Director of Supply Chain

Kodiak AI, Inc. (Nasdaq: KDK), founded in 2018, is a leader in Physical AI, developing driverless technology that powers machines that move. Its Kodiak Driver is a vehicle-agnostic autonomous driving system that combines AI-powered software with modular hardware. Today it operates in long-haul trucking, industrial trucking, and defense. In 2024, Kodiak launched commercial Driver-as-a-Service operations with no one in the cab, and plans to launch driverless long-haul service between Dallas and Houston by the end of 2026.

Kodiak has partnered with many of the biggest names in freight, including Bosch for scaled hardware production, AWS, and leading customers including Atlas Energy Solutions, IKEA, Bridgestone, Werner Enterprises, C.R. England, Roehl Transport, and General Dynamics Land Systems.

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 demand signals against supply constraints and optimize delivery timelines

Qualifications

Required

• 12+ years of progressive supply chain leadership experience, including 5+ years in a senior management or director-level role
• Proven experience leading a supply chain function within a public company environment, including exposure to audit, controls, and financial reporting requirements
• Demonstrated experience scaling manufacturing or supply chain operations from low-volume/prototype to high-volume production in a hardware or electro-mechanical product environment
• Demonstrated ability to both build supply chain functions from early-stage/immature processes and optimize established operations
• Deep experience managing outsourced/contract manufacturing models with multi-tier supplier networks, including consignment and complex sub-assembly flows
• Strong background in procurement, commodity management, and supplier negotiations across both domestic and international supply bases
• Strong understanding of supply chain control environments, including segregation of duties, approval workflows, and system-based controls
• Experience with S&OP processes, demand planning, MRP/ERP systems (SAP strongly preferred), and inventory management best practices
• Proven track record of delivering continuous cost reductions and process improvements (Lean, Six Sigma, or equivalent)
• Strong financial acumen; experience owning supply chain P&L and balance sheet elements, BOM cost management, and working capital targets including experience with CIP accounting and cost tracking for labor and overhead
• Experience ensuring compliance with procurement policies, inventory accounting standards (GAAP), and trade/import regulations
• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations, Engineering, Business, or a related field

Preferred

• Experience in autonomous vehicles, automotive, aerospace, robotics, or related advanced hardware industries
• Hands-on experience with SAP S/4HANA (Public Cloud strongly preferred)Familiarity with vehicle OEM, upfit, retrofit, or aftermarket integration processes
• MBA or advanced degree
• APICS (CSCP/CPIM), ISM (CPSM), or equivalent professional certification
• Experience working in a high-growth, venture-backed, or startup-to-scale environment
• Experience supporting NPI and design-for-manufacturability initiatives in close partnership with Engineering

The pay range listed below reflects the base salary in our SF/Silicon Valley location, across several internal levels. Actual starting pay will be based on job-related factors including: work location, experience, relevant training, education, skill level and performance during interview. Total compensation at Kodiak includes base pay, equity, bonus and a competitive benefits package