---
title: 'Supplier Quality Assurance Manager at Humanoid'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/supplier-quality-assurance-manager-humanoid-london-t9ajh2kreaeq'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-17'
---

# Supplier Quality Assurance Manager at Humanoid

- **Company:** [Humanoid](https://feeny.ai/companies/humanoid)
- **Location:** London, United Kingdom
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-09-14
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-17
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/79875abe-4e0d-4b94-9364-f1d440f7ab50

## Job description

Here at Humanoid, we believe in a future where robots amplify human potential. That’s why we’ve set out on a mission to build the world’s most capable, commercially-scalable, and safe humanoid robots. We’re bringing that mission to life with HMND‑01 - our rapidly developed humanoid platform being deployed in real industrial environments - and we’re growing the team to take it even further.

## About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Supplier Quality Assurance Manager (reporting directly into the Global Head of Supply Chain and Logistics) to build and lead Humanoid’s SQA function, enabling scalable, reliable, cost‑efficient, supplier quality operations across London, Boston and Vancouver. Supplier Quality is foundational to building safe, reliable humanoid robots. As we scale production across multiple regions, this role ensures our suppliers deliver consistent, high-reliability components that meet the technical and safety standards required for humanoid robotics.

## What You’ll Do

Strategy and leadership

- Define and own Humanoid’s global Supplier Quality strategy, ensuring suppliers meet the standards required for high‑reliability robotics manufacturing across London, Boston, and Vancouver.
- Build the operating model, governance, KPIs and review cadence for Supplier Quality, including incoming inspection, NCR management, MRB governance, supplier audits, and supplier development programmes
- Lead, coach, and develop the SQA team, fostering a culture of technical excellence, structured problem‑solving, and continuous improvement across all supplier‑facing quality activities
- Support Engineering, SCM, and Manufacturing teams across all sites by providing supplier quality expertise, risk assessments, and quality assurance leadership
- Set OKRs, KPIs, and performance expectations for supplier quality, including PPM, DPPM, SCAR closure rates, audit performance, and supplier capability metrics
- Foster a high‑performance, cross‑functional culture that drives supplier accountability, rapid issue resolution, and proactive quality improvement
- Make decisive, data‑driven quality decisions, balancing technical risk, supplier capability, and programme timelines
- Communicate clearly with executives, engineers, and suppliers, escalating risks early and ensuring quality issues are visible, owned, and resolved
- Operate within a high‑complexity robotics supply chain, managing quality across multi‑tier suppliers, long lead times, precision components, PCBA, electromechanical assemblies, and safety‑critical subsystems
- Ensure supplier compliance with safety, environmental, regulatory, and quality standards, including ISO 9001, AS9100, IPC, and export‑controlled requirements

## What We're Looking For

## Experience & Qualifications

- 10+ years of direct SQA experience, experience in high‑reliability, regulated, or precision manufacturing (aerospace, automotive, robotics, electronics, medical devices).
- Proven experience establishing or scaling SQA depts. Someone who can create processes, governance, templates, and standards, not just run an existing system
- Degree or Masters in International Supply Chain & Procurement Management, Quality, Engineering, or related field.
- Certifications such as Lean Six Sigma Green/Black Belt, ASQ CQE, Lead Auditor (ISO 9001), and experience working within IATF 16949 environments are highly desirable.
- Good understanding of commercial terms, and supplier frameworks.
- Awareness of export controls (including EAR) relevant to robotics and technology.
- This role requires periodic international travel to suppliers and Humanoid sites (approx. 10–20%).

Leadership Skills

- You will initially lead a small team and scale the SQA function as Humanoid’s supplier base and production volumes grow
- Be accountable for the Goods Inspection process

Technical Skills

- Proficient in Google Workspace, Slack, and database management.
- Hands-on experience with ERP (for example SAP S4HANA), and analytics tools such as Power BI.
- Deep understanding of APQP, PPAP, FMEA, 8D, 5‑Why, Ishikawa, and structured problem‑solving. Strong knowledge of ISO 9001, AS9100, or equivalent quality management systems
- Proven success serving project based or engineer to order customers.
- Proven leadership of multi‑site or multi‑region operations
- Real world experience of working with direct commodity teams (covering mechanical systems, electronics & electrical, electromechanical systems, cable & harnessing and Software & digital licensing)
- Ability to assess and approve First Article Inspections (FAI) and Process Capability (Cp/Cpk).
- Experience with process audits, supplier capability assessments, and manufacturing process controls.
- Familiarity with electromechanical assemblies, PCBA quality, machined parts, and complex BOMs (relevant to Humanoid).

Supplier Management & Development

- Proven ability to qualify, onboard, and develop suppliers across multiple commodities.
- Experience driving Supplier Corrective Action Requests (SCARs) and closing them effectively.
- Ability to analyse supplier performance using PPM, OTD, DPPM, and cost‑of‑poor‑quality metrics.
- Strong capability in root‑cause analysis and preventive action with suppliers.
- Experience implementing Supplier Quality Agreements (SQAs) and quality clauses in contracts.

Soft Skills

- Excellent negotiation, influencing, and stakeholder‑management skills (The SQA Manager must influence design, DFM / DFQ, and early supplier engagement).
- Ability to work cross‑functionally in a fast‑paced, engineering‑driven environment.
- Highly organised, adaptable, and able to manage shifting priorities.
- Experience leading MRBs, NCR processes, and quality governance forums
- Professional, motivated, and able to operate autonomously and within teams.

## What We Offer

- Competitive equity: stock options with meaningful upside as we scale.
- 30+ paid days off, including 23 days of annual leave, all UK bank holidays, and additional company closure days (including Christmas–New Year shutdown).
- Private healthcare, including virtual and in-person care.
- Pension scheme with 8% total contribution (5% employee, 3% employer) on full earnings.
- Free daily breakfast, catered lunch, and snacks in-office.
- Work at the frontier - collaborate daily with world-class engineers, researchers, and product experts building the next generation of AI and humanoid robotics.
- Real ownership - direct access to founding leadership, meaningful input on product direction, and the ability to drive key initiatives from day one.

## About Humanoid

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Humanoid builds commercially scalable, safe, and reliable humanoid robots designed to automate labor-intensive industrial tasks across warehousing, logistics, manufacturing, and retail.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Seed stage)
- **Headquarters**: London, United Kingdom (HQ) with offices in Cambridge, MA, USA; Burnaby, BC, Canada; and additional presence in Germany, Georgia, and the UAE.
- **Founded**: 2024
- **Founders**: Artem Sokolov (CEO & Founder)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Robotics Engineering, Humanoid Robotics, Industrial Automation, Artificial Intelligence
- **Target customers**: B2B / Enterprise — industrial sectors including retail, e-commerce, third-party logistics (3PL), manufacturing, and automotive.
- **Mission or purpose statement**: “Empowering humanity by building the most reliable, safe, and helpful humanoid robots.” The company aims to free people from repetitive, dangerous, and tedious work, allowing them to engage in more creative and meaningful activities.

