Senior R&D Planner

Established in 2014 as a tech business, we are now expanding and are in the process of developing ground breaking Zwift hardware. This is a big and exciting change for us, and because of this, we are looking to build a global Supply Chain team.

We are seeking a Sr. R&D Planner UK) to support the company’s global planning and purchasing strategy that enables a premier launch of new products with adventurous time to market targets. The qualified individual will be responsible for tracking R&D project plans, costs for sourcing, BOM and tooling as well as providing operations schedules at program team meetings.

We will be scaling the business and our supply chain quickly, so this role is designed to enable us to make our newly developed supply chain effective, across planning, sourcing, production and logistics. You will be responsible for supply chain technology and data across the business, and your role will be critical in helping us to build a premier supply chain, enabling us to deliver on our ambitions.

In this role, you are the focal point between Engineering, Product teams, Program Managers, Global Sourcing Managers (GSM), Contract Manufacturers (CM) Material Managers and CM Sourcing teams to ensure NPI material readiness in a constantly evolving and high growth environment. We value the ability to collaborate, learn and provide the freedom necessary for each person to do their work, with the expectation that we will get dedication in return.

What you’ll do: 

• Research and purchase materials and services as required to support R&D projects and immediate needs of the engineering teams
• Process requisitions, release purchase orders using ERP system, track orders to ensure on-time delivery and proactively update project partners as required
• Maintain efficient and effective follow-up system in order to provide updates and manage exceptions
• Negotiate and source various components, assemblies (both electronic and mechanical), wire and cables, cable assemblies, and miscellaneous requirements as needed
• Analyze supplier spend and capacity, and help to develop overall supplier negotiation and engagement strategies
• Plan, schedule, and release production/purchase orders for requirements driven to make-to-order and make-to-stock sales/service/spare parts requirements using our ERP system
• Become an expert user of our ERP system, using best practices and sharing expertise with others
• Track orders and supervise past dues and below safety stock lists to ensure that materials, tools, supplies, and equipment arrive in time to meet customer demands and production schedules
• Develop EOQ worksheets, prepare POs and Purchasing Agreements
• Maintain strong vendor relationships, track performance and provide vendor feedback
•  Implement end-to-end sourcing events (RFI/RFP)
•  Ability to lead a large book of work across multiple individuals, teams, and geographies. Must be able to bring organization and transparency to a fast-paced environment

• Support design/development of procurement compliance programs that align to organizational objectives and business strategies
• Champion process improvements, recommending new ways of working to improve processes and embed new systems in the function and across Sourcing Excellence
• Implement new product development pre-launch activities such as commercial aspects of supplier qualification and supplier development in close collaboration with R&D, cross-functional operations teams as well as category/procurement teams
• Develops and performs price risk management strategies to deliver predictable commodity costs.
•  Project management as it relates to R&D materials sourcing - reporting out to partners, facilitating meetings, tracking statuses, etc.

What you'll have: 

• 5+ years’ experience in Product Development Procurement support working with Global Suppliers and Tier 1 Contract Manufacturers
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Mathematics, Manufacturing, Engineering or related subject area
• Must have validated experience working with virtual/remote teams.
• Must be flexible with work schedules to accommodate distributed team interface.
• Excellent skills using Microsoft project, Power Point, Excel, and Word
• Consumer Electronics manufacturing-based experience a plus
• Experience in procurement of electronic components, printed circuit boards (PCBs), printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs),          custom cables and cable assemblies is especially desirable
• Your data is organized, accurate and drives critical business decisions.
• Your peers seek you for mentorship because you think through every detail.
• You possess excellent analytical and troubleshooting skills and demonstrate self-motivation to resolve appropriate planning, inventory, and supplier strategies. 
• You are outstanding in presenting cross-functionally, and you understand how your work impacts other functions. 
• You deliver results because you empathise with others’ needs and build win/win outcomes.

Bonus points: 

• Experience in an ecommerce business or within consumer electronics
• Experience with Netsuite