About Avalanche Energy

Avalanche Energy is a Washington-based startup building compact, deployable fusion systems through rapid hardware iteration. Rather than pursuing fusion as a single grid-scale outcome, Avalanche develops transportable fusion machines designed to be built, tested, and operated on short cycles, turning real hardware into steady progress. This approach enables near-term applications that demand extreme energy density and endurance—starting with fusion neutron production for radioisotope power and other defense and space uses—while advancing the underlying fusion platform. Backed by U.S. government programs and a team experienced in delivering complex systems, Avalanche is focused on building fusion that runs in the real world, not just on paper.

Avalanche might be a fit for you if:

You thrive in complex, technically demanding environments where the problems are not fully defined and the answers have to be built—not looked up. You are energized by bringing structure to ambiguity, connecting the work of scientists and engineers into coherent programs, and building the systems engineering foundations that scale. You are comfortable operating without a playbook, moving quickly across programs and disciplines, and earning credibility with technical subject matter experts through rigor and clarity. You care about doing the fundamentals of systems engineering well—requirements, interfaces, traceability, reviews—because you understand why they matter, not just because a process demands them.

About the Role

Avalanche Energy is hiring a Supplier Management Lead to build and operate our subcontract and supplier execution capability across R&D programs and infrastructure procurements. This role will establish standards, processes, and tools for scoping, selecting, contracting, and managing suppliers and subcontractors. In the near term, the role will directly manage key suppliers supporting Material Science, FusionWerx outfitting, and upcoming large procurements, ensuring execution meets technical requirements, schedule commitments, cost constraints, and government compliance obligations.

This role is both operational and capability-building: the individual will execute supplier management day-to-day while building a scalable subcontract management system for the company.

Responsibilities

• Own execution of key subcontracts and suppliers, including performance tracking against scope, schedule, cost, and deliverables.
• Develop and enforce standards for Statements of Work (SOWs), including clear technical requirements, deliverables, acceptance criteria, and change control provisions.
• Implement subcontract management best practices including:
• RFI tracking and closure
• Action and decision logs
• Risk and issue logs (RAIL)
• Schedule baseline development and supplier schedule monitoring
• Establish supplier selection and evaluation methodology (RFI/RFQ processes, downselect criteria, documentation).
• Partner with engineering and program leads to translate technical needs into enforceable supplier requirements.
• Build foundational procurement and supplier management infrastructure:
• Document control and approval flows
• Supplier onboarding requirements
• Change management workflow for supplier scope modifications
• Ensure compliance with government contract flow-down clauses and procurement rules, including coordination with suppliers on required documentation and practices.
• Improve supplier quality execution for complex engineering procurements via quality expectations, inspection planning, and acceptance test definition.
• Provide coaching and support to program teams to improve supplier-facing execution rigor.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years experience in supplier management, subcontracts management, strategic sourcing, or procurement execution in a technical environment.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex subcontractors or suppliers delivering technical work (engineering, hardware, research, or manufacturing).
• Experience writing or validating SOWs, including deliverables, acceptance criteria, and execution controls.
• Strong program execution skills: schedule tracking, issue management, performance management.
• Ability to work cross-functionally with engineering, program management, and operations.
• High attention to detail and ability to enforce process rigor without blocking execution.
• Experience with supplier quality management practices (quality plans, inspection, nonconformance handling).

Desired Qualifications

• 10+ years experience in supplier management, subcontracts management, strategic sourcing, or procurement execution in a technical environment.
• Experience supporting government-funded programs (DARPA, DOE, DoD, NASA, grants) and managing flow-down compliance.
• Familiarity with cost-type contracts (cost-plus) and subcontract spend management.
• Experience building supplier management systems and templates from scratch in a scaling organization.
• Experience with complex infrastructure or high-dollar capital equipment procurement.
• Background in hardware, vacuum systems, power electronics, magnets, cryogenics, or similar domains relevant to Avalanche programs.

Additional Considerations

• Location: Prefer onsite (to support engineering integration and supplier execution cadence);
• Site: Tukwila or Richland
• Travel demand: Periodic travel to key suppliers and subcontractor sites (estimated 10 to 25%).
• Schedule/shift: Standard business hours; may require flexibility during major procurements, integration milestones, or supplier delivery crunch periods.

Benefits

• Excellent medical, dental, and vision benefits.
• 10 paid holidays and a company-wide December holiday break.
• Generous paid vacation and sick time.
• Small, tight-knit team with low barriers to action.
• Exposure to a wide range of challenging, cross-disciplinary technical programs.
• Meaningful equity in the form of stock options.

We value people of all backgrounds. We are an equal opportunity employer, and you do not need to match every listed qualification to apply. If you like being hands-on, all over the system, and making difficult hardware work in the real world, we encourage you to apply.

This position may require access to export-controlled information. In order to comply with U.S. export control laws, applicants must be a “U.S. person” as defined by U.S. trade control laws (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual).