Director, Supply Chain – Equipment (Semiconductor)

About the business

Tata Electronics Private Limited is a greenfield business from the Tata Group focused on manufacturing precision components. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd., Tata Electronics is developing India’s first AI-enabled, advanced semiconductor foundry. The plant is designed to produce chips for uses such as power management ICs, display drivers, microcontrollers (MCUs), and high-performance computing logic, supporting demand across automotive, computing and data storage, wireless communications, and artificial intelligence.

The Tata Group operates in more than 100 countries across six continents, guided by a mission to improve quality of life through long-term stakeholder value creation built on trust.

Role overview

This position is responsible for leading the full procurement and supply chain lifecycle for semiconductor manufacturing equipment, including process and metrology tools, for a large greenfield fab. The role covers sourcing, contracting, logistics, supplier preparedness, slot booking, spares and consumables readiness, and service agreements, with the goal of supporting equipment move-in, qualification, and production ramp targets on schedule and within budget while meeting local and global trade and tax requirements.

Key responsibilities

• Shape and execute the overall procurement strategy for semiconductor equipment and build strategic relationships with OEMs and suppliers.
• Create a phased equipment procurement master plan linked to the process of record, construction milestones, cleanroom readiness, AMHS track readiness, and tool hook-up sequencing.
• Define category strategies for each toolset, including decisions around new versus refurbished equipment, OEM versus third-party supply, frame agreements, slot reservations, and copy-exact/copy-smart approaches.
• Develop total cost of ownership models and should-cost analyses for expensive modules such as vacuum systems, pumps, RF power, and optics.
• Coordinate with logistics and customs teams to establish export-control paths and the India trade structure.
• Conduct RFIs, RFPs, and RFQs, evaluate technical and commercial bids, and negotiate pricing, delivery windows, acceptance criteria, penalties, performance guarantees, and spares packages.
• Close master purchase agreements and global frame agreements, including clauses covering software rights, source code escrow where relevant, cybersecurity, and field service obligations.
• Build provisions for refresh, obsolescence, and end-of-life management, along with upgrade rights, training support, and resident engineer commitments.
• Ensure supplier adherence to quality, safety, and sustainability standards.
• Maintain a long-lead-item and slot tracker by toolset and align procurement to move-in, hook-up, qualification, and process release schedules.
• Lead supplier readiness reviews and tool readiness checklists covering packaging, rigging, utilities, software versions, field-install requirements, and spare-kit validation.
• Set up expediting and recovery mechanisms to address risks such as capacity shortfalls, export licensing delays, shipping issues, customs holds, or site-readiness slippages.
• Oversee equipment planning, sourcing, installation, and maintenance support activities.
• Design logistics plans for sensitive, high-value, and hazardous equipment subsystems such as optics, stages, vacuum systems, lasers, RF units, gas boxes, and abatement systems.
• Apply risk management methods to reduce supply disruptions and lead-time exposure.
• Drive compliance with SECS/GEM, E84, E87, and E90 standards, and ensure integration with MES, AMHS, and FMCS systems.
• Support recipe and parameter control, FDC/APC integration, cybersecurity hardening, and acceptance-data pack preparation.
• Establish tool genealogy and digital thread practices covering as-built and as-configured records.
• Develop startup and sustaining spares strategies using consignment and min-max controls connected to MES.
• Negotiate multi-year service agreements with uptime commitments, response times, escalation structures, and OPEX caps, including outcome-based commercial models.
• Build local service capability and localize critical spares where practical to reduce response time and import dependence.
• Manage capex and opex models, identify savings through value analysis and value engineering, and optimize shared spares, energy use, and consumables.
• Maintain risk registers for single-source dependencies, export-license delays, shipping routes, customs clearance, and site-readiness risks, with alternate sourcing or module options where possible.
• Lead tender boards, change-order and claims management, ethics and compliance audits, and management reporting across schedule, cost, risk, quality, and EHS.
• Promote digital and advanced technologies such as IoT, predictive maintenance, virtual metrology, advanced analytics, and digital twins.
• Use automation and analytics to improve equipment utilization, cut downtime, and raise overall equipment efficiency.
• Lead cross-functional teams across procurement, modules, maintenance, operations, facilities, finance, and logistics.
• Partner with R&D and operations to ensure timely equipment availability for new technology introductions and product launches.
• Build and develop a world-class equipment supply chain team capable of supporting both greenfield and brownfield fab projects.
• Create hiring, training, coaching, and retention plans to strengthen organizational capability.
• Foster a continuous learning culture, ensure succession and career planning, and provide learning and development opportunities for team members.
• Promote diversity and inclusion in line with corporate values and guidelines.

Experience and qualifications

The role calls for 20+ years of experience in capital equipment procurement or supply chain management within semiconductor or adjacent high-tech sectors such as display, memory, advanced packaging, HDD, or photonics, including 8 to 10+ years in leadership positions managing major tool categories.

Candidates should have a strong record of success in semiconductor or high-tech equipment supply chains, with a solid understanding of tool installation and qualification workflows, FI/MES/AMHS interfaces, and the service drivers that affect uptime in a high-volume manufacturing fab.

Experience in global procurement, supplier negotiations, lifecycle management of complex equipment, and implementation of advanced supply chain technologies such as ERP, IoT, and predictive analytics is required.

Additional background in multi-entity and cross-border equipment supply chain operations is important.

A bachelor’s degree in engineering, supply chain, or a related discipline is required, while an MBA or equivalent master’s degree is preferred.

Strong knowledge of semiconductor equipment, global trade regulations, and compliance standards is essential.

The position also requires strong leadership, communication, stakeholder management, strategic sourcing, supplier development, recovery management, cross-functional collaboration, decision-making under uncertainty, structured problem-solving, and the ability to influence OEM leadership and regulators.

Additional requirements

The successful candidate must demonstrate high ownership, urgency, and the ability to drive transformation initiatives that create measurable business impact.

This is a full-time onsite role based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.