Sourcing Manager, Aviation
Flock Safety
Who is Flock?
Flock Safety is an all-in-one technology solution to eliminate crime and keep communities safe. Our intelligent platform combines the power of communities at scale - including cities, businesses, schools, and law enforcement agencies - to shape a safer future together. Our full-service, maintenance-free technology solution is trusted by communities across the country to help solve and deter crime in the pursuit of safer communities for everyone.
Our holistic public safety platform is comprehensive and intelligent, providing the actionable evidence needed to solve, deter and reduce crime across neighborhoods, schools, businesses and entire cities. Without compromising transparency or privacy, we are turning unbiased data into objective answers.
Flock strives to offer a career-defining experience where you can also make an impact on your community. While safety is a serious business, we are a supportive team that is optimizing the remote experience to create strong and fulfilling relationships even when we are physically apart. Our group of hard-working employees thrive in a positive and inclusive environment, where a bias towards action is rewarded.
We have raised over $500M in venture capital from investors including Tiger Global, Andreessen Horowitz, Matrix Partners, Meritech Capital Partners, and Initialized Capital. Now surpassing a $5.5B valuation, Flock is scaling intentionally and seeking the best and brightest to help us meet our goal of reducing crime in the United States by 25% in the next three years.
The Opportunity
Flock Safety’s NPI Sourcing Team is responsible for supporting and enabling new product launches through collaboration with the engineering and product teams, as well as owning supplier selection, strategy, development and performance. This role is responsible for supporting the Aviation engineering teams as they launch new and groundbreaking aerial customer solutions. The work will include but is not limited to: ensuring new product introduction support, prototype material procurement, vendor contract negotiations, cost optimization, multi-sourcing and supplier strategy and performance management.
We are seeking someone with strong sourcing experience and an aptitude for building strong relationships with global vendors. The ideal candidate has the relevant experience to be operationally excellent paired with a growth mindset that allows for creative problem solving. The candidate has experience sourcing technical products and new product introduction experience in a manufacturing and technology industry. They have strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to negotiate and collaborate with both internal and external partners. This role is crucial to the company’s overall success by ensuring the selection of the right partners to build and install our public safety operating system in thousands of communities across the United States.
How You'll Make an Impact
Be the liaison between Supply Chain and Engineering, responsible for the new Drone as First Responder (DFR) product segment
Support the Aviation team in Non-Disclosure Agreements, Statements of Work, and Manufacturing Agreements in support of drone products and aviation connectivity
Manage and coordinate new product development initiatives, soliciting existing suppliers as well as finding new suppliers that meet the needs of the product and engineering team requirements, while meeting company financial and compliance requirements
Lead, manage, and track cost savings and cost reduction initiatives within assigned products/suppliers
Manage key vendor accounts including performance, contract negotiation, payment terms, issue resolution, etc.
Build out a portfolio technology roadmap to highlight opportunities for future engineering adoption.
Create feedback loop and performance management cycle with supply base, reacting to input from internal cross functional teams and performance indicators that may point to a need for new suppliers or an improvement plan.
The Skillset
5+ years electronics or technology sourcing experience, preferably in fast growing company
A degree in a supply chain, sourcing, business, or engineering
Extensive experience working with and managing suppliers and contract manufacturers
Experience in new product development and working with engineering teams
Experience in working with electrical and mechanical suppliers
Negotiation and contract management experience
Self-starter, does well with ambiguity and changing priorities
Strong project management skills, decision making
Able to demonstrate organizational skills, record keeping,
Worked fluidly in a cross-functional team environment involving Manufacturing, Engineering, and Product Development teams
Experience with drones, aviation products a plus
Feeling uneasy that you haven’t ticked every box? That’s okay; we’ve felt that way too. Studies have shown women and minorities are less likely to apply unless they meet all qualifications. We encourage you to break the status quo and apply to roles that would make you excited to come to work every day.
90 Days at Flock
We are a results-oriented culture and believe job descriptions are a thing of the past. We prescribe to 90 day plans and believe that good days lead to good weeks, which lead to good months. This serves as a preview of the 90 day plan you will receive if you were to be hired as a Strategic Sourcing Manager at Flock Safety.
