Strategic Sourcing Operations Specialist (Robotics)

As a Robotics Data Sourcing Operations Specialist, you will be embedded with the Robotics Data and Procurement teams to help manage third-party robotics data suppliers from initial intake through pilot, contracting, delivery, and operational follow-up.

This is a hands-on execution role. You will not be expected to define robotics research strategy or independently negotiate complex commercial positions. You will be expected to create leverage for Robotics, Procurement, Legal, Security, Finance, and Sourcing by keeping the pipeline clean, chasing the right owners, maintaining accurate records, preparing clean handoffs, and surfacing risks early.

You will be a critical force multiplier for a fast-moving data sourcing program: the person who makes sure every active vendor has a clear status, next-action owner, next-action date, required documentation, and visible path to resolution.

What You Will Do

Vendor Intake and Pipeline Management

• Manage new vendor intake for robotics data opportunities, including source of referral, vendor contacts, proposed data type, urgency, known blockers, and requested next step.
• Maintain the vendor pipeline tracker and related records so each engagement has a current stage, owner, next action, due date, and supporting links.
• Coordinate vendor threads and status updates in Slack, ensuring open questions and blockers do not get buried.
• Prepare concise daily or weekly pipeline updates that distinguish vendors in motion, vendors stuck in stage, and vendors needing escalation.
• Help standardize intake workflows, vendor questionnaires, handoff criteria, and stage definitions across active robotics data sourcing work.

Supplier Onboarding and Contracting Support

• Support NDA, onboarding, Zip/VNDLY, and contracting workflows by collecting complete vendor information, routing requests, tracking approvals, and escalating blockers.
• Partner with Legal, Security, Privacy, Finance, Procurement Operations, and Strategic Sourcing to keep vendor onboarding and contracting steps moving.
• Help prepare and operationalize SOWs, pricing exhibits, delivery schedules, acceptance criteria, and other deal artifacts under the direction of Sourcing and Legal.
• Track signature status, redlines, supplier information gaps, compliance reviews, payment setup, and executed-document storage.
• Ensure vendor records are accurate and audit-ready across procurement systems, contracting tools, trackers, and Slack.

Robotics Data Assessment Coordination

• Collect and organize vendor capability information across relevant robotics data modalities, such as egocentric video, teleoperation, hand/glove capture, UMI-style devices, or related real-world collection setups.
• Capture operational capacity assumptions, including available collection hours, ramp timelines, geographic footprint, staffing model, hardware availability, and existing versus net-new data.
• Coordinate sample-data requests, upload paths, access lists, org IDs, ingestion instructions, and reviewer assignments.
• Track quality-review outcomes, vendor feedback, requested re-deliveries, and go/no-go recommendations from the Robotics team.
• Translate technical requirements into clear operational checklists for vendors and internal stakeholders without overstepping into technical ownership.

Delivery Tracking and Vendor Follow-Through

• Maintain visibility into expected delivery dates, delivered quantities, sample-review status, data quality feedback, and acceptance or rejection decisions.
• Ensure delivery records include the right supporting links, such as data locations, review reports, issue trackers, and vendor communications.
• Follow up with vendors and internal owners when delivery dates slip, quality feedback is pending, or redelivery requests need to be documented.
• Help identify repeated delivery or quality issues and package the facts needed for Robotics, Sourcing, or Legal to decide whether to continue, pause, or terminate an engagement.
• Support process improvements that make delivery tracking, quality feedback, and vendor communications more consistent.

Commercial and Cross-Functional Support

• Support Sourcing by gathering the facts needed for commercial decisions, including volume assumptions, pricing structure, hardware dependencies, delivery cadence, exclusivity considerations, and payment terms.
• Coordinate with Finance and Procurement to ensure requests are aligned to budget, approval thresholds, purchase rationale, and expected spend.
• Help package open decisions for senior stakeholders with crisp context, options, risks, and recommended next steps.
• Communicate clearly with vendors and internal partners, especially when requirements change, timelines shift, or decisions are pending.

You Might Thrive in This Role If You

• Have 4 years of experience in procurement operations, sourcing support, vendor management, supply chain operations, research operations, data partnerships, or program operations.
• Have managed many concurrent vendor or partner workstreams with strong attention to status, documentation, approvals, and follow-through.
• Are fluent in operational tools such as Zip, VNDLY, Ironclad or other CLM systems, Google Sheets, Slack, Linear, Airtable, Notion, or similar workflow systems.
• Are comfortable working with technical stakeholders and can quickly learn enough about data requirements, hardware constraints, file formats, metadata, and QA criteria to coordinate work effectively.
• Write clear, direct updates that make ownership, blockers, and next steps obvious.
• Know when to move independently and when to escalate to Sourcing, Legal, Security, Privacy, Finance, or Robotics leadership.
• Bring strong judgment around confidential information, supplier communications, privacy/security considerations, and documentation hygiene.
• Are energized by execution-heavy work: cleaning up trackers, chasing approvals, resolving ambiguity, and keeping complex workstreams moving.
• Can operate in a fast-changing environment where requirements, vendors, priorities, and timelines may shift quickly.

Nice to Have

• Experience with robotics, data collection, AI/ML datasets, human data, field operations, technical services, or research-driven supplier models.
• Experience supporting SOW-based services, hourly or usage-based pricing, milestone-based delivery, or vendor quality gates.
• Experience coordinating hardware logistics, international suppliers, or vendor-provided equipment.
• Familiarity with privacy, security, consent, or data-sharing reviews for supplier engagements.
• Comfort building lightweight dashboards, trackers, or status reports from messy operational inputs.

Pay Rate: $75-$90/hour DOE