Head - Procurement & NPD

🚨 WE’RE HIRING | Head – Procurement & New Product DevelopmentRabitat | Senior Leadership | Full-time📍 Location: [Add Location]👤 Reports to: Chief Operating Officer🧩 Function: NPD & Procurement🎯 Experience: 10–15 YearsAt Rabitat, we’re looking for a leader who can own what we make — and how well we make it.This role sits at the intersection of Product × Engineering × Procurement × Manufacturing × Business.You’ll own the vendor ecosystem end-to-end while driving products from concept → prototype → tooling → pilot → production.🚀 What will you own?🔹 New Product DevelopmentPartner with Engineering & Design to convert concepts into manufacturable productsDrive DFM, prototyping, sampling, tooling and pilot productionOwn the NPD calendar, stage gates, timelines and launch executionPartner with Business & Marketing on the future product roadmapBring cost, feasibility and vendor intelligence into product decisions🔹 Procurement & Vendor StrategyOwn end-to-end procurement across products, packaging & componentsBuild a competitive and de-risked supplier ecosystemEliminate single-source dependencies and develop backup capacityScout, qualify and onboard domestic & international vendorsNegotiate pricing, payment terms, MOQs, quality standards, SLAs and contractsDrive year-on-year COGS improvement without compromising quality🔹 Vendor Development & PerformanceBuild long-term strategic supplier relationshipsConduct vendor audits, pilot runs and capability assessmentsEstablish vendor scorecards around Quality × Cost × Delivery × ResponsivenessMove key suppliers from transactional POs to structured commercial partnerships🔹 Leadership & Function BuildingBuild, mentor and scale the Procurement & NPD teamEstablish processes, systems and dashboards that enable predictable executionConnect Engineering, Design, Business, Marketing and Operations around product decisions🎯 What are we looking for?✔️ 10–15 years of experience in Consumer Products / Hardgoods / Durables✔️ Meaningful experience across both Sourcing/Procurement + Product Development✔️ B.E./B.Tech in Mechanical, Production, Industrial or related engineering discipline✔️ Strong understanding of DFM, manufacturing, tooling, drawings & tolerances✔️ Deep experience in vendor development, negotiation & contracting✔️ Strong commercial understanding of margins, landed costs and COGS✔️ Hands-on, structured and comfortable working in a fast-growing environment✔️ Willingness to travel regularly to vendor/manufacturing sites✔️ MBA is a plus, not a requirement💡 What success looks like:→ Critical categories have qualified backup suppliers→ Key vendors operate under clear commercial & quality contracts→ NPD moves predictably from approved design to production→ Product roadmap decisions are backed by real cost & feasibility data→ COGS improves year-on-year without compromising qualityIf you’re an engineering-led procurement leader who loves building products, developing vendors and creating scalable supply ecosystems, we’d love to hear from you.📩 Interested? DM me your profile at shirin.khan@rabitat.com