Strategic Sourcing Manager at Radiant in El Segundo, CA

Job description

About Radiant Radiant is an El Segundo, CA-based startup building the world’s first mass-produced, portable nuclear microreactors. Rising energy demand is straining the U.S. grid and driving up utility costs, emissions, and interconnection backlogs. Radiant decentralizes energy, producing power close to where it’s used. Its first reactor, Kaleidos, is a factory-built, 1-megawatt, fail-safe microreactor that can be transported by land, sea, or air and runs up to 5 years without refueling. Deployed locally without a decade-long build or permitting fight, Kaleidos provides independent power for critical infrastructure like military bases, data centers, hospitals, and remote sites. Founded in 2020, Radiant is under contract to deliver power to the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, and has pre-order agreements with Equinix, with deployments beginning in 2028. About the Role Radiant is seeking a proactive and technically-minded Strategic Sourcing Manager to lead the discovery, qualification, and development of new suppliers and manufacturing technologies in support of our micro-reactor program. This role is foundational to expanding Radiant's supply base into new commodities, processes, and capabilities as our designs mature. Unlike a traditional buyer role, this position is heavily front-end weighted — finding the right suppliers before a part exists in production, matching engineering intent to real-world manufacturing capability, and shepherding new suppliers and parts from concept through qualification and into reliable, on-time delivery. You will work closely with Engineering, Supplier Development Engineers (SDEs), Quality Assurance, and Operations to build Radiant's supplier ecosystem from the ground up. Responsibilities & Duties: • Supplier Discovery : Proactively identify and research new potential suppliers and manufacturing technologies across domestic and (where permissible) international markets, including specialized, niche, or emerging process capabilities relevant to nuclear-grade hardware. • Design-to-Supplier Matching : Partner with Engineering to interpret drawings, specifications, and material requirements, and translate them into supplier search criteria — matching part complexity, tolerances, materials, and process needs to real supplier capability. • Supplier Vetting & Qualification : Lead initial supplier vetting, including capability assessments, facility questionnaires, and preliminary risk screening, in coordination with SDEs and Quality on technical and quality qualification. • Onboarding : Own the end-to-end onboarding process for new suppliers — from first contact through NDA, capability review, and entry into Radiant's approved supplier base. • R&D & New Technology Sourcing : Research and evaluate emerging manufacturing technologies and processes (e.g., additive manufacturing, novel joining/forming methods) that could unlock new sourcing pathways or de-risk critical components. • New Part Introduction (NPI) Support : Act as the commercial and program-management thread for new parts through their qualification lifecycle — coordinating purchase order issuance, first articles, prototype builds, and pilot runs between the supplier, Engineering, and Quality. • Supplier PM through Production : Once a supplier/part is qualified, manage the transition into steady-state delivery — issuing and managing purchase orders, tracking schedule, resolving early production issues, and ensuring a smooth handoff toward on-time, recurring delivery. • Cross-functional Collaboration : Work seamlessly with SDEs on technical/quality qualification, with Engineering on design intent and make/buy decisions, and with Procurement/Planning on transitioning qualified suppliers into the standard sourcing and PO process. • Market Intelligence : Maintain awareness of supply market trends, capacity constraints, and geopolitical risk factors affecting candidate suppliers and technologies, particularly for nuclear-grade and DFARS-relevant material