Supply Chain Lead - Aerospace (Copy) (Copy

Supply Chain Lead - Aerospace (Copy) (Copy)

Beaverton, Operations, Hybrid, Full-time

Come join us in shaping the future! Get in on the ground floor as an early member of our team as a Supply Chain Manager/Director developing a revolutionary satellite communications system.

Ascend Arc is a seed startup founded to revolutionize the satellite communications industry. We are looking for doers who want to work in a ground-breaking and fast-paced environment. Our success will depend on your energy, skill, and creativity.

• Own the end-to-end supply chain: strategy, sourcing, procurement, inventory, logistics, and supplier management, and build the function (and eventually the team) as we scale.
• Negotiate complex aerospace supply agreements across the full spectrum, from low-volume, high-value space-qualified components (long-lead EEE parts, RF hardware, custom mechanical and structural elements) to high-volume, low-value commodity parts, including pricing, terms, quality flow-downs, and schedule protection.
• Lead sourcing and qualification of suppliers, with a sharp eye on the long-lead and single-source items that drive our program schedule.
• Apply lean supply chain principles: right-sized inventory, waste elimination, and sourcing and stocking strategies matched to part criticality (strategic buys where lead times demand it, kanban/min-max flow for commodity hardware).
• Work directly with engineering and production to translate designs into buildable, sourceable hardware, and push back early when a part choice creates a lead-time, cost, or obsolescence problem.
• Drive material alignment to program milestones so build and test teams never get stuck waiting on parts.
• Own procurement, inventory, and BOM/material data in our ERP (Net Suite, currently mid-implementation) and help shape how it integrates with our MES. You’ll have a real voice in how these systems are configured.
• Stand up supply chain processes from scratch that hold up under aerospace quality and compliance expectations (AS9100-aligned practices, counterfeit parts avoidance, source inspection where warranted).
• Execute export compliance requirements in the procurement process, including denied party screening, ITAR/EAR flow-downs to suppliers, and coordination with our compliance program.

• Non-negotiable: A demonstrated record of negotiating high-complexity aerospace or high-reliability hardware contracts, and of building supply chain processes rather than inheriting them. This is the core of the role.
• Self-starter: You take ambiguous ownership and run with it. Nobody here will hand you requirements or wait to unblock you; you’ll set the direction, make the calls, and keep leadership informed rather than asking permission.
• 7+ years in supply chain, procurement, or hardware operations, ideally in space, aerospace/defense, or complex hardware startups. Title and level will flex with what you bring: a proven leader steps in as Director; a rising operator who hits above their weight steps in as Lead with room to grow into it.
• Deep familiarity with space-qualified or high-reliability hardware supply chains: electronics, RF, mechanical, or propulsion.
• Fluency in lean supply chain / strategic sourcing practice, and the judgment to know which parts deserve which strategy.
• Hands-on experience with ERP/MRP systems and keeping BOM and material data tight; experience standing up or implementing an ERP is a big plus.
• A clear communicator who works easily across engineering, production, and leadership.
• Scrappy, resourceful, and not afraid to roll up their sleeves. Whatever the title says, you’re never far from the work.
• Working knowledge of ITAR/EAR obligations as they apply to procurement and supplier management, a plus.

• You’ll have real ownership and shape how our supply chain runs as we grow.
• A tight-knit team that values transparency, creativity, and getting things done.
• Competitive salary + equity—your work directly impacts our mission.
• Flexible hours, flexible work style, and a culture built on trust.
• The chance to build spacecraft that actually go to space. (It never stops being cool.)

The base salary…