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Location: Rockford, IL | Schedule: Full-time, on-site

Overview

A precision aerospace manufacturer is seeking a Materials Lead to oversee planning, procurement, inventory control, and material flow across its manufacturing operations. This role ensures material availability while optimizing inventory, improving supplier performance, and supporting on-time delivery to customers, working cross-functionally with Operations, Production, Engineering, Quality, Program Management, and Finance to execute the Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning (SIOP) process and drive continuous improvement across the supply chain.

What you'll do

• Develop and execute production material plans aligned with customer demand and master production schedules
• Manage MRP recommendations and ensure timely release of purchase orders and manufacturing orders
• Analyze excess, obsolete, and slow-moving inventory and develop reduction plans
• Establish inventory policies including safety stock and reorder points
• Manage procurement of raw material, machined components, outside processing, hardware, and indirect materials
• Negotiate pricing, lead times, and supplier agreements
• Develop strategic supplier relationships focused on quality, cost, delivery, and responsiveness
• Coordinate daily material availability with production scheduling
• Lead shortage meetings and establish recovery plans
• Support engineering changes and material transitions
• Ensure material transactions are completed accurately within the ERP system
• Lead productivity projects focused on supplier performance improvement and Purchase Price Variance (PPV) savings
• Improve inventory turns and cash utilization
• Reduce supplier lead times
• Improve supplier on-time delivery
• Standardize planning processes across locations
• Track KPIs including On-Time Delivery (OTD), Purchase Price Variance (PPV), Inventory Turns, Inventory Accuracy, Supplier On-Time Delivery, Supplier Quality Performance, Material Shortage Reduction, MRP Action Completion, and working capital reduction

Required qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Operations, Business, Engineering, or related field
• 3-5 years of experience in materials management, supply chain, purchasing, or production planning
• Experience in aerospace, defense, precision machining, or manufacturing
• Strong ERP/MRP experience (Epicor, Infor, SAP, Oracle, or equivalent)
• Strong analytical and Excel skills
• Strong analytical, negotiation, and problem-solving skills
• Ability to manage supplier relationships and cross-functional projects effectively
• Knowledge of inventory planning, supplier performance metrics, and strategic sourcing principles
• Excellent communication and organizational skills

Preferred qualifications

• Experience in aerospace, defense, medical device, or precision manufacturing
• APICS CPIM or CSCP certification
• Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or Continuous Improvement experience
• Experience supporting AS9100 manufacturing environments
• Government contracting or defense industry experience
• Aerospace or highly regulated industry experience preferred

Why this role

This is an opportunity to drive supply chain performance and continuous improvement within a precision aerospace manufacturing environment, partnering across Operations, Engineering, Quality, and Finance to directly impact on-time delivery and inventory efficiency.