and processes as the company transitions from development to early production.
Qualifications
Required
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Supply Chain Management, Operations, or a related field.
- 10 years of progressive supply chain or procurement leadership experience in highly regulated, high‑technology industries (e.g., nuclear, aerospace, defense, energy, or advanced manufacturing).
- Demonstrated experience building supply chains for complex, engineered systems with long lead times.
- Strong understanding of supplier qualification, quality systems, and contractual frameworks.
- Proven leadership experience building and managing high‑performing teams.
Preferred
- Experience with nuclear or nuclear‑adjacent supply chains, including familiarity with NQA‑1, AS9100, or similar quality standards.
- Experience supporting FOAK hardware development and transition to low‑rate initial production.
- MBA or advanced technical degree.
- Experience working with EPC partners, forge suppliers, specialty materials, or advanced manufacturing processes.
Key Competencies
- Strategic thinking with hands‑on execution capability
- Strong commercial negotiation and supplier relationship management
- Cross‑functional collaboration with engineering, quality, and licensing teams
- Comfort operating in fast‑moving, ambigious startup or scale‑up environments
- High attention to detail balanced with ability to manage ambiguity
Location & Travel
- Location: Palm Beach Gardens, Fl; Onsite
- Travel: Moderate travel to supplier facilities, manufacturing partners, and deployment sites
What We Offer
- Competitive salary
- Comprehensive benefits package including healthcare, dental, vision, STD, LTD, Life/AD&D and 401(k).
- Opportunity to pioneer advanced nuclear fuel technologies driving the next generation of clean energy.
- Collaborative, mission-driven environment that fosters technical excellence and innovation.
- Career advancement potential as AMPERA expands its fuel development and reactor manufacturing programs.