What are the responsibilities and job description for the Supply Chain & Operations Lead position at Skyband Systems?
Kirkland, WA
GPS jamming and spoofing affect thousands of flights every day (GPSThreatMap.com). Skyband Systems is building the M100, an advanced avionics system designed to overcome this growing threat to aviation safety and operational reliability. The M100 combines satellite signals from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with inertial sensing to give pilots a trusted source of navigation information when GPS is unreliable.
We're a VC-backed aerospace startup based in Kirkland, WA, founded by engineers who built and scaled Starlink Aviation at SpaceX. We design, build, test, and fly our own hardware in our own aircraft.
The Role
You'll own how the M100 gets built and shipped: purchasing, inventory, suppliers, and production readiness, end to end, as we ramp from initial production to dozens of units per month and beyond. You'll design the systems, processes, and visibility that let our engineering and manufacturing teams move quickly and confidently. You'll shape how our inventory and material-handling practices meet our Quality Management System (QMS), so our records, material traceability, and production accountability hold up as volume grows.
This role will look very different a year from now. You'll decide what our operation needs to look like at several times today's volume and build toward it: finding the bottlenecks, fixing root causes, removing steps, and bringing in the tools, suppliers, and eventually the people to run it.
What You'll Do
- Full-time
- Onsite
GPS jamming and spoofing affect thousands of flights every day (GPSThreatMap.com). Skyband Systems is building the M100, an advanced avionics system designed to overcome this growing threat to aviation safety and operational reliability. The M100 combines satellite signals from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with inertial sensing to give pilots a trusted source of navigation information when GPS is unreliable.
We're a VC-backed aerospace startup based in Kirkland, WA, founded by engineers who built and scaled Starlink Aviation at SpaceX. We design, build, test, and fly our own hardware in our own aircraft.
The Role
You'll own how the M100 gets built and shipped: purchasing, inventory, suppliers, and production readiness, end to end, as we ramp from initial production to dozens of units per month and beyond. You'll design the systems, processes, and visibility that let our engineering and manufacturing teams move quickly and confidently. You'll shape how our inventory and material-handling practices meet our Quality Management System (QMS), so our records, material traceability, and production accountability hold up as volume grows.
This role will look very different a year from now. You'll decide what our operation needs to look like at several times today's volume and build toward it: finding the bottlenecks, fixing root causes, removing steps, and bringing in the tools, suppliers, and eventually the people to run it.
What You'll Do
- Own production readiness for every build: material plan, shortages, and the call to expedite, substitute, or move a date
- Build and run our MRP system as the single source of truth for inventory, BOMs, purchasing, and traceability
- Develop our supplier base: qualify second sources, negotiate pricing and payment terms, and place long-lead and blanket orders
- Manage contract manufacturers, consigned materials, in-house production, and rework
- Write and improve QMS procedures for receiving, inspection, quarantine, traceability, and nonconformance
- Build spend forecasts and BOM cost-down plans with leadership
- Find what slows the operation down and fix it: redesign the process, cut the step, or automate it
- Assist with the business operations of a growing start-up: finance and accounting support, people operations, IT systems, state registrations, licenses, and keeping our office and shop running
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience in operations, supply chain, manufacturing, business, engineering, or a related field
- 5 years of experience in operations, procurement, supply chain, production planning, or manufacturing support, including time with physical products
- Experience building or overhauling a process or system, not just running one
- Authorized to work in the United States
- Experience setting up or administering an MRP or ERP system such as MRPeasy, NetSuite, Katana, Odoo, or similar
- Electronics manufacturing experience, including BOMs, component procurement, contract manufacturers, and production planning
- Experience in AS9100 or ISO 9001 environments, including writing procedures and running receiving inspection or nonconformance processes
- Experience scaling a hardware product from low-rate to volume production, ideally at a startup
- Supplier negotiation, second-sourcing, or cost-reduction experience
- Experience with bookkeeping, financial forecasting, HR administration, or small-company IT
- Comfortable using AI tools and automation to eliminate repetitive work and improve operational efficiency
- Full-time, onsite in Kirkland, WA
- Able to lift up to 25 lbs. and do hands-on receiving, counting and shelving
- Valid driver's license; occasional local driving for supplier pickups and drop-offs
- $120,000 - $150,000 / yr
- Equity
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance at $0 premium to you
- Paid holidays based on company holiday schedule
Salary : $120,000 - $150,000