The First 30 Days
Know the new programs you will support, and who the DRIs and stakeholders are that you will interface with
Understand where things are currently coming from, how much we are paying, what kind of volumes we use, what the uses are, etc.
Understand who the suppliers are, how big of a customer we are to them, where their locations are, quantitative and qualitative risks, etc.
Begin to formulate a plan and playbook for execution, where do we have gaps/risks, where are we single/sole-sourced, what do you think will be the biggest opportunities?
The First 60 Days
Formulate strategies
Create a roadmap for sourcing.
Implement supplier measurement system for the assigned categories. Are they on time? Quality? Cost? Service?
90 Days & Beyond
Fully owning your DFR product category.
Effectively supporting the teams on the assigned developments and launches.
Operating independently.
The Interview Process
We want our interview process to be a true reflection of our culture: transparent and collaborative. Throughout the interview process, your recruiter will guide you through the next steps and ensure you feel prepared every step of the way.
Our First Chat: During this first conversation, you’ll meet with a recruiter to chat through your background, what you could bring to Flock, what you are looking for in your next role, and who we are.
The Hiring Manager Interview: You will meet with your potential future boss to really dive into the role, the team, expectations, and what success means at Flock. This is your chance to really nerd out with someone in your field.
The Panel: Learn more about the team, responsibilities, and workflows. You should be prepared to speak about past projects, how you collaborate and communicate with others, and how you live our values. Depending on the team and role you are interviewing for, you may meet with several teammates as well as cross-functional partners.
The Executive Review: A chance to meet an executive and view Flock from a different lens. Be prepared to ask well-thought-out questions about the company, culture, and more.
Salary & Equity
In this role, you’ll receive a starting salary of $114,000 - $140,000 as well as stock options. Base salary is determined by job-related experience, education/training, as well as market indicators. Your recruiter will discuss this in-depth with you during our first chat.
The Perks
🌴Flexible PTO: We seriously mean it, plus 11 company holidays.
⚕️Fully-paid health benefits plan for employees: including Medical, Dental, and Vision and an HSA match.
👪Family Leave: All employees receive 12 weeks of 100% paid parental leave. Birthing parents are eligible for an additional 6-8 weeks of physical recovery time.
🍼Fertility & Family Benefits: We have partnered with Maven, a complete digital health benefit for starting and raising a family. Flock will provide a $50,000-lifetime maximum benefit related to eligible adoption, surrogacy, or fertility expenses.
🧠Spring Health: Spring Health offers a variety of mental health benefits, including therapy, coaching, medication management, and digital tools, all tailored to each individual's needs.
💖Caregiver Support: We have partnered with Cariloop to provide our employees with caregiver support
💸Carta Tax Advisor: Employees receive 1:1 sessions with Equity Tax Advisors who can address individual grants, model tax scenarios, and answer general questions.
💚ERGs: We want all employees to thrive and feel like they belong at Flock. We offer three ERGs today - Women of Flock, Flock Proud, and Melanin Motion. If you are interested in talking to a representative from one of these, please let your recruiter know.
💻WFH Stipend: $150 per month to cover the costs of working from home.
📚Productivity Stipend: $250 per year to use on Audible, Calm, Masterclass, Duolingo, Grammarly and so much more.
🏠Home Office Stipend: A one-time $750 to help you create your dream office.
🐾Pet Insurance: We’ve partnered with Pumpkin to provide insurance for our employee’s fur babies.
Flock is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diverse backgrounds and thoughts and welcome everyone to apply for employment with us. We are committed to fostering an environment that is inclusive, transparent, and collaborative. Mutual respect is central to how Flock operates, and we believe the best solutions come from diverse perspectives, experiences, and skills. We embrace our differences and know that we are stronger working together.
If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please email us at careers@flocksafety.com. This information will be treated as confidential and used only to determine an appropriate accommodation for the interview process.
At Flock Safety, we compensate our employees fairly for their work. Base salary is determined by job-related experience, education/training, as well as market indicators. The range above is representative of base salary only and does not include equity, sales bonus plans (when applicable) and benefits. This range may be modified in the future. This job posting may span more than one career level.