Procurement Specialist

About the Company

We are a renewable energy and ocean technology company committed to rapidly developing and deploying technologies that will ensure a sustainable future for Earth by unlocking the vast energy potential of its oceans. Our focus is on capturing civilizational levels of ultra-low-cost renewable energy for applications including computing and affordable renewable fuels delivered to shore.

The company is a public benefit corporation headquartered in Portland, Oregon, and backed by leading venture capitalists, philanthropic investors, university endowments, and private investment offices. We operate as an idea meritocracy in which the best ideas change the company’s direction on a regular basis.

Our staff have worked at organizations such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing, Tesla, Apple, Virgin Orbit, Astra, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, New Relic, Bridgewater, Raytheon, Disney Imagineering, and the US Army and Air Force, as well as research universities, startups, and small companies across a range of industries.

About the Job

Our core technology is the node, a device that produces energy in the ocean’s harshest conditions for years at a time without human maintenance or intervention.

Panthalassa is seeking a procurement professional to join our supply chain team. You will be responsible for developing sourcing strategies, leading negotiations, and executing key procurement activities with a strong emphasis on sourcing high-performance compute infrastructure and hardware. In this role, you will build and manage supplier relationships to ensure performance aligns with our program milestones and business objectives.

Candidates should have strong interpersonal skills and be able to thrive in a creative, scrappy, and collaborative environment in which the best ideas change the company’s direction on a regular basis.

Responsibilities

• Lead the preparation, issuance, and lifecycle management of purchase orders to ensure timely delivery of goods and services.
• Support end-to-end compute procurement, coordinating with engineering and IT teams to source, evaluate, and acquire servers and hardware.
• Support sourcing, and quoting of new materials and services, coordinating with the engineering team to understand technical specifications and project timelines.
• Perform rigorous Price and/or Cost Analysis to ensure competitive pricing 
• Identify and resolve material shortages, pricing discrepancies, and supply chain issues. 
• Manage full supplier lifecycle activities from initial vendor onboarding and compliance setup to active performance monitoring, ensuring all deliverables meet critical program milestones and quality standards.

Required Qualifications

• 3+ years of procurement experience in a high-complexity manufacturing environment
• In-depth understanding of procurement processes and supply chain management. 
• Bachelor’s Degree in Supply Chain Management or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience. 
• Experience utilizing an ERP system to manage procurement workflows

Desired Qualifications

• Direct experience sourcing compute hardware, data center infrastructure, or server components. 
• Experience managing Engineering Change Orders (ECO) within a faced paced, high-mix R&D or production environment
• Experience with Lean Manufacturing or Six Sigma principles in a supply chain context.
• Experience collaborating with cross-functional Engineering departments to define specifications for procurement, evaluating supplier capabilities, and sourcing specialized components.

The above qualifications are desired, not required. We encourage you to apply if you are a strong candidate with only some of the desired skills and experience listed.

Additional Requirements

• Travel to vendors and test sites as needed
• Intermittently able to work longer hours and weekends to support critical needs. While we expect a lot of each other, we also offer a high degree of autonomy and work-life balance, including flexible PTO and flexible working hours.

Compensation and Benefits

If hired for this full-time role, you will receive:

• Cash compensation of $80,000 - $120,000.
• Equity in the company. We’re all owners and if we’re successful, this equity should be far and away the most valuable component of your compensation.
• A benefits package that helps you take care of yourself and your family, including:
  • Flexible paid time off
  • Health insurance (the company pays 100% of gold-level PPO plan for full-time employees, their partners, and dependents)
  • Dental insurance (the company pays 100% for full-time employees, their partners, and dependents)
  • Vision insurance (the company pays 100% for full-time employees, their partners, and dependents)
  • Disability insurance (the company pays 100% for a policy to provide long-term financial support if you become disabled)
  • Ability to contribute to tax-advantaged accounts, including 401(k), health FSA, and dependent care FSA
• Relocation assistance to facilitate your move to Portland (if needed).

Location

This is an on-site position. Our offices, lab, and shop are located in Portland, Oregon.