Sr. Manager, Purchasing

The job

LIVE Employer public job feed (private-sector employer) Source: the employer's public careers feed · Data: listed 2026-09-29

Job description

SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars.

SR. MANAGER, PURCHASING

We are a progressive procurement organization pushing the boundaries of traditional procurement reputation and methodologies. We are looking for individuals who can think outside the box to achieve company objectives regarding value and partnerships with our suppliers. Our organization moves quickly, and you must too. SpaceX has the unique ability and desire to influence and shape suppliers to be better with us as we challenge our supply chain on cost, quality and delivery. This individual will support indirect supplier management and SG&A spend reduction initiatives. The purchasing team has aggressive objectives for 2026 that will positively impact our product and bottom line. We are looking for the right person who is equipped and ready for these challenges to join our team. 

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Lead and manage the indirect purchasing team while setting strategic direction and vision for the cloud, software, services, and facilities categories across all SpaceX locations.
• Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders, deeply understand their needs, and partner with them to develop high-quality procurement strategies aligned to business requirements.
• Serve as a trusted advisor who challenges stakeholders (including engineering and operations) to make decisions that support a high-performing, cost-effective supply plan.
• Own contract management to ensure supplier performance against obligations, drive on-time delivery, expedite as needed, and rapidly respond to demand changes.
• Develop and execute sourcing strategies that reduce risk, deliver continuous cost reduction, and align with company goals on payment terms, cash targets, on-time delivery, and savings.
• Conduct comprehensive supplier and market analysis to build strategic sourcing plans that identify new/suitable suppliers, optimize cost structures, and proactively ensure supply continuity based on macro market and industry trends.
• Present clear value propositions to SpaceX executives covering contract awards, cost reviews, cost-reduction strategies, and critical supply issues.
• Develop and implement new tools and processes that leverage the latest AI tools to drive efficiencies across the purchasing team, including process optimization, analysis activities, and related operational areas. 
• Lead talent development: hire, manage, develop, and mentor team members while driving critical projects.
• Execute purchase orders and manage the escalation process for purchase-to-pay issues.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, supply chain, finance, or other discipline.
• 10+ years of experience in purchasing, supplier management, or contract negotiations; or a combination of these three areas.
• 2+ years of experience in a supervisory, lead, or management role.

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Ability to develop spend strategy and execute on a specific plan.
• Experience with cloud, compute, AI and data center contracts.
• Experience with software and services categories.
• Prior experience managing large value contracts/LTA’s with a global supply base.
• Proven track record of managing a high volume of workload while setting and managing a strategy for your team’s commodities.
• Exceptional analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Strong technical knowledge in current technologies and applications (e.g. MS Office Suite, AI tools, Atlassian, PowerBI, etc.)
• Effective written, verbal, and presentation communication skills.
• Ability to prioritize appropriately to meet internal customer and company needs.
• Effective written and verbal communications skills, with strong ability to communicate with all levels of internal personnel.
• Detail-oriented, self-motivated, and able to respond quickly to a fast-moving and ever-changing environment.
• Ability to conduct all activities with the highest of integrity.
• Experience performing forecasting and budgeting.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Willingness to work long hours and weekends if needed.
• Ability to communicate outside of work hours.
• Must be able to travel - up to 50% travel may be required.
• This position is based in Hawthorne, CA and requires being onsite - remote work not considered.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

Pay Range:
$175,000.00 - $245,000.00

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience.

Base salary is just one part of your total rewards package at SpaceX. You may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of company stock or long-term cash awards, as well as potential discretionary bonuses and the ability to purchase additional stock at a discount through an Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You will also receive access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, paid parental leave, and various other discounts and perks. You may also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation and will be eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year. Employees accrue paid sick leave pursuant to Company policy which satisfies or exceeds the accrual, carryover, and use requirements of the law.

ITAR REQUIREMENTS:

• To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.  

SpaceX is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SpaceX is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Applicants wishing to view a copy of SpaceX’s Affirmative Action Plan for veterans and individuals with disabilities, or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should reach out to EEOCompliance@spacex.com. 

Explore around this job

Field: Operations and Management Sub-niche: Executive and general management All jobs at SpaceX Jobs in California Jobs in Hawthorne, CA Hawthorne city guide California state guide Los Angeles County economy Pay for this occupation (BLS) All 3 open jobs for this occupation

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About the role

This is a — role in the Operations and Management field (Executive and general management) at SpaceX.

The closest occupation in the official wage statistics is Purchasing managers (a match by name, so treat it as an estimate). Nationally its median pay is $148,080 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), employment is projected to change by +4.0% between 2025 and 2035, and the typical entry route is: Bachelor's degree.

In the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area the median for this occupation is $156,400 a year with 2,800 jobs (BLS OEWS, May 2025). This is a statistic for the occupation, not an offer from this employer.

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How to prepare and behave

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• Read the whole description and match your examples to its requirements; use the same words the posting uses where they are true for you.
• Research the employer before the interview: what it does, who its customers are and recent news; prepare two or three questions about the work.
• Arrive early (or log in early for a video call), dress one step above the daily dress code, and test your camera and audio beforehand.
• Answer with short stories: the situation, what you did and the result. Give numbers when you have them and never invent them.
• Be honest about gaps; say what you did to learn and how fast you can close them.
• Ask about the team, the first 90 days, how success is measured and the schedule; do not open with salary and time off.
• When pay comes up, know the market range for the occupation and your lowest acceptable offer before you answer; ask for the full package in writing.
• Send a short thank-you message within a day, mentioning one thing you discussed.

Know your rights as a candidate and an employee:

• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: prohibited employment practices
• U.S. Department of Labor: Wage and Hour Division
• CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor): job search help, interview tips and resumes
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The city

The job is in Hawthorne, CA. Below is what the official statistics say about living and working there.