## Products & Services
- **HMND 01 Alpha Wheeled**: A robust industrial-grade wheeled humanoid robot designed for material handling, pick-and-place, and visual inspection in warehouses and factories. Prioritizes reliability, low total cost of ownership (TCO), and minimal maintenance.
- **HMND 01 Alpha Bipedal**: A bipedal humanoid robot for more complex environments requiring advanced locomotion, navigation of confined spaces, and higher dexterity. Features human-level manipulation speeds and walking speeds up to 1.5 m/s.
- **KinetIQ**: An AI framework for orchestrating fleets of humanoid robots across both wheeled and bipedal platforms, enabling centralized control and task optimization.
- **Modular Garments**: Exchangeable protective “garments” that allow HMND 01 robots to adapt to different use cases and environments, minimizing contamination and collision damage while enabling functional customization.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed.
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of **$50 million** (Seed round closed October 2025, with 1 lead investor).
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Strategic partners include leading global companies in AI, cloud computing, and research. Specific partner names are not publicly listed on the website, but the company highlights collaboration with commercial partners to scale deployment.
- **Growth Signals**:
  - Headcount grew **139.2% YoY** to ~182 employees (as of mid-2026), with 65 active job postings.
  - Opened offices in London, Boston, and Vancouver within its first year.
  - Team includes talent recruited from major robotics and AI firms: Sanctuary AI, Boston Dynamics, Dyson, Arrival, Ocado Technology, 1X, Wayve, Apptronik, and Brain Corp.
  - Focus on initial target sectors representing a combined $12 trillion in annual payroll and 250 million workers.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Human-centric design**: The world is already designed for humans, so humanoids can seamlessly integrate into existing environments without costly redesign.
- **Modularity**: HMND 01’s hardware/software modularity enables multi-task performance and easy repurposing, reducing the need for specialized robots.
- **Reliability & low TCO**: Prioritizing hardware and software stability over raw performance to deliver industrial-grade robustness suitable for mass commercialization.
- **KinetIQ fleet orchestration AI**: Proprietary framework for managing mixed fleets of wheeled and bipedal robots, differentiating from competitors focused on single-form-factor robots.
- **Experienced leadership**: CEO Artem Sokolov previously scaled a family manufacturing business into a billion-dollar enterprise (EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2021). The CTO, Jarad Cannon, has extensive experience translating research into deployment-ready robotics systems.

## Strategic Focus
- **Near-term (2027)**: Deploy robots for physical tasks in manufacturing, warehousing, logistics, and retail — tackling repetitive, dangerous, and tedious manual work.
- **Medium-term (2029)**: Expand into the service sector, targeting the 70-80% of the global economy that will be services, with a focus on assisting an aging population (1.4B people over 60).
- **Long-term (2031+)**: Enter households as assistants and companions, potentially revolutionizing everyday life across 3.5 billion homes.
- **Core strategy**: Partner with leading global companies in AI, cloud, and research for technology development, and with commercial partners for scaled deployment. The company believes the humanoid TAM will reach $38 billion by 2035 and $1 trillion by 2050.

## Why Work Here
- **High-growth environment**: Company grew headcount by 139% in a single year, indicating rapid scaling and opportunity for career advancement. 65+ open roles suggest strong hiring momentum.
- **Talent from top robotics firms**: Team includes alumni from Boston Dynamics, Sanctuary AI, Dyson, Ocado Technology, Arrival, Wayve, and others — offering a deep learning and collaboration environment.
- **Technical focus**: Engineering and technical roles represent 38% of the workforce, with senior-level hires at 23% of the team. The company emphasizes hardware, AI, machine learning, and control systems.
- **Mission-driven**: Clear purpose to automate undesirable, unsafe, and repetitive work — appealing to candidates who want to make a tangible societal impact.
- **Global presence**: Offices in London (HQ), Cambridge (USA), and Burnaby (Canada), plus operations in 16 countries — offering potential for international mobility and remote collaboration.
- **Innovation culture**: Described as a place where engineers and researchers “move from demo to deployment” and “not just in the lab.” The CTO emphasizes building systems that perform in the real world from day one.
- **Office/Hybrid policy**: Not explicitly stated, but the company has physical offices in three countries and a distributed team across 16 nations — likely supports hybrid/remote with in-office collaboration for engineering roles.

## Sources
1. [thehumanoid.ai](https://thehumanoid.ai/)
2. [thehumanoid.ai/about-us/](https://thehumanoid.ai/about-us/)
3. [thehumanoid.ai/team/](https://thehumanoid.ai/team/)
4. [thehumanoid.ai/careers/](https://thehumanoid.ai/careers/)
5. [LinkedIn Company Page](https://www.linkedin.com/company/humanoidai)
6. [Jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid)

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