Supply Chain Manager

Position Overview

An electronics contract manufacturer serving the aerospace and defense industries is seeking a hands-on Supply Chain Manager to lead the supply chain organization at its Westborough site. This position oversees purchasing, master planning and scheduling, inventory control, material movement, and shipping and receiving, with an anticipated team of approximately 10–15 employees.

The manager will strengthen daily execution, develop the team, improve material availability and inventory performance, and build customer confidence through clear communication and reliable follow-through. The ideal candidate brings substantial experience in electronics manufacturing services (EMS), familiarity with aerospace and defense supply chains, strong ERP/MRP skills, and the ability to lead through urgent production and customer demands.

Key Responsibilities

Site Supply Chain Leadership

• Lead and coordinate all site supply chain functions, aligning purchasing, planning, inventory control, and shipping/receiving with production schedules and customer delivery commitments.
• Provide clear priorities, accountability and direction to the Purchasing Supervisor, buyers and other supply chain personnel. Coach and develop employees, manage performance evaluations, training and disciplinary actions, and support a collaborative, improvement-focused team.
• Partner with supply chain leadership to establish action plans, resources and measurable improvements against site and corporate objectives.

Demand, Capacity and Materials Planning

• Establish a consistent demand-management and planning cadence. Work directly with customers to understand demand patterns and translate requirements into ERP planning parameters and actionable materials plans.
• Oversee master planning and scheduling, capacity analysis, supply chain modeling and risk assessment. Identify changes in demand, material constraints, and capacity imbalances, and recommend practical solutions to level-load the factory.
• Develop monthly and quarterly site sales commitments against demand loads, coordinating material readiness and production requirements.

Purchasing and Supplier Execution

• Direct purchasing execution for electronic components, bare printed circuit boards (PCBs), printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs), and related manufacturing materials.
• Use knowledge of electronic catalog components, active and passive components, manufacturers and authorized supply channels to resolve sourcing constraints and supplier delivery issues in an aerospace/defense manufacturing environment.
• Ensure MRP recommendations translate into timely buyer action. Analyze open purchase orders, missing supplier acknowledgments, overdue deliveries and orders requiring schedule realignment; drive follow-up and escalation to support customer orders.

Inventory, Cost and Operational Improvement

• Optimize component and assembly-level inventory and order quantities to improve inventory turns, cash flow and production support. Track inventory by customer and drive corrective actions.
• Manage cost-reduction opportunities, purchase price variance (PPV), work-order planning, cycle counting and other materials metrics. Apply data-driven methods to improve supply chain efficiency.
• Establish, track and act on supply chain key performance indicators (KPIs). Use reporting and analysis to identify recurring issues, measure team progress and sustain improvements.
• Work with IT and other stakeholders to improve reporting tools, purchasing workflows and the usability of ERP/MRP data. Support the site’s planned transition from Epicor 10 to Epicor Kinetic.

Customer Communication and Compliance

• Participate confidently in customer meetings and business reviews. Clearly explain order status, material availability, purchasing progress, supply risks and recovery actions, including during challenging delivery discussions.
• Coordinate across site functions to maintain customer service and operational integrity, follow established materials procedures, and support applicable ISO quality, environmental, health, safety and security management systems.
• Support site and corporate 6S objectives, continuous improvement and other assigned responsibilities.

Required Industry Experience

Direct experience in electronics manufacturing services (EMS) or electronics contract manufacturing, with experience supporting aerospace and defense supply chains, is required. Candidates must demonstrate:

• Purchasing and planning for PCB/PCBA production and familiarity with bare boards, electronic catalog components, active/passive components, and the multiple manufacturers and distributors that support electronics assembly.
• Understanding of authorized electronic component sourcing and supplier requirements in aerospace/defense and ITAR-related manufacturing environments.
• Experience managing material availability and supplier execution in a fast-paced manufacturing operation with many interdependent components and changing customer requirements.
• Candidates must bring practical electronics and component procurement knowledge sufficient to take ownership of supplier execution with a short learning curve.

Required Qualifications

• Approximately 8–10 years of progressive supply chain/materials experience spanning purchasing, planning and inventory management in manufacturing.
• Demonstrated people leadership: ability to provide structure, train and coach employees, manage performance, and improve execution in a demanding operating environment.
• Excel and Power BI experience and the ability to develop useful purchasing, planning, and KPI reports.
• Ability to analyze large purchasing and MRP datasets, identify actionable exceptions, and translate findings into timely operational decisions.
• Experience using Kanban or similar scheduling and escalation reports to prioritize material actions.
• Demonstrated improvements in inventory turns, cash flow, cost efficiency, and supply chain performance.
• Excellent customer-facing communication, organization, problem-solving, and follow-up skills.
• Ability to manage competing priorities with urgency and coordinate multiple groups to achieve common objectives.

Preferred Qualifications

• Hands-on Epicor ERP experience is preferred. The site currently uses Epicor version 10 and aims to transition to Epicor Kinetic by the end of 2026. Experience with another ERP platform is acceptable when supported by strong MRP and manufacturing knowledge.
• APICS certification, such as CPIM or CIRM, or a strong foundation in APICS supply chain principles. Certification is preferred, not mandatory.

Work Arrangement

This is a site-based leadership role with on-site work expected. A limited hybrid arrangement may be discussed for an exceptionally qualified, experienced candidate; no standard