How Hawthorne compares. Among the 145 largest places in California, Hawthorne is #101 by population, #145 for homeownership (#1 = highest), #132 for household income (#1 = highest), #24 for rent (#1 = cheapest). Its county, Los Angeles County, is #7 of 58 counties for average pay ($83,554).

The place in numbers

Hawthorne has 85,191 residents (ACS 2020–2024), about 0.2% of the population of California. It covers 6 square miles of land, which works out to roughly 13,996 people per square mile. The median age is 33.9, 11% younger than the state median (33.9 against 37.9).

Housing

The median gross rent is $1,782 a month (rent plus utilities), 12% below the state median ($1,782 against $2,036). Over a year that is 28.2% of the median household income. US housing guidance treats housing as affordable when it takes 30% of income or less, so the typical household is under that line. The median home value is $863,400, which is 11.4 times the median household income ($75,848); a ratio above 5 usually means buying is out of reach without savings or a second income. 27.2% of households own their home, 51% below the state average (27.2% against 55.9%). A low ownership share points to a rental-heavy market with more apartments and shorter stays.

Work and pay

The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metropolitan area has 6,271,560 jobs in the BLS wage survey, and the median pay across all occupations is $55,850 a year, 10% above the national median ($55,850 against $50,980). The biggest occupation groups are office and administrative support (702,480 jobs, median $52,710); food preparation and serving related (588,660 jobs, median $38,460); healthcare support (537,460 jobs, median $35,630). The area is most specialised in arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (2.2 times) and healthcare support (1.7 times), where the share of workers is well above the national share. The best-paying groups with at least 5,000 jobs are management ($136,490) and legal ($128,110). In 2026M09 the unemployment rate of Los Angeles County was 4.5%. 68.8% of residents aged 16 and over are in the labour force. The city lies in Los Angeles County; its jobs, pay by industry and GDP are on the county page.

Getting around

Among workers, 70.3% drive alone, 3.7% use public transit, 1.5% walk, 11.1% work from home. 18.8% of workers commute 45 minutes or more, 3% below the state average (18.8% against 19.4%).

People and education

26.0% of adults aged 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 30% below the state share (26.0% against 37.1%). 32.1% of residents were born outside the United States, 19% above the state share (32.1% against 27.0%). The poverty rate is 15.5%, 29% above the state rate (15.5% against 12.0%).

Climate

The warmest month is Aug, averaging 75°F (23.9°C), and the coolest is Dec at 53°F (11.8°C). About 332 mm (13 inches) of precipitation falls in a year; Feb is the wettest month (75 mm) and Jun the driest (1 mm). These values come from NASA satellite-based climatology on a grid of about 50 km, so they describe the wider area, not a weather station in the city.

Nearby cities to compare

Closest cities in this guide: Inglewood (3 miles, similar rent); Torrance (6 miles, rent 28% higher); Compton (7 miles, rent 7% lower); Carson (8 miles, rent 10% higher). Rent differences are against Hawthorne; use the Compare tab to put any two cities side by side.

Full guide to Hawthorne →California guideAll jobs in Hawthorne

Official links for Hawthorne

• Official website of Hawthorne: cityofhawthorne.org
• Census Bureau data profile for Hawthorne
• Official website of Los Angeles County: lacounty.gov
• Official state website: ca.gov
• BLS Economy at a Glance: California

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Where to live

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Career paths

Occupations close to Purchasing managers in the official classification, with pay, outlook and whether there are open jobs for them on this site right now.

Distances

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The employer

SpaceX is the employer in this listing. See all its open jobs here →

We do not hold headcount or revenue for this employer. Check its careers site and, if it is listed on a stock exchange, its public filings (SEC EDGAR search).

What it is like to work at a company (culture, schedules, benefits) is not in the source data, so we do not describe it. Read the description and ask the questions under "How to prepare".

Other open jobs at SpaceX

Similar jobs

Same sub-niche: Executive and general management

More jobs in Hawthorne, CA

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FAQ

What is the Sr. Manager, Purchasing job at SpaceX?

A private-sector role in operations and management (executive and general management) listed 41 days ago. The full description is on this page and on the employer's page.

Where is this job?

Hawthorne, CA.

How do I apply?

Use the "View this job and apply on the employer's page" button. AtiveSite does not receive applications.

How much does it pay?

The listing does not publish pay. For the closest occupation (Purchasing managers) the national median is $148,080 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

What is the cost of living there?

Median rent in Hawthorne is $1,782 a month and median household income $75,848 (ACS 2020–2024).

How old is this listing?

It was posted on 2026-09-29 (41 days ago). Jobs older than 90 days are not shown.

Are there similar jobs?

Yes: browse executive and general management jobs in California.

Sources and terms

• Job data: SpaceX careers page public feed (listing dated 2026-09-29). The job disappears from this site when it disappears from the source.
• Wages and projections: BLS OEWS (May 2025) and Employment Projections 2025–35.
• City and county figures: Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024, BEA, BLS QCEW and LAUS, NASA POWER climatology; distances from Census Gazetteer coordinates.

AtiveSite is not affiliated with or endorsed by the employer or any government agency, and does not process applications. Verify every detail with the employer before acting.

Sources

• BLS OEWS (wages and employment by occupation, May 2025)
• BLS Employment Projections 2025–35
• BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
• BLS JOLTS
• BLS State and Metro Area Employment
• Census Bureau American Community Survey (via Census Reporter)
• BEA GDP by state and Regional Price Parities
• IRS 2026 tax adjustments
• U.S. Department of Labor, minimum wage by state
• Tax Foundation state income tax rates 2026
• USAJOBS
• USCIS
• U.S. Department of State, visas
• NASA POWER climatology
• GeoNames / Census Gazetteer (coordinates)