Supplier Development Engineer

| San Francisco
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About Zipline

Do you want to change the world? Zipline uses drones to deliver critical and lifesaving medicine to thousands of hospitals serving millions of people in multiple countries. Our mission is to provide every human on Earth with instant access to vital medical supplies. Join Zipline and help us make this a reality for billions of people.

About You and The Role  

Does the prospect of a large challenge - transitioning a company from prototype to volume manufacturing - excite you? Can you cut through the fog of multiple, competing requests to focus on the important and urgent priorities required to accomplish a long-term goal? Are you undeterred by the authority and responsibility that comes with a critical leadership position? If your answers are affirmative, then we’ve been looking for you: Please read on.

In this role, you will own component development and qualification activities at component suppliers.

What You'll Do  

The Long Term Goal:

  • Drive advanced quality planning and Root Cause / Corrective Action / Preventive Action (RCCAPA) activities with Suppliers such that Supplier outgoing quality is sufficient to eliminate the need for incoming inspection at Zipline.
  • Deliver on time quantities of high quality component parts into Zipline’s production processes to enable extremely rapid development cycles and product launches. 
  • Plan, organize, direct and conduct industrialization related activities within the Design Engineering , Manufacturing, Material Planning, New Product Introduction (NPI) and Supply Chain teams.

Supplier Development:

  • Develop, manage, audit and correct planning and execution of component manufacturing and assembly techniques and quality control processes at current and potential suppliers, both domestically and abroad to ensure they meet increasing quality, delivery and reliability requirements.
  • Lead, track and improve Supplier manufacturing process development and launch readiness for design changes, new products and outsourcing initiatives.
  • Guide Suppliers in developing exceptionally robust processes and procedures to promote seamless and efficient production of high quality electrical components.
  • Facilitate communication and clarification of technical requirements between Suppliers and Zipline’s Design, Internal Quality and Procurement teams. Collaborate with Zipline Design, Internal Quality and Manufacturing/NPI to determine ideal performance specifications and Supplier metrics.
  • Partner with Zipline's Design, Manufacturing and Supply Chain teams to determine requirements for outsourcing initiatives in electrical assemblies and components.
  • Select, coach, and support potential and current suppliers into independent workforces that strive for continuous improvement towards zero defects.

Quality Improvement.

  • Push quality upstream by ensuring that issues are permanently corrected at the source through root cause analysis.
  • Drive improvements utilizing Lean methodologies, Statistical Process Control (SPC), and supplier scorecards.
  • Ensure supplier compliance, while driving systematic problem solving and process-improvement plans.
  • Develop strong and positive relationships internally and externally to implement and track supplier/engineering design changes, capacity studies and New Product Introductions.

Process Optimization.

  • Participate in Supplier Design for Manufacturability (DFM) reviews, guide suppliers in efficient use of poka-yokes, best methods of gauging, and correct tools or assembly equipment to use.  Provide feedback to Zipline Design teams to ensure alignment and incorporation of feedback during validation build phases.
  • Drive advanced quality planning and RCCAPA with our suppliers so that the quality of our parts is excellent at the source and thus require no receiving inspection at Zipline.
  • Lead and implement Supplier improvements in scalability, cost, and quality.

What You'll Bring 

  • You have worked for at least 5 years in a fast paced and high growth environment as a Supplier Quality Engineer, Supplier Development Engineer, or Supplier Industrialization Engineer
  • You have successfully launched, into volume production, complex electrical components and assemblies using quality planning from prototype through mass production stages.
  • You have worked with an established Quality System and applied it to improve your supply base (applicable standards are AS9100/ISO9001/IATF16949).
  • You have achieved measurable results with implementing Product Quality Planning with part suppliers and contract manufacturers, both domestic and overseas (applicable examples are Advanced Product Quality Planning, Production Part Approval Process, Process Failure Modes and Effects Analysis, SPC).
  • You have visited vendors in different geographies and you know what excellence looks like across a variety of manufacturing processes so that you can effectively assess the best fit for Zipine’s needs (as a minimum: electromechanical assembly, PCBA manufacturing, coating. Multi sensor integration including optical, acoustic and RF is a big plus!).
  • You have actively participated in a product design effort and thus know what it takes to transition from prototype to volume production (if you used any CAD system like Altium, OrCAD, Solidworks PCB that is a big plus!).
  • You understand the value of methods such as 8D, 5-WHY, Pareto Charts and Fishbone Diagrams because you have achieved measurable results by using them and influencing others to do the same.
  • You can thrive in structured and unstructured environments and are not  dissuaded at the prospect of making hard decisions about what is important and urgent against a backdrop of limited resources.
  • You have a good understanding of and have successfully implemented gates within a product development process and achieved the intended results.
  • You have strong project management skills with demonstrated ability to drive aggressive timelines with key stakeholders internally and externally.
  • You are bilingual, with written and verbal fluency in English and Mandarin is a plus.

What Else You Need to Know   

This role will require travel of 25-30% of the time to visit Suppliers, and Zipline will work together with you to make sure that this is possible. 

Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, mental or physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, military or veteran status, citizenship, or other characteristics protected by state, federal or local law or our other policies.

 

We value diversity at Zipline and welcome applications from those who are traditionally underrepresented in tech. If you like the sound of this position but are not sure if you are the perfect fit, please apply!

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Location

South San Francisco, CA 94080

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