Sr Supplier Engineer, Machining

About the role

The primary function of this role is to move surgery forward by providing the highest quality and most innovative products to our customers to achieve better surgical outcomes for patients. The ideal candidate will serve as the commodity owner for CNC machining suppliers, responsible for developing supplier capability, supporting Design for Manufacturing (DFM) during product launches, and driving improvements in cost, capacity, quality, and risk management.

Responsibilities

• Own the CNC machining commodity with accountability for supplier capability, performance, and continuous improvement.
• Develop and execute supplier development roadmaps aligned with cost, capacity, quality, and business objectives.
• Lead supplier capability assessments and drive improvements in machining processes, controls, and technical maturity.
• Partner with sourcing on supplier selection, onboarding, dual sourcing, and long-term commodity strategy.
• Drive supplier performance through scorecards, development plans, and regular technical reviews.
• Support early supplier involvement and DFM engagement with CNC machining suppliers during NPI and product launches.
• Facilitate supplier feedback into design iterations and document DFM decisions and trade-offs.
• Ensure supplier readiness for launch through process capability, capacity, and risk assessments.
• Drive supplier cost improvement initiatives including should-cost analysis, value engineering, and productivity enhancements.
• Evaluate supplier manufacturing capacity, scalability, and constraints; develop capacity expansion and mitigation plans.
• Identify and manage supplier-related risks (design, process, capacity, regulatory, and continuity of supply).
• Lead mitigation actions for high-risk suppliers or components in partnership with cross-functional teams.
• Lead and manage / support supplier-related projects such as supplier transfers, process changes, and capacity expansions.
• Own project plans, milestones, timelines, and deliverables to ensure on-time execution.
• Communicate status, risks, and recovery plans to stakeholders with data-driven recommendations.
• Apply manufacturing core tools to support supplier development and process maturity.
• Support supplier audits, process validations (IQ/OQ/PQ), and first article inspections (FAI) as part of supplier readiness.
• Lead structured problem-solving efforts to address supplier process gaps and performance issues.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Manufacturing, Mechanical, Industrial, or related field) or equivalent experience.
• Minimum 7 years of relevant industry experience in machining, supplier development engineering, manufacturing engineering, or process engineering.
• Strong CNC machining and manufacturing experience in a production environment.
• Proficient in basic blueprint reading and knowledgeable in GD&T.
• Demonstrated experience owning a supplier commodity or managing a supplier portfolio.
• Experience supporting DFM with suppliers and design engineers.
• Strong working knowledge of manufacturing core and qualification process tools.
• Demonstrated project management, risk management, and structured problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work cross-functionally with design engineering, sourcing, quality, program management and operations.
• Understanding of ISO-based quality systems (e.g., ISO 9001, ISO 13485) and their practical application at suppliers.
• Ability to apply risk-based judgment and make sound technical decisions in fast-paced, ambiguous environments.
• Experience with supplier audits and regulatory preferred.
• Ability to travel to suppliers (domestic and international) as needed: minimum 25%.