Procurement Manager

Procurement Manager 

Location: Playa Vista, California (in-person, five days per week) 

Outpost is building the return lane from space. We’re developing reusable vehicles that bring payloads home from orbit safely and precisely, enabling faster in-space manufacturing, global delivery, and entirely new capabilities in the space economy. 

We’re a mission-driven team that cares deeply about the work and the people doing it. We are in an exciting stage of growth, which means ownership from day one. Our engineers design hardware, test it, iterate on it, and watch it move toward flight. We are based in the aerospace hub of Playa Vista, where you can spend your days solving complex problems and your evenings on the beach or in the mountains. The work is meaningful, the team is collaborative, and the mission matters. If you want to see the systems you design make it to orbit—and back—come build with us. 

The Role 

The Procurement Manager is responsible for sourcing and purchasing materials, components, and services; managing vendor relationships; maintaining inventory at our office and production facilities; and building procurement processes that enable speed while maintaining strong financial controls and cost discipline and cashflow efficiencies. The role reports into finance primarily and works closely with the engineering teams. 

This is a high-impact role that bridges engineering, operations, and finance to ensure we procure efficiently, responsibly, and in alignment with company financial goals and regulatory compliance. 

Responsibilities 

• Own end-to-end purchasing of parts, materials, equipment, and services on both engineering and non-engineering purchases.
• Interface directly with members of the engineering team to enable the efficient procurement of both COTs and custom aerospace components that meet engineering needs and timelines.
• Source and negotiate with vendors to optimize cost, quality, and lead times.
• Manage supplier relationships, contracts, and performance.
• Interface closely with Production Engineering to support inventory management.
• Forecasting, and internal distribution Build and maintain scalable procurement processes, controls, and documentation.
• Partner with Finance on budgeting, spend tracking, and cash flow and working capital management.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to align procurement with build schedules and company priorities.

Qualifications 

• 5+ years of experience in procurement, supply chain, or sourcing.
• Experience in hardware, aerospace, manufacturing, or deep-tech environments.
• Strong negotiation and vendor management skills.
• Proven ability to establish and manage inventory systems and purchase order workflows.
• Experience implementing procurement software or ERP systems (SAP, Oracle or NetSuite).
• Strong financial acumen, cost-control and working capital /cashflow mindset.
• Ability to operate independently in a fast-paced startup environment.
• Experience in demand planning and supply chain efficiency creation.

Preferred

• Familiarity with long-lead components and supply chain risk mitigation.
• Experience with customs compliance regulations and export controls.
• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, Finance, or related field

Compensation & Benefits 

• $115,000 - $140,000 - Salary may vary with experience
• Incentive Equity
• Annual Performance-Based Bonus
• Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
• Short- and Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Life Insurance
• PTO
• 401k with Company match
• Subsidized daily catered lunch, snacks and coffee 

You must be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.15 ,or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State