Procurement Lead

About the Role

VESSL is building the specialized AI cloud for the teams pushing AI forward: frontier labs, physical AI companies, and research institutions. In the US, demand is outrunning the capacity we can stand up. In a GPU cloud business, the constraint is rarely the customer. It is power, space, hardware, and the capital to bring them together on time.

This role exists to remove that constraint. You will lead all US procurement for VESSL: where capacity comes from, how it is financed, which vendors earn our trust, and when it comes online.

As the first hire on our US Supply team, you will run each deal yourself end to end: finding the right partners, closing the deal, overseeing delivery, and running the contract after signing. As volume grows, you will build the team that takes it to scale.

You sit in our global Supply function, reporting to our Chief Strategy Officer, who leads supply globally. Based in our US office, you will partner closely with our global supply team, US sales, product, infrastructure, and finance.

What You'll Own

Source and Secure Supply

Map the US data center value chain end to end: energy and power, data center developers and operators, OEMs and hardware partners, and the capital backers behind them

Source new capacity and onboard new supply partners

Verify offered capacity and delivery timelines before anything moves to negotiation

Build relationships that give VESSL first look at capacity before it reaches the open market

Own US capacity milestones: the right GPUs, in the right sites, on the timeline our customers and roadmap require

Qualify Every Vendor

Design and run vendor due diligence: financial health, ownership and capital structure, hardware provenance, operational track record, and contract risk

Run technical due diligence with Engineering: cluster specs, networking, and storage

Set and enforce VESSL's reliability qualification bar for data center partners, starting at Tier III standards for power, cooling, redundancy, and network

Set PoC scope and acceptance criteria before any commitment

Build a repeatable procurement playbook so every deal clears the same bar

Finance the Capacity

Structure how each capacity commitment is funded, and model its unit economics before we sign

Build relationships with financial partners and negotiate financing terms alongside our Chief Strategy Officer

Partner with Finance to turn available capital into a deployable compute plan

Structure deal funding terms that balance speed of delivery against cash exposure

Run Sourcing End to End

Define requirements for each deal: GPU model, node count, networking, and storage

Issue RFIs, compare quotes, and select partners

Negotiate commercial terms: pricing, contract term, payment structure, and risk allocation

Negotiate and execute MSAs, SLAs, and order forms, and handle KYC with HQ Legal and Finance

Agree on delivery schedules and milestones with each partner

Keep Operations Running

Track progress and manage delivery, cutover, and acceptance testing

Verify monthly invoices and settle payments

Monitor SLAs and claim credits when partners fall short

Negotiate renewals and expansions

Run the Pipeline

Own a single view of the US capital pipeline and compute pipeline: sourced, in diligence, in negotiation, financed, contracted, and live

Partner with US sales on supply and demand matching, translating demand signals into sourcing priorities so supply is secured ahead of the deals that need it

Report US capacity, pipeline, and capital status to HQ and leadership on a weekly and monthly cadence, with risks surfaced while they are still fixable

Align with our global supply team on shared standards, supplier coverage, and capacity planning

Who We Expect

7+ years of experience, including at least 2 years in investment banking or consulting, and hands-on work in the data center or cloud space

Track record leading data center, colocation, hardware, or financing agreements with real dollars at stake

Able to translate technical requirements into commercial terms and contract language

Hands-on experience with billing, settlement, and SLA management after signing

A working map of the data center value chain, from power to operations to OEMs to the capital behind them, and the judgment to tell a reliable partner from a risky one

Diligence instincts: you verify claims, underwrite counterparties, and build processes that catch problems before they become contracts

Builder mindset: you have hired and led a team, or you are ready to build one from scratch

On site, San Francisco

Nice to Have

Hands-on experience negotiating MSAs, SLAs, and DPAs

Hands-on experience in data center operations, deployment, or colocation, including power, cooling, rack density, and GPU networking

Understanding of NVIDIA GPU systems such as HGX and GB200 NVL72, their configurations, and build lead times

Experience designing benchmark and acceptance test criteria

An existing network across the compute and data center ecosystem

Fluency in infrastructure finance: how capital flows into infrastructure assets, how it is underwritten, and how financing terms shape unit economics

AI native: you use tools like Claude to multiply your output, model scenarios, and run diligence faster

What We Offer

The range we've posted represents the typical compensation range for this role. To determine actual compensation, we review the market rate for each candidate which can include a variety of factors. These include qualifications, experience, interview performance.

Base Salary : $180,000 ~ $ 210,000 per year

Perks

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

Basic Life and AD&D insurance

401(k) retirement Savings plan

Unlimited Vacation

Interview Process

Application Review → Initial Screen → Hiring Manager Screen → Culture-Fit Interview (2 rounds)→ CEO Interview → Offer