Head of Supply / Procurement — Solar, Energy-Efficient & Home Appliances

About the Venture

We are building an early-stage climate-tech venture in India focused on solar, energy-efficient products, and small and large home appliances.

The business is being built from the ground up, with an initial focus on identifying the right product categories, developing the supply base, launching products and creating a scalable operating model.

This is a hands-on founding opportunity, where the early team will play a key role in shaping the business, building the supply ecosystem and taking the venture from 0→1 and subsequently 1→10.

About the Role

We are looking for a Head of Supply / Procurement — Solar, Energy-Efficient & Home Appliances to build the sourcing engine from the ground up.

You will work closely with the founder and product/category teams to translate consumer needs into commercially viable products from product specifications and OEM discovery to sampling, prototyping, tooling, certification, quality and scaled supply.

The business will work with external manufacturing partners rather than setting up owned manufacturing in the near term. Therefore, a strong and active network of OEMs, manufacturers and distributors across India and China will be critical to this role.

Key Responsibilities

• Build the procurement and product-sourcing function from 0→1 and establish systems for 1→10 scale.

• Work with the founder, product and category teams to translate customer requirements into product specifications and target costs.

• Identify and develop OEMs, manufacturers and distributors across India and China.

• Lead factory identification, supplier evaluation, sampling, prototyping and commercial validation.

• Use an established supplier network to accelerate sourcing, product development and negotiations.

• Evaluate whether products should be white-labelled, customised through ODM/OEM partners, or developed from scratch.

• Work with OEMs and manufacturers on product customisation, R&D and new product development.

• Drive should-cost analysis, BOM economics and negotiations around MOQ, tooling, pricing, payment terms, lead times and working capital.

• Own product testing and relevant certifications such as BIS, BEE and other applicable standards.

• Establish supplier quality standards and monitor failure/rejection rates.

• Develop plans for warranty, repairs, spare parts and after-sales support.

• Manage the end-to-end supply chain without an owned manufacturing facility.

• Build long-term OEM relationships and create supplier redundancy and risk mitigation.

• Partner with category and marketplace teams on demand planning, product launches and inventory management.

What We’re Looking For

• 7+ years of relevant procurement/product-sourcing experience across solar, energy-efficient products, home appliances, electrical products or related consumer hardware.

• Proven experience sourcing products from both India and China.

• An established and active network of OEMs, manufacturers and distributors across both markets. This is a critical requirement.

• Experience taking products from initial concept/consumer requirement through specification, supplier identification, sampling, prototyping, negotiation, certification and commercial production.

• Hands-on experience building a sourcing base or product line in a 0→1 and 1→10 environment, preferably for a new business, brand or product category.

• Strong understanding of early-stage sourcing challenges including low initial volumes, MOQ constraints, working-capital requirements, rapid product iteration and supplier risk.

• Experience evaluating white-label, ODM/OEM, customised and newly developed products.

• Strong product-development and R&D orientation, with the ability to work with manufacturers on technical feasibility, prototyping, testing and commercialisation.

• Strong understanding of should-costing, BOM economics, MOQ, tooling, payment terms, lead times and working capital.

• Familiarity with BIS, BEE, product testing, supplier QA and factory-level quality control.

• Experience with warranty, repairs, spare parts and after-sales planning.

• High ownership mindset and the ability to work independently in an early-stage, high-ambiguity environment.