--- title: 'Procurement Engineer at RIVR' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/procurement-engineer-rivr-zurich-hxs2jrkes2hg' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-07' --- # Procurement Engineer at RIVR - **Company:** RIVR - **Location:** Zurich, Switzerland - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-07 - **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/rivr/5074e77b-4fcb-4453-a56d-9a7ab10299dc ## Job description ## About RIVR, part of Amazon RIVR, part of Amazon is a robotics company pioneering Physical AI through real-world doorstep delivery. Founded in 2024 as an ETH Zurich spin-off, RIVR developed wheeled-legged robots designed to operate in complex, unstructured environments such as stairs, gates, doors, and uneven urban terrain. We believe that achieving general physical intelligence requires solving real customer problems in the real world, where robots can learn from rich operational data at scale. Following our acquisition by Amazon in March 2026, we are continuing this mission with greater reach and speed. By combining custom robot hardware, onboard autonomy, and cloud-based coordination, RIVR, part of Amazon is building the next generation of safe, reliable autonomous robots for last-mile delivery. Job Description As the Procurement Engineer at RIVR, you will be the dedicated technical-business bridge in our Zürich office, designed to take the "negotiation load" off our core engineering team. We need a professional who can independently manage the procurement of complex robot components - from PCBs to custom mechanical assemblies - handling six-figure capital expenditures for mission-critical robotics infrastructure. In this role, you will operate as a significant and autonomous contributor. You will solve difficult procurement challenges by applying technical best practices and materials knowledge. You will take ownership of vendor timelines and price negotiations that were previously handled by engineers, ensuring our designers can stay focused on innovation while you ensure our hardware arrives on time, on quality, and on budget. ## What You’ll Be Doing This is a multifaceted role requiring a blend of technical literacy and a proactive spirit to manage a fast-paced startup environment during our scaling phase. You will work with limited guidance to professionalize our supply chain workflows. ● Act as the primary point of contact for technical suppliers, managing all communications regarding pricing, quality issues,  lead times, and contract terms. ● Independently manage the purchasing for robot-specific commodities: PCBs, custom cables, metallic and non-metallic components. ● Lead the evolution of our material tracking from manual spreadsheets into professionalized workflows, preparing the organization for future ERP implementation. ● Partner with the CTO in Zürich and the Head of Supply Chain in Shanghai to ensure engineering requirements are perfectly translated into production plans. ● Proactively identify supply chain risks, such as raw material shortages or price surges, and develop decisive mitigation strategies. ● Assist engineers in making the right "make vs. buy" decisions and provide detailed cost-justification studies for high-value orders. ● Support the transition of hardware from the concept/prototype phase into volume production by managing initial vendor technical reviews. ● Ensure all procured parts meet RIVR’s high standards for durability, performance, and safety requirements. ● Communicate findings and constructively propose ideas or corrections to hardware specifications to non-technical partners. ● Optimize best practices for validation and test processes related to incoming hardware. ● Track supplier part delivery status to ensure quality and timeliness. ● Maintain supplier relationships and continuously feed industrial insights back into the engineering backlog. ● Cooperate with suppliers from Europe, China and the USA. ## What You Must Have ● Proven experience in technical procurement, buying, or supply chain management in a hardware-centric industry. ● Proven track record of managing and negotiating substantial purchase orders and vendor contracts. ● Ability to understand technical drawings and engineering specifications for mechanical and electrical components. ● Ability to take lead in an environment where processes are still evolving; a strong "bias for action" and clarity. ● Ability to make the right hardware design trade-offs (e.g., make vs. buy, OEM vs. ODM). ● Exceptional verbal and written English; ability to harmonize views between international teams. Bonus Points ● Skills in bottom-up cost analysis and should-cost modeling for custom-machined or injection-molded parts. ● Experience in an early-stage startup or a high-pressure "overdrive" environment. ● Ability to use prototyping or schematic capture software (e.g., CAD, MATLAB). ● Experience with ERP systems or supporting a first-time ERP implementation. ● Experience with suppliers from all over the world. ## About RIVR ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: RIVR builds autonomous wheeled-legged robots powered by Physical AI to automate doorstep delivery, from the street to the door. - **Entity Type**: Private (acquired by Amazon in March 2026; previously venture-backed with $29M total funding) - **Headquarters**: Zurich, Switzerland - **Founded**: 2023 (originally as Swiss-Mile, rebranded to RIVR) - **Founders**: Marko Bjelonic (CEO), Lorenz Wellhausen (CTO Software), Giorgio Valsecchi (CTO Hardware), Alexander