Director of Supply Chain

Kodiak Robotics, Inc. was founded in 2018 and has become a leader in autonomous ground transportation committed to a safer and more efficient future for all. The company has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) powered technology stack purpose-built for commercial trucking and the public sector. The company delivers freight daily for its customers across the southern United States using its autonomous technology. In 2024, Kodiak became the first known company to publicly announce delivering a driverless semi-truck to a customer. Kodiak is also leveraging its commercial self-driving software to develop, test and deploy autonomous capabilities for the U.S. Department of Defense.

About the Company

Kodiak Robotics, Inc. was founded in 2018 and has become a leader in autonomous ground transportation committed to a safer and more efficient future for all. The company has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) powered technology stack purpose-built for commercial trucking and the public sector. The company delivers freight daily for its customers across the southern United States using its autonomous technology. In 2024, Kodiak became the first known company to publicly announce delivering a driverless semi-truck to a customer. Kodiak is also leveraging its commercial self-driving software to develop, test and deploy autonomous capabilities for the U.S. Department of Defense.

About the Role

We are looking for a Director of Supply Chain to manage and scale our end-to-end supply chain function. This is a high-impact leadership role responsible for planning, procurement, inventory management, contract manufacturing, warehouse operations, and supply chain finances and compliance. While driving the supply chain for all suppliers, they will strongly partner with Kodiak’s Partnership team, which owns strategic relationships with key OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers. This leader will be accountable for establishing a robust supply chain control environment, ensuring real-time visibility into material status, and enabling accurate tracking of purchases through allocation to specific vehicle builds. You will build the processes, team, and infrastructure needed to take us from producing tens of finished units per year to hundreds and ultimately thousands—while driving continuous cost reduction and operational excellence. This role requires a hands-on leader with demonstrated experience successfully operating in a public company environment, including strong partnership with Accounting and Finance to support compliance, audit readiness, and accurate financial reporting (including CIP accounting). This role also requires a high level of responsiveness and ownership, with the ability to quickly identify, communicate, and resolve supply chain issues.

Key Responsibilities

Supply Chain Strategy & Leadership

Own end-to-end supply chain strategy, performance, and risk management across a multi-tiered, outsourced manufacturing model

Build and lead a high-performing supply chain organization spanning planning, procurement, inventory management, and manufacturing/contract manufacturer oversight

Develop and execute the roadmap to scale supply chain operations from low-volume to high-volume production

Serve as the primary supply chain interface with Finance, Accounting, Engineering, Operations, and Commercialization teams

Establish and enforce a strong internal control environment across all supply chain activities, including procurement, inventory tracking, and vendor management

Drive accountability, responsiveness, and execution rigor across the supply chain function, setting clear expectations for communication and delivery

Drive a culture of continuous improvement, leveraging Lean, Six Sigma, or equivalent methodologies to improve quality, reduce lead times, and eliminate waste

Planning & Demand Management

Lead S&OP (Sales & Operations Planning) and demand planning processes to align supply with customer commitments and sales forecasts

Own master production scheduling, inventory targets, and risk mitigation planning

Drive system-based planning through SAP MRP

Ensure accurate, system-driven visibility into material requirements, purchase order status, and supply risks at any point in time, including the ability to clearly report status of open purchase orders and allocation to specific vehicle builds

Manage excess and obsolete inventory exposure; own E&O review cadence and disposition decisions

Procurement & Vendor Management

Develop and execute supplier strategy, including selection, onboarding, and performance management for both domestic and global suppliers

Coordinate with the Partnerships team on suppliers with strategic commercial relationships, ensuring alignment on commercial terms and relationship ownership

Manage commodity strategy across electronics, mechanical, and automotive components

Perform supplier qualifications, audits and drive continuous improvement

Negotiate contracts, pricing, and terms with suppliers and contract manufacturers

Oversee tactical purchasing execution and ensure procurement processes are compliant with internal controls, audit requirements, and public company standards, including approval workflows and system-based controls within SAP

Manage the flow of consigned materials to contract manufacturers and coordinate multi-tier sub-assembly builds across the supply base

Contract Manufacturing & Upfit Operations

Own the strategy and day-to-day management of contract manufacturers who build sub-assemblies from a combination of procured and consigned components

Coordinate the complex flow of components and sub-assemblies across multiple contract manufacturers, culminating in final integration at the upfitter or OEM

Ensure traceability of components and sub-assemblies through to final vehicle allocation and build completion

Partner with Engineering on new product introduction (NPI), design-for-manufacturability, and prototype-to-production transitions

Manage build plans, manufacturing engineering support, and in-house labor/build activities as needed

Inventory, Warehouse & Logistics

Oversee warehouse management, including receiving, storage, cycle counts, logistics, and reverse logistics

Ensure inventory accuracy and compliance through physical controls and system-controlled transactions (SAP), including support of the reconciliation between physical, system, and financial records

Strengthen working capital management and inventory valuation processes in partnership with finance and accounting

Financial & Compliance Accountability

Own the financial performance of the supply chain function, including cost reduction targets and working capital optimization

Partner with FP&A on supply chain planning, BOM analysis, and forecasting, including alignment to financial plans.

Partner with accounting on inventory valuation, allocations, write-downs, and deployment accounting

Ensure timely, accurate, and audit-ready reporting aligned with public company requirements and SOX-compliant processes

Lead recurring inventory counts and ensure timely resolution of discrepancies

Ensure compliance with company procurement policies, GAAP inventory requirements, and applicable trade/import regulations for global sourcing

Drive year-over-year cost reductions through supplier negotiations, design collaboration, and process improvements

Commercial & Customer Support

Support the Commercialization and Sales teams by ensuring supply availability aligns with customer delivery commitments

Provide clear, real-time updates on order status, supply risks, and allocation of materials to specific vehicle programs with a high standard for responsiveness and accuracy

Provide supply chain data, lead times, and capacity information to support customer-facing communications and proposals

Key role in S&OP to balance d