Purchasing Manager

Job Overview

We are seeking a Purchasing Manager to support the growth and expansion of our rapidly growing company. This role requires someone who can thrive in a fast-paced, mission-critical environment.

Responsibilities

• Direct and control all purchasing and materials management activities, ensuring alignment with aerospace quality standards, regulatory requirements, and customer contractual obligations.
• Develops, implements, and continuously improves procurement policies, procedures, and systems governing aerospace material, components, tooling, capital equipment, and specialized services.
• Serves as a primary escalation point for supply chain disruptions, supplier quality issues, expedites, and delivery recovery actions.
• Supports aerospace programs and off-site operations while maintaining compliance with AS9100, ITAR, FAR/DFARS, and customer-specific requirements.
• Partners cross-functionally with engineering, planning, production, quality, supplier quality, warehouse, sales, and finance to rapidly resolve production-critical material issues.
• Develops and maintains a robust supplier selection, qualification, and risk assessment process appropriate for aerospace components and special processes.
• Establishes systems to evaluate supplier quotes using aerospace-appropriate negotiation techniques considering quality, traceability, lead time, capacity, and lifecycle cost.
• Buils and maintains a qualified aerospace supplier base capable of meeting technical, quality, delivery, and compliance requirements.
• Prepares, issues, and manages purchase orders and change notices with a focus on configuration control, traceability, and documentation accuracy.
• Reviews and negotiates contracts, bids, and long-term supplier agreements to ensure legal compliance, pricing integrity, and adherence to aerospace specifications.
• Negotiates complex procurements involving long lead-time components, sole-source suppliers, special processes, and high-value aerospace equipment.
• Tracks and drives key performance metrics including supplier quality, delivery performance, cost variance, and corrective action closure.
• Supports audits, customer visits, and regulatory reviews related to procurement and supplier management.
• May require up to 10% travel to suppliers for qualification, corrective action follow-up, audits, or escalation support.

Qualifications

• 6–10+ years of combined Planning and Procurement experience in aerospace or similarly regulated manufacturing environments.
• Proven experience managing suppliers subject to AS9100, ITAR, FAR/DFARS, or customer-specific aerospace requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to perform effectively in high-pressure aerospace manufacturing environments with zero-defect expectations.
• Demonstrated experience in production planning and scheduling, with the ability to align procurement execution to dynamic aerospace manufacturing schedules and program milestones.
• Strong prioritization and decision-making skills in situations involving schedule compression, supply disruption, and competing program demands.
• Exceptional attention to detail with a disciplined approach to documentation, traceability, and configuration control.
• Solid understanding of aerospace supply chain risk management and supplier performance management.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including interaction with customers, auditors, and suppliers.
• High degree of ownership, resilience, and accountability; capable of independent execution in a regulated environment.
• Advanced proficiency with ERP/MRP systems used in aerospace manufacturing.
• Working knowledge of lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, and Just-In-Time principles adapted for aerospace constraints.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint), including data analysis and executive-level reporting.