Supply Chain and Procurement Lead

Team Description:

The Supply Chain team furthers Neuralink’s mission by ensuring seamless access to critical materials, equipment, and services, driving innovation at every stage. As a strategic enabler of progress, we anticipate and solve supply chain and procurement challenges before they arise, helping engineers and teams work more efficiently. If you thrive in fast-paced environments, love optimizing complex supply chain challenges, and are passionate about accelerating technological breakthroughs that restore autonomy to individuals with unmet medical needs, this team is for you. As Neuralink gears up for commercialization, we're focused on upleveling our supply chain and manufacturing capabilities to support scalable, high-quality production.

Job Description and Responsibilities:

We are seeking an experienced Procurement and Supply Chain Lead to manage a small, high-performing team responsible for all of Neuralink's procurement activities. This role requires a strong balance of high-level strategy and daily execution, driving cost savings, supplier relationships, operational efficiency, while leading negotiations, managing contracts, and executing purchases across both direct (e.g., hardware components and manufacturing materials) and indirect categories (e.g., SaaS, IT, G&A, facilities, clinical, and R&D).

You will collaborate across multidimensional teams at Neuralink, including Engineering, Legal, Finance, Preclinical, Clinical, Operations, and Manufacturing, to align procurement strategies with company goals and drive impact across the organization. Our ideal candidate operates with a relentless sense of urgency, anticipates and eliminates supply chain roadblocks, thinks creatively to solve procurement challenges, and clearly communicates trade-offs between cost, speed, and quality. With a focus on maturing our supply chain as we prepare for commercialization, you will uplevel the team's capabilities, processes, and vendor ecosystem to support hardware-intensive scaling in a regulated environment by driving the strategic evolution of the procurement function into a high-impact, end-to-end Supply Chain organization.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading and mentoring a small, high-performing procurement team to oversee all direct and indirect procurement for Neuralink, ensuring alignment with manufacturing and commercialization objectives.
• Acting as a liaison between suppliers/vendors and Neuralink’s various teams, fostering strong relationships to support hardware supply chains and regulated operations.
• Spearheading the identification, qualification, and strategic partnership with long-term production and manufacturing partners to establish a resilient, scalable, and high-quality supply base necessary for Neuralink's commercial scaling.
• Understanding internal stakeholders' needs and aligning procurement strategies accordingly for all categories, with an emphasis on hardware components, manufacturing materials, software, IT, G&A, facilities, clinical, and R&D.
• Developing and implementing sourcing strategies that support business objectives, including supplier selection, RFPs, category management, and strategies to uplevel supply chain maturity for commercialization.
• Ensuring compliance with company policies, ethical standards, and industry regulations 
• Providing insights and recommendations to continually optimize procurement processes, reduce total cost of ownership, and enhance supply chain resilience as Neuralink scales manufacturing.
• Analyzing the vendor pool and providing strategic recommendations for vendor consolidation to leverage economies of scale, streamline processes, and strengthen vendor relationships, particularly in hardware and regulated sectors.
• Monitoring supplier performance, conducting audits, and addressing any issues that arise to maintain high standards, with a focus on risk mitigation in hardware supply chains.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in business, supply chain, engineering, or a related field.
• 7+ years of progressive supply chain, procurement, or operations experience.
• Proven strategic sourcing and supplier negotiation expertise in both direct and indirect procurement, with experience in hardware businesses (e.g., managing supply chains for electronics, components, or manufacturing equipment).
• Demonstrated experience managing a small team in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.
• Advanced negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
• Track record of delivering strategic value, cost savings, and operational improvements in supply chain functions.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree in a related field (e.g., supply chain management, business administration, or engineering).
• Strategic cost modeling expertise, with a focus on hardware and manufacturing optimization.
• Background in regulated industries (e.g., healthcare, biotech, medtech, or hardware-intensive fields like medical devices), with familiarity in managing procurement for clinical/R&D, facilities, or hardware supply chains.
• Experience scaling supply chain and procurement teams in preparation for commercialization, including hardware manufacturing maturation.

Neuralink is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.