Reske (COO) ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: Robotics Engineering / Physical AI for last-mile delivery - **Target customers**: B2B – logistics providers, e‑commerce companies, grocery delivery services (e.g., Swiss Post, Migros Online) - **Mission**: “Pioneering Physical AI to revolutionize doorstep delivery” – combining neural networks with wheeled‑leg robots to master the last 100 yards of delivery. ## Products & Services - **RIVR ONE**: A wheeled‑legged delivery robot that climbs stairs, steps over curbs, opens gates, and carries multiple parcels/groceries securely. Equipped with cameras, LiDAR, and a robotic arm for dexterous manipulation. - **Physical AI Platform**: Reinforcement learning (simulated data + parallel GPU training) and supervised/imitation learning (real‑world data) that enable autonomous navigation and manipulation. A data flywheel collects teleoperation feedback to continuously improve autonomy. - **Global Operations Software**: Cloud infrastructure for fleet management, including 24/7 remote assistance and API integration for custom deployments. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (acquired by Amazon; prior valuation unknown) - **Key Metric**: Total funding raised – $29M (Seed round led by Bezos Expeditions and HSG, plus grants from Innosuisse) - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Bezos Expeditions, HSG, Innosuisse; pilot partners include Swiss Post and Migros Online - **Growth Signals**: Acquired by Amazon in March 2026; already has customers requiring “tens of thousands of robots”; workforce of 48 employees with 12.2% monthly headcount growth; 19 active job postings as of mid‑2026 ## Competitive Advantages - **Wheeled‑leg design** offers 5× battery life and speed, and 10× coverage of traditional legged robots, while still climbing stairs and navigating uneven terrain. - **Data flywheel**: Each deployed robot generates real‑world data that feeds supervised and imitation learning, creating a self‑reinforcing improvement loop. RIVR claims it will generate more daily data than YouTube within four years. - **Full‑stack approach**: Proprietary learning algorithms, simulation environments, and hardware co‑design allow tight integration between AI and embodiment. - **Amazon backing**: Post‑acquisition, RIVR gains access to Amazon’s logistics network, resources, and scale, accelerating deployment. ## Strategic Focus - **General Physical AI**: RIVR’s long‑term vision is to build a general‑purpose Physical AI that can handle diverse real‑world tasks, using doorstep delivery as the initial catalyst. - **Scaling deployment**: Moving from pilot (Swiss Post/Migros) to mass production and global rollout, leveraging Amazon’s infrastructure. - **Talent acquisition**: Actively hiring senior AI engineers (reinforcement learning, imitation learning, VLA foundation models), hardware engineers, and robotics software specialists to grow the technical team. ## Why Work Here - **Cutting‑edge technology**: Work on Physical AI, reinforcement learning, and advanced robotics at the intersection of software and hardware. - **Zurich location**: Office and development lab in the heart of Zürich; relocation bonus offered. - **Compensation & perks**: Competitive, transparent salary; Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP); annual performance‑based bonus; five weeks of vacation. - **Team & culture**: Work alongside top engineers from ETH Zurich, Amazon, Meta, and leading robotics labs. Flat hierarchy with a strong technical focus. - **Remote/hybrid policy**: On‑site presence expected (all current job postings are “On‑site – Full”); the robotics lab requires physical presence. - **Growth opportunity**: Being part of an Amazon‑owned company provides stability and resources while still operating with a startup‑like engineering intensity. ## Sources 1. [rivr.ai/careers](https://www.rivr.ai/careers) 2. [rivr.ai/about-rivr](https://www.rivr.ai/about-rivr) 3. [linkedin.com/company/rivr-technologies](https://linkedin.com/company/rivr-technologies) 4. [jobs.lever.co/rivr](https://jobs.lever.co/rivr) 5. [rivr.ai/technology](https://www.rivr.ai/technology) ## Other roles at RIVR - [Head of QA](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-qa-rivr-zurich-g0ewwjh70nk0) — Zurich, Switzerland - [Robotics Trade Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-trade-manager-rivr-zurich-d74taspy2ntw) — Zurich, Switzerland - [Hardware Engineering Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/hardware-engineering-intern-rivr-zurich-ebsfbd6aa885) — Zurich, Switzerland - [(Senior) Quality Assurance Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-quality-assurance-engineer-rivr-shanghai-6906w6grj552) — Shanghai, China - [Mechanical Engineer (Junior)](https://feeny.ai/job/mechanical-engineer-junior-rivr-zurich-7yj19pqvm17s) — Zurich, Switzerland - [Senior Software Engineer – Backend](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-backend-rivr-zurich-rh4k76q18at1) — Zurich, Switzerland - [Buyer](https://feeny.ai/job/buyer-rivr-shanghai-kcr16ee1a0zc) — Shanghai, China - [Assembly Operator Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/assembly-operator-intern-rivr-shanghai-r8bhjvf428q7) — Shanghai, China - [Hardware integration Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/hardware-integration-engineer-rivr-shanghai-xz2anwhe3xkz) — Shanghai, China - [Software Engineer – DevOps](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-devops-rivr-zurich-c3gv79vpnrfs) — Zurich, Switzerland