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Senior Supplier Development and Manufacturing Readiness Engineer

ACT1 Federal
Arlington, USA
Senior · 10+ years experience
Onsite
$120,000 - $150,000
Discovered 4 days ago

Full Job Posting

Responsibilities

  • Supplier Assessment and Capacity Validation
  • Assess suppliers’ ability to achieve required production rates, quality, delivery, cost, and readiness objectives.
  • Evaluate manufacturing processes, equipment, tooling, labor, maintenance, material flow, inspection, testing, and lower-tier dependencies.
  • Distinguish theoretical, rated, available, and demonstrated capacity using traceable production evidence.
  • Analyze cycle times, changeovers, equipment availability, scrap, rework, first-pass yield, work in process, process capability, and schedule adherence.
  • Identify binding constraints and determine whether proposed interventions will increase usable output at the required point in the production system.
  • Validate capacity assumptions through production observation, data analysis, and appropriately authorized run-at-rate or capacity-demonstration activities.
  • Supplier Development and Recovery
  • Deploy to critical suppliers experiencing production, quality, delivery, launch, or capacity challenges.
  • Develop recovery plans identifying root causes, corrective actions, responsible owners, resources, dependencies, milestones, escalation paths, and completion evidence.
  • Establish daily or weekly recovery reviews with supplier, prime-contractor, and Government stakeholders, as authorized.
  • Support supplier implementation of approved actions and verify their effectiveness against agreed measures.
  • Identify structural issues requiring engineering decisions, capital investment, alternate sourcing, qualification, technical data, workforce development, or Government action.
  • Escalate constraints that cannot be resolved through incremental process improvements.
  • Manufacturing Launch and Industrialization
  • Assess readiness for new-product introductions, production transfers, additional shifts, equipment installations, facility expansions, and major production-rate increases.
  • Apply Advanced Product Quality Planning, Production Part Approval Process, process failure mode and effects analysis, control plans, statistical process control, measurement-system analysis, and structured problem solving, as appropriate to applicable program requirements.
  • Support readiness gates covering tooling, equipment, workforce, material, process controls, inspection, testing, qualification, and production documentation.
  • Evaluate whether pilot or initial production results demonstrate readiness for repeatable, sustained production.
  • Adapt automotive launch practices to defense production environments without bypassing required technical approvals or qualification processes.
  • Manufacturing Improvement and Investment Support
  • Develop practical alternatives involving process changes, standardized work, error proofing, tooling improvements, maintenance, overtime, additional shifts, alternate sourcing, and capital equipment.
  • Work with cost and investment analysts to compare implementation time, cost, risk, and expected production benefit.
  • Assess whether investments address the actual limiting constraint and whether downstream operations can absorb increased output.
  • Track improvements through distinct stages: action completed, equipment installed, process qualified, capacity demonstrated, and sustained delivery benefit achieved.
  • Support improvements that preserve product safety, quality, configuration, and contractual requirements.
  • Integration and Decision Support
  • Coordinate authorized activities with Government program offices, prime contractors, suppliers, engineering organizations, procurement teams, and quality representatives.
  • Identify critical lower-tier and long-lead dependencies affecting supplier recovery and coordinate findings with the TASC supply-chain lead.
  • Prepare supplier assessments, recovery plans, capacity analyses, risk registers, site-visit reports, executive briefings, and recommendations.
  • Maintain action, risk, decision, and dependency records that support TASC execution reporting.
  • Communicate findings clearly to both technical specialists and senior leaders.

Required Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in industrial, manufacturing, mechanical, systems, or another relevant engineering discipline. An equivalent combination of technical education and substantial hands-on manufacturing experience may be considered where permitted by the applicable contract and Government requirements.
  • At least 10 years of progressively responsible experience in manufacturing engineering, supplier development, supplier quality, industrialization, production launch, or manufacturing operations.
  • Demonstrated responsibility for successful supplier recovery, new-program launch, production transfer, or production-rate increase.
  • Significant experience diagnosing and resolving problems directly on the production floor.
  • Experience evaluating supplier performance across multiple manufacturing processes or commodities.
  • Strong working knowledge of APQP, PPAP, PFMEA, control plans, SPC, MSA, 8D, Lean manufacturing, standardized work, and error proofing.
  • Demonstrated understanding of capacity, tooling, equipment, labor requirements, process capability, material flow, and production dependencies.
  • Experience developing recovery plans with measurable milestones and verifying sustained results.
  • Ability to interpret production, quality, schedule, and material data and document assumptions and limitations.
  • Strong technical writing, executive communication, and stakeholder-coordination skills.
  • Ability to work independently, manage concurrent priorities, and travel extensively.
  • Current Top Secret clearance and U.S. citizenship, subject to verification.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Significant automotive OEM or Tier 1/Tier 2 supplier-development, launch, or manufacturing experience.
  • Fifteen or more years of relevant experience.
  • Experience recovering distressed suppliers or supporting multiple production launches under demanding schedules.
  • Aerospace, defense, missile, propulsion, or other regulated manufacturing experience.
  • Experience with several of the following:
  • Precision machining, castings, and forgings.
  • Stamping, metal forming, welding, and joining.
  • Heat treatment and other special processes.
  • Injection molding and composites.
  • Electronics, printed circuit assemblies, and electrical harnesses.
  • Motors, actuators, and electromechanical assemblies.
  • Tooling, capital equipment, and complex mechanical assemblies.
  • Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, ASQ Certified Quality Engineer, Certified Supplier Quality Professional, or comparable credential.
  • Experience translating commercial manufacturing practices into defense program requirements.

Benefits:

  • Medical/Dental/Vision Insurance
  • ACT1 Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
  • Company Paid Life and AD&D Insurance
  • Company Paid Short-Term Disability
  • Voluntary Long-Term Disability
  • Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
  • Health Savings Account (HSA)
  • 401K with employer match
  • Paid Time Off
  • Paid Holidays
  • Parental Leave
  • Military Leave
  • Education, Training & Professional Development
  • Voluntary Accidental Injury/Critical Illness/Hospital Care
  • Voluntary Pet Insurance, Legal Resources, and Identity Protection
  • Our people-first culture prioritizes the benefits of flexibility and collaboration, whether that happens in person or remotely.
  • If this position is listed as remote or hybrid, you’ll periodically work from a ACT1 Federal or client site facility.
  • If this position is listed as onsite, you’ll work with colleagues and clients in person, as needed for the specific role.
  • All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to disability, status as a protected veteran or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, local or international law.

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