Technical engineer Jobs in San Francisco, CA

Procurement Associate / Technical Buyer

We're seeking a Procurement Associate / Technical Buyer who will move fast to get critical parts, materials, equipment, and services into the hands of our prototyping, testing, propulsion, and manufacturing teams. You are highly organized, detail-oriented, and execution-driven. You thrive in a fast-paced hardware environment with many moving parts. You are comfortable chasing suppliers, managing dozens of open threads, and creating the systems needed to make sure nothing falls through the cracks. You care deeply about schedule, follow-through, and clear communication. This is a hands-on tactical procurement role supporting the development, testing, and buildout of complex aerospace and industrial systems.

As an early team member, you'll drive our procurement and vendor operations, with the opportunity to grow into broader responsibilities across the supply chain team.

Specifically, you will:

• Root out demand signals across engineering, prototyping, testing, propulsion, and manufacturing teams to identify what needs to be purchased before it becomes a blocker
• Take parts and materials from early engineering conversations through vendor prospecting, quoting, negotiation, order placement, supplier follow-up, delivery tracking, and receipt
• Source piece parts, machined components, fabricated parts, hardware, tooling, test equipment, lab supplies, and other materials needed to support fast-moving technical teams
• Drive supplier schedule execution by maintaining regular check-ins, confirming lead times, escalating risks, and pushing vendors to deliver on time
• Create and maintain detailed procurement trackers covering open requests, RFQs, quotes, POs, supplier commitments, delivery dates, risks, and status updates
• Partner closely with engineering and manufacturing to clarify requirements, drawings, specifications, quantities, revisions, acceptable substitutes, and delivery priorities
• Build and manage relationships with critical suppliers, manufacturers, and service providers to ensure reliability and quality
• Build our vendor network by vetting and qualifying new and existing vendors
• Anticipate risks in the supply chain and design contingency plans to mitigate disruptions

What we're looking for:

• 3+ years of experience in procurement, purchasing, supply chain, operations, production control, manufacturing, or vendor coordination in a hardware environment
• Strong bias toward action; you move quickly, follow up relentlessly, and know how to unblock teams under schedule pressure
• Exceptional organization skills, with the ability to track many parts, suppliers, quotes, purchase orders, delivery dates, and open issues at once
• Experience working with technical teams and the ability to quickly understand engineering requirements, drawings, specifications, and part descriptions
• Strong supplier communication skills; comfortable calling vendors, requesting quotes, negotiating basic terms, confirming schedules, and escalating when needed
• Detail-oriented and process-minded, with the ability to create clean trackers, maintain accurate records, and build lightweight systems where none exist
• Comfortable operating in an ambiguous startup environment where priorities shift quickly and many processes are still being built
• Exposure to aerospace, export-controlled environments, AS9100 suppliers, or regulated hardware is a plus

Perks & Benefits:

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, including Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• 401(k) program and transparent stock option plan
• Self-managed and flexible time-off policy, including PTO, paid holidays, and sick time
• Flexible work environment

Additional Information:

At Astro Mechanica, we highly value in-office work to foster collaboration and strengthen our company culture. We consider working in the office five days a week an essential part of the employee's role.

Astro Mechanica is an equal opportunity employer. We proudly recruit and hire a diverse workforce and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.