Supply Chain Operations Lead

Supply Chain Operations Lead

Location: Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, CA

Employment Type: Full-Time

Level: Senior / Staff / Lead

Work Arrangement: On-Site / Highly Collaborative

An early-stage aerospace and defense manufacturing company is building the operational infrastructure required to support the production of next-generation hardware.

We are seeking a
Supply Chain Operations Lead
to build the company's supply chain function from the ground up. This is a zero-to-one role for an experienced operator who has personally designed and implemented supply chain systems, processes, and controls within a regulated aerospace or defense manufacturing environment.

The company is still in the pre-production phase, creating a rare opportunity to establish the operating model before supplier activity and production scale significantly increase.

This is
not primarily a procurement or strategic sourcing leadership role
. Supplier relationships are already well established. The primary need is someone who can architect how supply chain operations should work, translate those requirements into business systems, and create the processes and governance necessary to support future manufacturing scale.

The role initially operates as a senior individual contributor and central owner of the function, with the organization expected to remain intentionally lean as automation and systems take on much f the operational workload.

• Architect and stand up the company's supply chain operating model from the ground up.
• Design and implement supply chain processes, workflows, controls, and governance appropriate for an aerospace and defense manufacturing environment.
• Define and implement
  ERP/MRP business processes
  , working closely with the company's software and technology organization.
• Translate physical supply chain requirements into scalable digital systems and ensure business systems accurately reflect operational processes.
• Build planning, inventory management, material control, and procurement workflows from scratch.
• Establish processes for material planning, purchasing execution, inventory visibility, material movement, and operational tracking.
• Develop supplier qualification, onboarding, governance, and supplier quality processes.
• Establish appropriate terms-and-conditions and operational frameworks for supplier relationships.
• Build dashboards, reporting, and performance tracking to provide visibility into materials and supply chain execution.
• Establish processes that support
  AS9100 quality requirements and aerospace/defense manufacturing standards
  .
• Ensure supply chain operations maintain appropriate compliance with
  ITAR, DFARS, and related defense-industry requirements
  .
• Partner closely with engineering, manufacturing, quality, software, and leadership to ensure supply chain processes support the broader product and manufacturing strategy.
• Identify operational gaps before they become production constraints and establish scalable solutions proactively.
• Serve as the primary owner and point of accountability for supply chain operations as the function develops.
• Establish the foundation for a small, highly automated supply chain organization that can scale without requiring significant headcount growth.

• Significant experience in supply chain operations, materials management, manufacturing operations, or a closely related function within
  aerospace or defense manufacturing
  .
• Direct, hands‑on experience operating within
  AS9100, ITAR, and DFARS environments
  .
• Demonstrated experience
  architecting and implementing supply chain systems and processes
  , rather than simply inheriting and managing an established organization.
• Experience implementing or significantly configuring
  ERP/MRP systems
  and translating operational requirements into system workflows.
• Strong understanding of planning, inventory, material control, procurement operations, supplier governance, and manufacturing supply chain processes.
• Experience establishing processes and controls in a regulated manufacturing environment.
• Ability to work effectively with software/IT teams to ensure ERP and other business systems accurately support physical…