This is an exciting opportunity to join a rapidly growing advanced manufacturing company and build its supply chain function from the ground up while collaborating with local teams and global stakeholders in a fast-paced environment.

Company Profile:

Our client is an AI-native manufacturing startup backed by a US venture group, with operations in both the Philippines and the United States. It is building the allied-nation manufacturing platform for autonomous systems. The company focuses on the production of drone motors, with designs coming from the US and manufacturing based in the Philippines.

It is building local manufacturing capabilities in response to global supply chain shift. In the long term, the company aims to expand into robotics, motion systems, sensors, actuators, and humanoid robots. Currently, the Philippine team is lean but expanding, with operations based in Laguna.

Overall purpose and responsibilities of the role:

The Supply Chain Manager will be responsible for building and leading the supply chain function. The role will focus on implementing the right supply chain systems and processes suitable for the company’s current size and stage.

The person will support Philippine operations by ensuring stable stock levels, managing manufacturing supply requirements, resolving supply risks, developing vendor partnerships, and preparing the supply chain function for manufacturing growth.

Duties and Responsibilities:

I. The Role

The company needs a hands-on Supply Chain Manager to turn customer demand, engineering requirements, and production priorities into a reliable supply base, disciplined planning cadence, and clear material readiness process. This leader owns the operating system that keeps manufacturing moving.

II. What You Own

Six operating areas define the role. The manager must build the function while executing daily supply needs.

Supply Chain Strategy & Operating Cadence

• Build practical supply chain processes for sourcing, purchasing, planning, inventory, logistics, supplier management, and material readiness.
• Create weekly operating rhythms for demand review, critical parts, open POs, shortages, supplier risks, cost actions, and leadership updates.
• Translate business priorities into clear supply chain plans, owners, dates, metrics, and escalation paths.
• Implement a supply chain system appropriate to the company's current size and stage of growth.
• Support supply chain readiness for the company's planned manufacturing ramp-up.

Strategic Sourcing & Supplier Network

• Identify, qualify, negotiate with, and manage suppliers for direct materials, electronics, machining, fabrication, tooling, MRO, services, and logistics.
• Build local and international supplier options to improve cost, quality, lead time, resilience, and manufacturability.
• Own supplier scorecards, business reviews, development plans, corrective actions, and supply risk mitigation.
• Drive supplier localization initiatives by increasing the use of qualified local vendors where feasible.

Procurement, Materials & Production Support

• Manage procurement execution from RFQ to PO release, order follow-up, receiving coordination, invoice issue resolution, and supplier escalation.
• Connect BOMs, forecasts, inventory, production schedules, and engineering changes into purchasing and replenishment decisions.
• Drive shortage reviews and material recovery plans that protect prototypes, builds, customer commitments, and launch milestones.
• Manage procurement for manufacturing volume requirements while coordinating with Engineering on prototype and R&D purchases.

Inventory, Warehouse & Controls

• Establish inventory controls, cycle count discipline, material handling practices, transaction accuracy, and clean stock status reporting.
• Balance material availability, working capital, MOQ exposure, safety stock, obsolescence risk, and storage constraints.
• Partner with finance and operations on inventory valuation, landed cost visibility, and supplier payment or receiving discrepancies.

Logistics, Importation & Compliance

• Coordinate inbound and outbound logistics, forwarders, brokers, customs documents, PEZA or BOC requirements, duties, taxes, and shipment tracking.
• Clarify Incoterms, lead times, documentation, freight costs, country-of-origin details, and delivery risks before orders are committed.
• Maintain compliance-minded records for purchase orders, supplier files, import documents, receipts, and audit support.
• Support the establishment of the company's import/export processes and permits as operations continue to scale.

Systems, Data & Team Leadership

• Set up ERP/MRP, spreadsheet, and dashboard discipline for open POs, planning signals, supplier performance, costs, lead times, and risk tracking.
• Lead, coach, and scale procurement or supply chain staff as the operation grows; set clear expectations and accountability standards.
• Communicate crisply with engineering, quality, finance, production, logistics, suppliers, and executives.
• Collaborate with US-based stakeholders to support global supply chain coordination and risk mitigation.

Success Signals

Success is measured by material availability, supplier on-time delivery, shortage closure, purchase order accuracy, cost discipline, inventory accuracy, import reliability, process adoption, team accountability, and the ability to give leadership a clear view of supply risk and readiness.

Success will also be measured by the successful implementation of scalable supply chain processes, supplier localization initiatives, and readiness to support manufacturing ramp-up.

Requirements

Must-have Skills/Qualification:

• 7+ years of experience across supply chain, procurement, sourcing, materials planning, inventory, logistics, manufacturing operations, or related functions, including manufacturing procurement experience (not distribution or trading), preferably within electronics, aerospace, automotive components, or precision hardware industries.
• 2+ years of people leadership, supplier leadership, or cross-functional program ownership in a manufacturing environment. Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, Business, Finance, Engineering, or related field preferred.
• Demonstrated experience building or improving purchasing, planning, supplier management, inventory, and logistics processes, preferably within an unstructured, startup, or greenfield manufacturing environment.
• Strong working knowledge of ERP/MRP systems, BOM planning, purchasing transactions, inventory accuracy, and production-driven material control.
• Proven negotiation, RFQ management, supplier development, cost reduction, and supply risk management capability.
• Advanced Excel or Google Sheets skills, including trackers, formulas, lookups, pivot tables, dashboards, and clean management reporting.
• Clear written and verbal communication with executives, suppliers, engineers, production teams, finance, logistics partners, auditors, and global stakeholders, including experience coordinating with US, Australian, or Japanese headquarters across overlapping time zones.
• High ownership, urgency, ethics, attention to detail, and ability to operate in a fast-moving startup or manufacturing ramp environment.
• Strong English communication skills with the ability to collaborate effectively with US-based stakeholders.
• Hands-on experience managing import/export operations, including direct coordination with the Bureau of Customs (BOC); PEZA experience is highly preferred.

Nice to Have:

• Experience in aerospace, defense, electronics, motors, robotics, autonomous systems, automotive, precision machining, or contract manufacturing.
• Exposure to ISO 9001, AS9100, supplier quality requirements, first article, nonconformance, corrective action, or audit support.
• Experience launching a new site, standing up a supplier base, supporting NPI, or moving from prototype builds into repeatable production.
• APICS/CSCP, CPSM, Lean Six Sigma, project management, or related supply chain certification is a plus.
• Experience implementing supply chain systems or ERP solutions.
• Familiarity with export-control-sensitive supply chains.

Job type: Permanent 

Emp type: Direct hire; Full-time

Schedule: Monday–Friday, day shift, with flexibility for periodic early or late calls with US-based stakeholders.

Location: Biñan, Laguna

Industry: an AI-native manufacturing startup

Expertise: Full cycle Supply Chain Management