ABOUT THE JOB

Anduril is building systems at a rate the traditional defense industrial base was not designed to support — and one of the hardest constraints is materials. The Head of Raw Materials & Energetics Strategic Supply Chain owns that constraint end-to-end, and leads the team accountable for solving it.

This Director-level role owns sourcing strategy across all raw materials and energetic commodities: critical minerals and strategic elements (e.g., germanium, gallium, titanium), rare earth magnets, energetic materials (propellants, explosives, pyrotechnics), and energetic subsystems (solid rocket motors, warheads). Many of these markets are geographically concentrated, export-controlled, or served by a supply base too small to meet our demand — so the job is not only buying supply, but helping build it. You will have unusual latitude to do that, bringing creative commercial structures and capital to bear on problems that cannot be negotiated away.

You will build and lead a high-performing team of commodity managers, strategic sourcing leads, and technical sourcing engineers, and carry material strategies from early-stage R&D and New Product Introduction through qualification into sustained high-volume production. Partnering with Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, Government Relations, and Executive Leadership, your team is what guarantees Anduril is never rate-limited by material availability.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Commodity Strategy & Roadmap: Define and execute multi-year global sourcing strategies for critical raw materials, strategic minerals, rare earth elements/magnets, and energetic formulations (solid rocket motor propellants, primers, secondary explosives, pyrotechnic devices).
• Team Leadership & Scale: Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing team of commodity managers, strategic sourcing leads, and technical sourcing engineers across multiple global sites.
• Executive Supplier Relationship Management: Drive deep sub-tier visibility beyond Tier 1 down to processors, smelters, refiners, and chemical synthesis partners to preempt geopolitical bottlenecks, export controls, and single-source dependencies. Establish long-term strategic alliances, joint development agreements, and robust performance management systems (QBRs, KPIs, scorecards).
• Commercial & Strategic Negotiations: Lead high-stakes negotiations for master service agreements (MSAs), development agreements, long-term agreements (LTAs), and complex statement of works (SOWs)—optimizing pricing structures, IP protection, warranty, payment terms, and lead-time commitments.
• Supply Chain Resilience & Risk Mitigation: Drill down through multi-tier value chains—all the way to raw material—to pinpoint critical bottlenecks, geopolitical vulnerabilities, and single points of failure before they materialize. Own end-to-end resolution (e.g., alternative source qualification, capacity investment, strategic buffer) to ensure Anduril's production is never rate-limited by supply
• Market Intelligence & Price Risk Management: Build the analytical backbone for volatile, geopolitically-influenced commodity markets — index-based pricing, floor/ceiling structures, hedging, and long-horizon cost roadmaps — to insulate Anduril from market shocks.
• Executive Communication: Conduct regular operational and strategic reviews with C-suite and executive leadership, serving as the primary executive escalation point for all raw materials and energetics supply matters.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Engineering, Operations, Business, or a related technical discipline.
• 10+ years of experience in raw materials & energetics strategic sourcing, global commodity management of specialty chemicals, or defense-critical supply chains.
• 5+ years of proven experience building, managing, and scaling high-performing procurement or supply chain teams.
• Demonstrated expertise negotiating enterprise-level agreements and managing critical minerals/rare earths (e.g., Germanium, NdFeB magnets) and/or energetic systems (propellants, rocket motors, pyrotechnics).
• Proven track record of managing supplier lifecycles and negotiating complex multi-million-dollar commercial agreements.
• Deep understanding of New Product Introduction (NPI) workflows and scaling from prototype to high-rate production.
• Ability to travel up to 25%-50% domestically and internationally as needed.
• Ability to relocate, if not already local to be onsite in Costa Mesa.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, or materials science
• Previous experience in defense, aerospace, automotive, high tech, or related industry
• Well-versed in TCO analysis and should costing to ensure data-driven analytics tied to component and supplier selection, in a product-based ecosystem
• Proven track record of managing supplier lifecycles and negotiating complex multi-million-dollar commercial agreements.
• Strategic thinker, experienced putting together commodities strategy/roadmap with key engineering stakeholders
• Proven leadership in driving and influencing other teams to a common goal. You know how to effectively communicate and collaborate cross functionally and with all levels within an organization
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Security clearance