Materials Sourcing Lead

Role details

About Formlabs

A 3D printer is one of the most demanding machines you can build.

Lasers, optics, precision motion, thermals, airflow, materials handling, chemistry, sensing, controls, and software all have to work at micron-scale precision, for thousands of layers, with almost no tolerance for error. Making that work reliably is an extraordinary engineering problem.

That's what we do.

At Formlabs, we're building 3D printers that are changing the way things get made. We have the smartest minds across every engineering discipline, and the technology they're building is deployed at more than 50,000 industry leaders worldwide, including Apple, Google, Tesla, New Balance, and NASA.

Your Impact

Our Manufacturing team makes 3D printing materials at scale, and Materials is one of the fastest-growing and most strategically important parts of our product portfolio. Our powders for our SLS printers are produced by a network of contract manufacturers, and we're increasingly looking at ways to make the supply chain more agile.

We're looking for a commercially minded Materials Sourcing Lead to own our powder supply base. You'll manage contract manufacturer relationships, negotiate the agreements that govern them, and keep cost, capacity, and risk in balance as the business grows. You'll also help shape our long-term strategy, including where vertical integration can improve our cost position, supply security, or control over quality.

This is a role for someone who has managed suppliers and contracts at a strategic level and wants to influence how a fast-growing materials business is built.

Contract Manufacturer Management

• Own relationships with powder contract manufacturers and key suppliers, serving as the primary commercial point of contact.
• Run quarterly business reviews with scorecards for quality, delivery, cost, capacity, and responsiveness, and hold partners accountable to their commitments.
• Manage volume allocation across contract manufacturers to balance cost, capacity, and supply risk.
• Partner with Quality to resolve supplier quality issues and make sure corrective actions are delivered.
• Own supplier qualification and onboarding for new contract manufacturers, and maintain the Approved Supplier List.

Commercial Strategy & Negotiation

• Lead negotiations for supply agreements, including pricing, volume commitments, capacity reservations, lead times, payment terms, and continuity provisions.
• Build and maintain total-cost and should-cost models to understand cost drivers and support negotiations.
• Drive annual cost reduction targets and report savings and commercial performance to leadership.
• Manage pricebooks and execute price change workflows in partnership with Finance.

Vertical Integration & Network Strategy

• Evaluate make-versus-buy opportunities across the powder value chain, building business cases that weigh cost, capital investment, risk, and strategic control.
• Support execution of vertical integration initiatives, coordinating with Finance, Manufacturing, and R&D, and managing the transition with existing partners.
• Develop a multi-year sourcing strategy for powder that supports growth, new product launches, and supply resilience.

Supply Risk & Continuity

• Maintain a live supply risk tracker covering capacity constraints, concentration risk, partner financial health, and geopolitical exposure.
• Surface emerging risks proactively and lead mitigation planning, including dual-sourcing, capacity agreements, and inventory strategy.
• Monitor market conditions for polymer feedstocks and translate them into commercial recommendations.

New Materials & NPI

• Identify and source new powder materials and partners that expand our product portfolio.
• Support NPI by setting cost targets, securing supply, and ensuring contract manufacturer readiness ahead of launch.

Cost Visibility & Operations

• Build and maintain dashboards tracking current and forward-looking powder COGS.
• Lead process improvement projects that make sourcing and supplier management more scalable.

You

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain Management, Business, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, category management, or supplier management, ideally in manufacturing, chemicals, or materials.
• Proven track record managing contract manufacturers or strategic suppliers, including leading complex negotiations with measurable results.
• Experience building business cases and financial models for sourcing, make-versus-buy, or investment decisions.
• Strong analytical skills: advanced Excel/Sheets required; SQL, Python, or Tableau a plus.
• Enough technical fluency to engage credibly with supplier engineers and our R&D team on materials and processes.
• Confident communicator and negotiator with external partners and senior leadership.

Bonus Points

• MBA or graduate degree in business or engineering.
• Experience with polymers, plastics, or powder materials (e.g., nylon, TPU, polypropylene).
• Experience supporting vertical integration, M&A, or new-site projects.
• Background in procurement or operations consulting.
• ERP experience (e.g., NetSuite, SAP, Oracle).

Our Benefits & Perks

• Unlimited 3D printing with any Formlabs material on any Formlabs printer
• An equity program that will let you build wealth through RSUs
• Healthcare coverage (medical, dental, vision) that includes a totally free employee-only plan, effective starting on your first day on the job
• 401K matching with no vesting or tenure requirement
• Generous parental leave (fully paid up to 16 weeks)
• Flexible time off so you can take time when you need it
• Six-week fully paid sabbatical after hitting tenure milestones (with the option to take an additional six weeks after that)
• Free on-site parking & pre-tax commuter benefits
• Free on-site lunch, snacks, beverages, treats, beer kegs, and employee-favorite local coffee and espresso
• Self-driven professional development opportunities like conferences, trade shows, and hackathons
• One-of-a-kind activities and events like monthly socials, the annual weekend summer camp, a can't-miss company hackathon, and lots of other social opportunities

You don't need to check every box to apply for a role. If you love working with hardware, spending time with smart people, solving hard problems, and winning, we want to hear from you.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

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