Procurement Manager Aerostructures - Fast Track & Special Programmes

Prestwick Aerosystems; Manching; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company pension scheme

Bike leasing

On-site canteen

Job summary

Airbus Defence and Space GmbH in Germany seeks a Procurement Manager for Aerostructures—Fast Track & Special Programmes. You will drive rapid supplier scouting, early evaluations, and make-or-buy decisions within delegated authority, ensuring schedule adherence and cost discipline.

Office location near Munich/Manching with a focus on agile execution, cross-functional collaboration, and compliant procurement governance.

Qualifications

• Experience in aerospace procurement, project management or NPI in fast-paced environments.
• Ability to make sound commercial and technical judgments independently.
• Broad knowledge across multiple aerospace commodities to evaluate suppliers.

Responsibilities

• Lead delegated sourcing and rapid execution for early-stage programs.
• Scout and evaluate suppliers; perform capability assessments for new work packages.
• Drive end-to-end early sourcing (RFIs, RFPs, downselections) under delegated authority.
• Negotiate development agreements, SoWs, and NRE activities balancing schedule and risk.
• Represent procurement in engineering/industrial Architecture meetings; shape make-or-buy decisions.

Skills

Aerospace procurement

Autonomous decision-maker

Commodity & technical literacy

Pragmatic & agile mindset

Stakeholder trust & diplomacy

Job description

Job Description: In order to support Procurement Airbus Defence and Space is looking for a Procurement Manager Aerostructures - Fast Track & Special Programmes (d/f/m) The Procurement Manager for Fast-Track & Special Programmes is an autonomous, high-impact procurement role designed to drive maximum speed, agility, and cross-functional integration during early-stage aerospace development. Operating in a streamlined, fast-paced environment, the job holder is empowered with delegated authority from the standard Commodity Procurement teams. You act as the direct, hands-on procurement lead for the programme—managing early supplier evaluations, market scouting, design-to-cost, and supplier selections independently. By operating within pre-aligned strategic guardrails set by the Commodity Heads, you eliminate organizational friction and ensure rapid programme execution while safeguarding long-term industrial logic and corporate compliance. This role is also available with reduced weekly hours and an adapted scope of tasks.

Your location: Located about an hour’s drive north of Munich, Manching is an up-and-coming market town that offers a wide range of leisure and cultural activities. Here, you can enjoy the quality of life in the countryside while the pleasures of near-by cities are still within easy reach.

Your Benefits for You

• Fair Compensation & Extras: Attractive remuneration and individual additional benefits, such as company pension schemes, mobility offers (e.g., bike leasing), or corporate discounts with partner companies in accordance with our current guidelines.
• Time for You (and Your Loved Ones): 30 days of annual leave based on our collective agreement (35-hour week); work-life balance through flexible working hours (flextime), mobile working, part-time options, job sharing, and sabbatical opportunities.
• Growth Made Easy: Excellent professional development opportunities and international, group-wide career perspectives.
• Feel Good at Work: On-site company doctor; comprehensive health programs (sports courses, preventive care, etc.), canteen and cafeteria, and local childcare facilities at selected locations.
• Diversity Connects: Work in a diverse environment with more than 140 nationalities, where exchange, mutual support, and inclusion are part of our DNA.

Your tasks and responsibilities

• Delegated Sourcing & Rapid Execution
• Empowered Supplier Scouting & Evaluation: Independently lead the scouting, evaluation, and capability assessments of potential suppliers for new work packages, ensuring rapid turnaround times without waiting for multi-layered commodity reviews.
• Delegated Tender Management: Drive the end-to-end early sourcing process (RFIs, RFPs, downselections) under delegated authority from the respective commodity teams. Ensure supplier selections align with pre-agreed commodity strategies, roadmaps, and quality baselines.
• Early Contract & NRE Structuring: Negotiate development agreements, Statements of Work (SoWs), and Non-Recurring Engineering activities, balancing the immediate schedule requirements of the development team with commercial risk protections.
• Upstream Architecture & Make-or-Buy Execution
• Agile Make-or-Buy Driver: Represent Procurement directly in early-stage Engineering and Industrial Architecture meetings. Actively participate in shaping Make-or-Buy choices and Core vs. Non-Core package definitions to fit the specific timeline and budget constraints of the programme.
• Design-to-Cost & Early Budget Control: Drive early-stage target costing and Design-to-Cost (DtC) activities. Challenge engineering assumptions directly to keep both Non-Recurring Costs (NRC) and future recurring unit costs aligned with the programme’s business case.
• Streamlined Commodity Alignment & Strategy Guardrails
• Strategic Guardrail Management: Establish up-front "sourcing boundary conditions" with Commodity Heads before launching tenders. Operate autonomously within these boundaries, escalating only exceptions, high-value decisions, or strategic deviations.
• Single-Point Procurement Leadership: Act as the dedicated, single face of Procurement within the Programme Multi-Functional Team (MFT). Own both the strategic direction and operational execution of procurement activities for the project.
• Asynchronous Milestone Governance: Keep commodity teams informed through lean, milestone-based reviews (e.g., sourcing strategy approval and final contract award endorsement), minimizing meeting overhead while preserving corporate alignment.
• Operational Bundling & Hands-On Delivery
• Supplier Risk & Ramp-Up Monitoring: Monitor early supplier development, tooling fabrication, and industrial readiness, proactively solving bottlenecks before components reach the assembly line.
• Seamless Series Transition Clean Package Maturity Transfer: Prepare and package mature work packages, established contracts, and performance data for seamless integration into standard commodity management routines once the programme transitions to stable series production.

Desired skills and qualifications

• Experience: Robust track record in aerospace procurement, project management, or New Product Introduction (NPI) within fast- paced, high-autonomy environments.
• Autonomous Decision-Maker: Proven ability to make sound commercial and technical judgments independently, balancing the urgent need for speed with disciplined risk management.
• Broad Commodity & Technical Literacy: Generalist knowledge across multiple aerospace commodities (e.g., structures, systems, avionics, cabin/standard hardware) to credibly evaluate diverse suppliers without relying on daily specialist support.
• Pragmatic & Agile Mindset: High bias for action and hands-on execution. Ability to navigate fluid engineering requirements and make pragmatic trade-offs to keep the programme on schedule.
• Stakeholder Trust & Diplomacy: Strong reputation for integrity and transparency, enabling Commodity Heads to comfortably delegate sourcing authority to you without feeling out of the loop.

This job requires an awareness of any potential compliance risks and a commitment to act with integrity, as the foundation for the Company’s success, reputation and sustainable growth.

Company: Airbus Defence and Space GmbH Employment Type: Permanent ------- Experience Level: Professional Job Family: Sourcing, Buying and Ordering

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Airbus is committed to achieving workforce diversity and creating an inclusive working environment. We welcome all applications irrespective of social and cultural background, age, gender, disability, sexual orientation or religious belief. Airbus is, and always has been, committed to equal opportunities for all. As such, we will never ask for any type of monetary exchange in the frame of a recruitment process. Any impersonation of Airbus to do so should be reported to [e-mail].

At Airbus, we support you to work, connect and collaborate more easily and flexibly. Wherever possible, we foster flexible working arrangements to stimulate innovative thinking. Airbus pioneers sustainable aerospace for a safe and united world. The Company constantly innovates to provide efficient and technologically-advanced solutions in aerospace, defence, and connected services. In commercial aircraft, Airbus offers modern and fuel-efficient airliners and associated services. Airbus is also a European leader in defence and security and one of the world’s leading space businesses. In helicopters, Airbus provides the most efficient civil and military rotorcraft solutions and services worldwide.