Position Summary

This is a senior, hands-on role in the Operations team, reporting to the COO. With at least 5 years of experience in the semiconductor supply chain, you will own procurement, supplier qualification and strategy, inventory management, logistics and packaging, as well as export control. You will be the main point of contact for our suppliers, subcontractors, auditors and consultants. Just as importantly, you will create the processes and procedures that turn a fast-moving startup into a reliable, compliant and audit-ready player in the PIC industry.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Sourcing & Procurement: Own the whole technical supply chain, including Si, LNOI and InP substrates as well as epitaxy. Procure DUV and i-line reticles and photolithography masks, and interface with the mask shops (including mask submission). Negotiate prices and purchase contracts, as well as maintenance, service and calibration contracts for wafer fab and metrology tools and assets (equipment, spare parts). Oversee all cleanroom and lab consumables, including chemicals, gases, precursors, sputtering targets, crucibles and resists, as well as fiber arrays, probes and similar items. Be responsible for scouting, supplier relationships, forward pricing and dual sourcing of critical materials and subcontractors, and maintain a reasonable inventory of technical consumables and materials.

Supplier Selection, Qualification & Performance: Drive supplier identification, selection, qualification and approval with R&D and Quality (NDAs, audits, specifications, quality agreements). Conduct audits at suppliers, implement supplier quality, lead supplier CAPA in case of non-conformities, and support management in orchestrating strategic collaborations and diversifying our multi-source, global supplier footprint. Monitor geopolitical and trade-policy risks (tariffs, sanctions) and anticipate and mitigate their impact on supply.

External Fab & Subcontractor Supply Chain: Be the supply chain point of contact for our external wafer fab contractors and back-end subcontractors (processing, singulation, packaging, metrology, test). Coordinate wafer and reticle supply, wafer starts, delivery schedules, POs and invoices. Support the selection and onboarding of new fab partners, together with Quality and Industrialization.

Export Control & Trade Compliance: Own our export control and trade compliance program: classification of products, materials and technology (Swiss Goods Control Act, EU Dual-Use Regulation, US EAR), license applications, and export-control forms (prepared for our customers and be responsible for filling the forms with our suppliers). Be active on monitoring sanctions, HS codes, Incoterms, customs documentation and control of technical data shared with partners, and escalate any non-conformities and risks to management. Be the point of contact for external auditors, customs authorities and consultants, and keep our records audit-ready.

Logistics, Shipments & Packaging: Own inbound and outbound logistics: forwarders and couriers, customs clearance, insurance, tracking and claims. Define and qualify packaging for wafers, reticles and chips (wafer shippers, ESD, shock protection) for transport between sites, fabs and customers, and ensure on-time, damage-free, compliant delivery, including returns. Lead discussions with couriers to set up custom delivery plans to shorten lead time.

Processes, Procedures & Systems: Own the procure-to-pay cycle, from RFI, RFQ and PO to receipt and payment. Create the supply chain backbone and be its process owner: procure-to-pay, supplier qualification, goods receipt, inventory, shipping, export control and returns. Write procedures and work instructions aligned with our QMS (ISO 9001), embed them in our ERP and PLM, and define KPIs and dashboards (delivery, lead time, inventory status, savings, compliance). Lead the implementation of our ERP system for the supply chain side. Set up supply chain operations that are compliant across our international subsidiaries.

Team & Collaboration: Lead and develop procurement and logistics team members and grow the team as we scale. Work closely with R&D, Engineering, Quality, Finance and Sales. Support the infrastructure team in finding and securing new office and cleanroom space as we expand.

What you’ll bring

Experience: A minimum of 5 years in semiconductor supply chain (procurement, logistics, export control), ideally in photonics, compound semiconductors or MEMS, including work with external fabs, foundries or back-end subcontractors. Experience building processes from scratch in a startup or scale-up, and coaching a small team, is a strong asset.

Technical Expertise: Good technical understanding of semiconductor and photonics manufacturing, testing and tools, as well as their supply chain. Prior experience in sourcing and contract negotiation, supplier qualification and auditing, material requirements and inventory management, Incoterms and customs, export control (classification, licensing, sanctions screening), and logistics and packaging of wafers. ISO 9001 knowledge and export control certifications are a plus. Hands-on experience with ERP (ideally Oracle NetSuite) and PLM (ideally Aras Innovator).

Education: A degree in a semiconductor-related field (electrical engineering, photonics, micro-engineering or similar). An advanced degree in supply chain, logistics, engineering, business or a related field is a plus.

Mindset: A senior professional who is still happy to be hands-on in a scale-up environment: willing to create the processes from scratch, negotiate firmly with suppliers or ship critical wafers yourself. Structured and proactive, you introduce discipline without slowing the company to a corporate pace, and communicate clearly with suppliers, fabs and auditors across time zones.

Tools: Comfortable with Microsoft 365, data analysis and dashboards. High proficiency with AI / Claude. You pick up new systems quickly.