Hayward
Supplier Development Engineer, Ropes & Soft Goods
Supplier Development Engineer, Ropes & Soft Goods | Supply Chain
Location: Hayward, CA (on-site)
About 1X
We’re an AI and robotics company based in Palo Alto, California, on a mission to build a truly abundant society through general-purpose robots capable of performing any kind of work autonomously.
We believe that to truly understand the world and grow in intelligence, humanoid robots must live and learn alongside us. That’s why we’re focused on developing friendly home robots designed to integrate seamlessly into everyday life.
We’re looking for curious, driven, and passionate people who want to help shape the future of robotics and AI. If this mission excites you, we’d be thrilled to hear from you and explore how you might contribute to our journey.
Role Overview
We are seeking a Supplier Development Engineer to lead sourcing, industrialization, and quality development for ropes, technical textiles, and soft-goods assemblies in support of our humanoid robotics platform. This role is critical in ensuring our suppliers meet stringent performance and reliability standards as we scale production. You’ll collaborate closely with engineering and sourcing teams to select and develop suppliers, drive product manufacturability, and manage production readiness. This is a hands-on role that requires strong technical and quality expertise.
Responsibilities
Partner with engineering and sourcing teams to select suppliers based on manufacturing capabilities for ropes and related assemblies
Collaborate with suppliers on design reviews for manufacturability and explore new production techniques
Lead the supplier industrialization process from design through production ramp-up
Support suppliers with tooling, equipment, and process qualifications
Assess supplier readiness for vehicle builds and manage production risk
Drive the APQP process and support PPAP through the start of production
Train suppliers on 1X’s quality systems and review part quality documentation
Lead root cause and corrective action efforts for supplier quality issues
Monitor and report supplier quality metrics to ensure ongoing improvement
Apply lean and quality tools to drive continuous improvement across the supply base
Travel up to 40%, domestically and internationally, sometimes on short notice