The Material Program Manager serves as the primary interface between engineering, procurement, program management, and suppliers to ensure on-time, on-cost material availability throughout the program lifecycle. The Material Program Manager also acts as a customer-facing resource to support any material-related requests for information, updates, or escalations. The ideal candidate has experience coordinating and driving action both internally and externally including escalation when necessary to navigate critical and high-pressure scenarios.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
- Own the end-to-end material strategy for assigned program(s), including sourcing strategy, long-lead procurement planning, and allocation of available resources.
- Develop and maintain integrated master schedules (IMS) for material availability, aligning supplier lead times with program milestones and contractual delivery dates.
- Serve as the primary point of contact between Program Management, Engineering, Procurement, and Quality on all material-related issues, risks, and trade-offs.
- Identify, track, and mitigate material risks (obsolescence, single/sole-source dependencies, DMSMS, counterfeit parts risk) and escalate as needed.
- Manage supplier performance for critical and long-lead-time components, driving corrective action plans when schedule or quality issues arise.
- Lead cross-functional material readiness reviews (PDR, CDR, production readiness reviews) and represent material status at program and customer reviews.
- Act as a liaison direct with customers for supply chain related information, tracking, and updates.
- Ensure compliance with DFARS, ITAR/EAR, FAR, and other applicable government contracting and export control requirements.
- Drive process improvements in material planning, MRP/ERP utilization, and supplier collaboration tools.
- Mentor junior members of the Supply Chain team and contribute to team capability development
Job Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Engineering, Business, or related field (or equivalent experience)
- 5+ years of experience in material program management, supply chain, or procurement, with at least 3+ years in aerospace/defense electronics
- Working knowledge of DFARS, ITAR/EAR, FAR, and DoD acquisition processes
- Experience with ERP/MRP systems and program scheduling tools (MS Project)
- Strong understanding of long-lead procurement, obsolescence management (DMSMS), and supplier risk mitigation
- Demonstrated ability to manage cross-functional stakeholders and influence without direct authority
- Excellent analytical, organization, negotiation, and communication skills
- High proficiency with Microsoft Office software