Senior Manager - Purchasing and Performance

Description

At United, we have some of the best aircraft in the world. Our Technical Operations team is full of aircraft maintenance technicians, engineers, planners, ground equipment and facilities professionals, and supply chain teams that help make sure they're well taken care of and ready to get our customers to their desired destinations. If you're ready to work on our planes, join our Tech Ops experts and help keep our fleet in tip-top shape.

The Senior Manager serves as the primary point of escalation for critical purchases, communicating supply chain issues to Tech Ops leadership as necessary while maintaining and building strong relationships with escalation contacts at top suppliers to ensure responsiveness and accountability. The Senior Manager leads, trains, and manages team members within the Materials team to support spare inventory, engineering projects and large-scale new programs, provides onsite presence at supplier facilities to ensure on-time deliveries and recover production as needed, and works directly with Engineering, suppliers, Base Maintenance and Repair Coordinators, Inventory Planning, and Global Procurement teams to align priorities and resolve issues.

• Responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations, ensuring alignment with organizational goals, and driving continuous improvement initiatives
• Develops team capabilities through coaching and mentorship, establishes performance metrics, and ensures timely delivery of materials to support the flying fleet as well as reliability and modification programs
• Provides onsite presence at supplier facilities to monitor production schedules, quality standards, and delivery timelines. This includes conducting regular site visits to assess manufacturing progress, identify potential delays or bottlenecks, and implement corrective actions to ensure on-time deliveries
• When production issues arise, this role actively works with supplier teams to develop and execute recovery plans, expedite critical components, and escalate concerns as needed
• Serves as United's primary liaison at supplier locations, building strong relationships with vendor management teams and ensuring alignment between supplier capabilities and United's operational requirements
• Tracks key performance metrics, provides real-time updates to internal stakeholders, and drives continuous improvement initiatives to enhance supplier reliability and delivery performance
• Facilitates communication across departments to ensure seamless execution of engineering projects
• Works directly with cross-functional internal stakeholders-including Engineering, Base Maintenance, Strategic Planning and Repair Coordinators, Inventory Planning, and Global Procurement teams-to align priorities, coordinate material requirements, and resolve operational issues
• Fostering strong collaborative relationships, this position ensures all stakeholders are informed and aligned on critical timelines, inventory needs, and supplier performance, ultimately supporting fleet and operational readiness
• Requires strategic planning for future programs, leveraging knowledge to assess vendor capabilities and guide decision-making on their ability to support.

Qualifications

What's needed to succeed (Minimum Qualifications):

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Engineering, Business
• 5 years supply chain or related experience
• 4 years management experience
• Supplier Management
• Leadership and people management skills
• Strategic focus, while executing daily requirements
• Airline/Aerospace knowledge
• Data Analytics
• Knowledge of purchasing and sourcing processes
• Efficient with time and adaptable to changing priorities
• Able to travel 25 to 50% of the time
• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer without sponsorship
• Successful completion of interview required to meet job qualification
• Reliable, punctual attendance is an essential function of the position

What will help you propel from the pack (Preferred Qualifications):

• Master's degree
• 2 years program management experience
• Leadership certificates
• ATA Interiors knowledge
• Contract experience
• Finance experience