Why This Job is Featured on The SaaS Jobs
Synthesia sits in a modern SaaS category where product delivery depends on a dense web of cloud, software, and services suppliers, and this role is positioned to shape that operating model. As an AI video platform with recent late stage funding, the company signals a phase where spend discipline, vendor strategy, and risk management become as consequential as product and go to market decisions. A procurement leader here is not limited to purchasing, but influences how the business structures its external dependencies.
For a SaaS career, this is a strong vantage point into how subscription businesses scale responsibly. The remit spans SaaS and cloud agreements, contract lifecycle work with Legal, third party practices with Security, and governance that improves visibility and auditability. That mix builds durable expertise in commercial leverage, tooling, and cross functional decision making that translates across software companies with growing vendor footprints.
This role fits a senior operator who enjoys building a function rather than inheriting one, and who is comfortable moving between strategic frameworks and hands on negotiations. It will suit someone who prefers stakeholder heavy work, can navigate CFO level priorities, and is motivated by measurable operational outcomes in a product led SaaS environment.
The section above is editorial commentary from The SaaS Jobs, provided to help SaaS professionals understand the role in a broader industry context.
Job Description
Synthesia is the world’s leading AI video platform for business, used by over 90% of the Fortune 100. Founded in 2017, the company is headquartered in London, with offices and teams across Europe and the US.
As AI continues to shape the way we live and work, Synthesia develops products to enhance visual communication and enterprise skill development, helping people work better and stay at the center of successful organizations.
Following our recent Series E funding round, where we raised $200 million, our valuation stands at $4 billion. Our total funding exceeds $530 million from premier investors including Accel, NVentures (Nvidia's VC arm), Kleiner Perkins, GV, and Evantic Capital, alongside the founders and operators of Stripe, Datadog, Miro, and Webflow.
About the role
We are seeking a Director of Procurement to build and scale a new function at Synthesia. In this newly created role you will initially report to the CFO and operate at the center of critical decisions around spend, vendor strategy, real estate, and operational infrastructure.
This is a high-impact role with real ownership. You’ll define our sourcing and procurement strategy, lead complex negotiations, and help build the processes and systems from scratch that support the company’s next stage of growth.
What you’ll be doing:
Own strategic sourcing across key spend categories, including SaaS, cloud infrastructure, marketing, professional services, real estate, and facilities
In a hyper-growth environment where speed matters, you'll build frameworks that enable the business rather than slow it down
Partner with Legal on contract lifecycle management, ensuring risk-appropriate terms and timely execution
Partner with Security on development of third party practices and process
Drive vendor rationalization and preferred-vendor strategies that maximize leverage without compromising business velocity
Lead complex vendor negotiations for new contracts and renewals, with a focus on cost optimization, commercial flexibility, and risk mitigation
Help establish scalable procurement workflows, policies, governance, and tooling to improve visibility, audit-ability, and internal client satisfaction
Partner with accounting on month end accruals, coding accuracy and PO hygiene.
Help to champion P2P adoption and optimization across the Company, driving compliance, user experience improvements, and workflow automation
We’d love to hear from you if you have…
A track record of building procurement functions from scratch, with the instinct to spot leverage others leave on the table and the presence to operate at C-level.
10+ years of progressive experience in procurement, strategic sourcing, or vendor management
Significant experience negotiating complex SaaS, cloud, professional services, and/or real estate contracts
Deep expertise in sourcing strategy, vendor selection, contract negotiation, supplier performance management, and cost optimization
A track record of managing multi-million-dollar budgets and delivering measurable savings and operational efficiencies
Familiarity with procurement and SaaS management tools
Strong cross-functional partnership skills, with the ability to influence senior stakeholders across Finance, IT, Security, HR, and Legal
Comfort reviewing and redlining commercial terms in close collaboration with legal teams
A structured, pragmatic approach to problem-solving, with the ability to operate both strategically and hands-on
Location: NYC or London
We’d be particularly excited if you have…
An "AI first" mindset and curiosity about how AI can improve procurement operations
Experience optimizing cloud infrastructure and compute spend, particularly in AI/ML environments
A track record navigating real estate strategy and vendor partnerships in global, multi-office settings
