Procurement Manager, Chemicals & Fuels

San Francisco, Houston

About the role

About Mariana Minerals

Mariana Minerals is a software-first, vertically integrated minerals company on a mission to supply the critical minerals powering modern energy, AI, and defense technologies. We’re reimagining the minerals supply chain by combining deep industry expertise with advanced software, automation, and data-driven decision-making.

Mariana is hiring a Procurement Manager to own procurement for our new projects and pre-operational sites. This is a senior, self-directed role requiring deep technical and commercial experience in industrial procurement.

In this role, you will ensure sites have the supply agreements, vendor relationships, and procurement coverage they need before they go live. You will work across engineering, operations, and commercial functions to translate project needs into executed contracts, and identify sourcing opportunities across the portfolio. This role covers operating supplies, consumables, and non-construction capital spend. Construction and fixed equipment procurement are owned by the Capital Projects team.

What You’ll Do

  1. Work directly with engineering and technical teams to define procurement requirements for pre-operational sites; translate technical specifications into sourcing scope

  1. Own end-to-end pre-operational procurement: qualify vendors per established policy frameworks, run RFQ and competitive bid processes, negotiate pricing and contract terms, execute purchases, manage first deliveries

  1. Procure operating supplies and consumables (including reagents and spare parts) and non-construction capital spend (including mobile equipment)

  1. Ensure all contracts are reviewed for policy compliance and enterprise-level alignment prior to execution; flag clauses with broader implications

  1. Own vendor relationships through the pre-operational phase; ensure clean handoff to on-site procurement as sites become operational

  1. Support on-site procurement on complex purchases, high-value negotiations, and new project scope at existing operational sites

  1. Lead cross-site consolidation sourcing events to identify and capture volume-based savings opportunities

  1. Contribute quote data and supplier information to the organization's pricing and market intelligence database

  1. Coordinate across site and project teams to ensure continuity of supply through startup and into operations

Desired Qualifications

  1. Bachelor's degree in engineering, materials science, chemistry, or a related technical field required. Candidates without a degree who can demonstrate equivalent technical depth through experience will be considered.

  1. 8-12+ years of experience in procurement, project procurement, or capital purchasing in mining, industrials, chemicals, or a related sector

  1. Proven track record of owning pre-operational or greenfield site procurement from spec to first delivery

  1. Strong technical background with the ability to read specifications, understand process requirements, and engage credibly with engineering teams

  1. Excellent negotiation skills with a track record of securing favorable terms under time pressure and without a large team behind you

  1. Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple concurrent procurement workstreams across different projects and sites

  1. Comfortable operating with ambiguity and limited structure; takes ownership and figures it out

  1. Proficient with software tools for project tracking, workstream management, and reporting

Our culture is built on four principles:

Everyone Gets Home Safe. We never put speed or cost ahead of people.

Extreme Ownership. We take full responsibility for outcomes, relentlessly driving toward solutions.

Engineer Out Requirements, then Automate. We simplify, optimize, and then automate for scale.

Share Your Legos. We collaborate openly, share knowledge, and empower each other to build bigger, better solutions.

Join us as we build the future of responsible mineral sourcing and supply!

About Mariana Minerals

Mariana Minerals is a software-first, vertically integrated minerals company focused on supplying the minerals critical to modern energy, AI, and defense technologies. It engineers, builds, and operates mines and refineries using its proprietary MarianaOS platform, which integrates capital project execution, refinery operations, and mine management into a single AI and machine learning stack. The company targets domestic U.S. critical mineral supply for sectors facing supply chain vulnerabilities, including copper and lithium.

Other roles at Mariana Minerals

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Job details

Location

San Francisco, Houston

Company

NameMariana Minerals
IndustryArtificial Intelligence (AI)
Team Size3

Funding

Total raised

$400M

Last stage

Series A

Investors

a16z

Founders

TC

Turner Caldwell

CEO & Co-Founder

LinkedIn
JL

Juan Lozano

Co-Founder & CTO

BT

Baker Tilney

Co-Founder & CFO

LinkedIn

What happens next.

No applications, no recruiter spam. Just the intro.

01

Confirm the fit

A few questions to make sure this role is the right shape for you. Two minutes.

02

I pitch you to the company

I write the intro, send it to the founder, and handle the back-and-forth.

03

A meeting lands on your calendar

If they’re a yes, I book the chat. You show up — that’s the whole job-hunt.