Responsibilities:

• Own commercial relationships with Mouser, DigiKey, Arrow, Avnet, Element14/Newark, Future Electronics, TME, LCSC, Rutronik, and the broader online distribution ecosystem

• Negotiate and sign best-price contracts, API access agreements, volume rebates, and payment terms

• Manage existing integrations (Nexar/Octopart, Mouser, DigiKey, TME, Element14, Unikey IC, LCSC) and onboard new ones online

• Build and manage our direct supplier network across Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Taipei, and Hsinchu

• Vet and onboard authorized agents, franchised distributors, and independent stocking partners — with clear guardrails on counterfeit risk, traceability, and quality

• Negotiate framework agreements that let our AI agents pull live offers in real time

• Define the sourcing rules our AI agents follow — supplier tiers, quality criteria, blacklists, lead-time tolerances, alternate-part logic, and risk thresholds

• Work hand-in-hand with engineering and product to encode supply chain judgment into the platform

• Continuously refine pricing benchmarks, supplier scorecards, and award logic as we scale

• Lead supplier audits, quality issue resolution, dispute management, and post-sale escalations

• Monitor allocation, EOL, and counterfeit signals and translate them into procurement strategy

• Build the supplier base for India volumes; and design it for Vietnam and broader SEA expansion

Good to have:

• 8–15 years in electronic component supply chain — sourcing, procurement, category management, or distributor-side commercial roles

• Real, working relationships with major online distributor commercial teams (India and APAC heads, key account managers)

• Hands-on experience sourcing from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong; solid understanding of authorized vs. grey market and how to manage the risk professionally

• Proven contract negotiation track record — signed actual distributor agreements, rebate structures, and framework contracts

• Comfortable with technology — shape how the agentic platform negotiates and decides

• Deep familiarity with EOL, allocation, counterfeit risk, traceability, date codes, MOQ, and lead time dynamics

• Strong English communication, both written and verbal

• Prior role at an authorized distributor, EMS, OEM procurement org, or a procurement/sourcing tech company

• Mandarin language skills, or an active network in Shenzhen, Hong Kong, or Hsinchu

• Experience with API-driven distributor integrations or e-procurement platforms

• Exposure to component ML/AI tools, BOM cost optimization, or should-cost modeling

Sourcing & Distributor Partnerships Lead - Electronic Components/ China