Procurement & Supply Chain Associate

Who we are

We’re Alpaca, a company dedicated to creating AI Independence. We’ve imagined a world where any individual, organisation or entity can own their AI, and we’re building it.

Our full stack of hardware, software, models, and applications collectively make a person-first AI experience where owning frontier models yourself is the default option.

At the core is an inference engine and memory architecture that breaks the economics trapping frontier models in datacenters.

On that foundation we aspire to be the leading open frontier lab in America with a platform of models and applications that drive demand for our hardware and software.

Personal AI is moving from the datacenter to the desk, and our technology will drive that change.

We’re building a generational company - if you believe in our vision and want to be a part of creating history in real time - we are for you. Join what we know will be the Alpaca legacy.

About the role

We're growing our business operations team, and are seeking a Procurement and Supply Chain Associate. You'll be one of the first people responsible for developing our end to end strategy. This will include working closely with our Engineering team to figure out what technical components to purchase, from who, at what cost and lead time, & proposing a model on how to scale production.

The role will also include reviewing our manufacturing scope, supply chain risk, procurement processes, and importantly, initiating a network of supply partners.

What you'll do:

• Figure out what technical components (memory, FPGA/ASIC, boards, enclosures, power) are required from team leads
• Acquire and negotiate with IP vendors
• Acquire and negotiate with suppliers (RFQs, MOQ, price, etc)
• Propose our BOM and model price, lead time, volume breaks per unit.
• Outline a robust and working procurement process, PO, inventory, and delivery tracking process
• Build a benchmarked pricing model of different hardware components
• Ensure we have a strong network of delivery partners at differing cost benchmarks so we avoid production delays at all costs

Within the first month we expect you to have:

• Learned the hardware architecture and current BOM with the engineering team.
• Build a BOM cost model with lead times and top supply risks.
• Figure out 2-3 suppliers per critical component, and open first RFQs.
• Present a sourcing plan for our first V0 production run, with a clear outline of risks and fallbacks.

Our goal for the end of the first month should include having a trustworthy BOM model that supports pricing and margin decisions, with limited to no high risk single reliance, as well as contacts or agreements with a few suppliers. This role will be supported by the CEO, COO, and CSO.

You'll have a lot of freedom to help shape and influence how we view our whole supply chain process from day zero.

Who we're looking for

You are thoughtful and intentional, and care about creating efficient, impactful processes. You thrive working without much structure in a high-speed environment. You don't treat bottlenecks, knowledge gaps, or component scarcity as a problem outside of your control. You have a can-do-winner mindset, and accept nothing but excellence.

This role is foundational in us building out the most robust supply chain infrastructure possible which will be core to product delivery, service and critically - our sales and revenue capability.

More specifically:

• Strong sourcing and procurement ability, ideally for electronics or hardware: RFQs, MOQs, price breaks, and supplier negotiation.
• Good technical judgment. You can read a BOM and talk with engineers about memory, FPGA/ASIC, boards, power, and enclosures well enough to know what matters and what to ask.
• Comfortable moving between suppliers, IP vendors, contract manufacturers, logistics partners, and internal teams, and fluent in cost models, lead times, and inventory data.
• Able to make good decisions with incomplete information, such as thin quotes, volatile pricing, or scarce components.
• Excited by early-stage work where the right answer often hasn’t been figured out yet, and where you’ll build the process rather than inherit one.
• High ownership and low attachment to job boundaries. When a part is on allocation or a shipment slips, you treat it as yours to solve.

Nice to have:

• You’ve taken a hardware product from prototype to production and sourced the BOM along the way.
• Experience with semiconductor, FPGA, memory, or high-performance compute supply chains, including allocation and long-lead components.
• Experience negotiating IP licensing or vendor agreements.
• Strong analytical craft: building benchmarked pricing models and BOM cost models in spreadsheets or similar tools.
• You’ve built a supply chain or procurement function from zero, including PO, inventory, and delivery tracking processes, ideally at a startup

None of these are requirements. We care much more about what you can do than where you went to school or how many years you've been doing it.

How we work

The company is moving quickly. The people who join now will have an outsized role in deciding what Alpaca becomes as the team and product grow.

We value:

• Ownership. See something that should exist? Make it exist.
• Conviction without ego. Share your perspective, change your mind when the evidence changes.
• Craft. Details matter.
• Speed with purpose. Move quickly because the mission is urgent, but do so thoughtfully.
• Original thinking. We embrace authenticity and want you to thrive in that capacity.