About the role
About Sesame Sesame believes in a future where computers are lifelike - with the ability to see, hear, and collaborate with us in ways that feel natural and human. With this vision, we're designing a new kind of computer, focused on making voice agents part of our daily lives. Our team brings together founders from Oculus and Ubiquity6, alongside proven leaders from Meta, Google, and Apple, with deep expertise spanning hardware and software. Join us in shaping a future where computers truly come alive. This role is responsible for leading the sourcing strategy and supplier management for final assembly and packaging across our hardware products. The position partners closely with engineering, operations, and program management teams to ensure contract manufacturing partners are aligned to program milestones, budgets, and costs.. This individual will drive supplier selection, contracts, commercial negotiations, and long-term sourcing strategies to support new product introduction (NPI) and sustaining production, ensuring high-quality products.
Responsibilities: Develop and execute sourcing strategies for contract manufacturing supporting both NPI builds and production ramp. Identify, qualify, and manage global suppliers with the technical capability and manufacturing capacity to manufacture the final product. Partner with Industrial and Product Design Engineering teams to ensure materials, finishes, and construction methods align with product design intent, user experience, and manufacturability. Lead commercial negotiations and contract development, including pricing agreements, tooling investments, and long-term supply agreements. Support new product introduction (NPI) by ensuring supplier readiness, component availability, and risk mitigation across EVT, DVT, and PVT through mass production. Drive cost optimization initiatives through value engineering, material selection improvements, and supplier benchmarking. Manage supplier performance across cost, quality, delivery, and responsiveness to ensure consistent execution. Collaborate with operations and contract manufacturers to ensure packaging and components integrate smoothly into factory builds and assembly processes. Identify potential supply risks and develop mitigation strategies to ensure continuity of supply. Provide market intelligence and supplier insights related to materials, manufacturing processes, and supplier capabilities for packaging, softgoods, and accessories. Required