Supply Chain and Materials Manager
Responsibilities Build and lead the purchasing, sourcing, materials, and logistics team, with clear ownership of supplier commitments and material readiness for concurrent builds.
Develop sourcing plans for precision optics, laser components, vacuum hardware, custom electronics, and cable assemblies; manage long-lead, single-source, and supplier-capacity risks.
Translate released bills of materials (BOMs) and build schedules into purchasing requirements, material allocations, and complete subsystem kits, including approved spares.
Manage quotations, purchase orders, delivery commitments, and supplier recovery plans within Finance approval controls; obtain Engineering approval for proposed substitutions.
Establish inventory, receiving, and traceability controls so production uses the correct parts and revisions, with nonconforming material held from use.
Coordinate incoming inspection, supplier corrective actions, returns, and protected handling of fragile optics, clean assemblies, and controlled bonding materials.
Collaborate with Finance and Planning & Configuration Control to design NetSuite purchasing and inventory workflows; maintain accurate transactions and material status.
Track supplier delivery, kit completeness, shortages, and inventory accuracy; resolve material constraints before they interrupt subsystem production or system integration.
Experience & Education Bachelors in supply chain management, operations, business, or a related field
8+ years in technical procurement, supply chain, or materials management
3+ years managing purchasing or materials teams
Experience sourcing precision optical, laser, vacuum, or custom electronic assemblies for low-volume, high-complexity equipment.
Experience establishing inventory and supplier controls while engineering designs are evolving; quantum-computing, photonics, or scientific-instrument manufacturing experience preferred.
Qualifications Ability to interpret technical purchasing requirements and work with engineers and suppliers on component specifications, configuration changes, and conformance documentation.
Strong supplier negotiation, capacity-assessment, and recovery-planning skills for custom components and low-volume, high-complexity equipment.
Practical knowledge of material planning, system-specific kitting, serial/lot traceability, controlled storage, and inventory reconciliation.
Experience with enterprise resource planning (ERP) purchasing and inventory workflows; hands-on NetSuite experience preferred.
Clear communication and sound judgment when balancing prototype and repeat-build demand, supplier limitations, and Manufacturing need dates.