Supplier Development Specialist

Harris Geospatial Solutions; Brighton; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Half day finish on a Friday

25 days holiday per year (plus bankhol

Private medical insurance with family

Pension scheme 8% employer contrib

Life Assurance 4x salary

Group income protection

Flexible opt-in extras

Employee Family Assistance Program

Professional membership reimbursement

Job summary

L3Harris in Brighton seeks a Supplier Development Specialist to drive supplier qualification, cost competitiveness and risk management across aerospace components. You’ll lead APQP/PPAP activities and work with procurement, engineering and quality teams to optimise supplier performance and delivery.

Role involves travel, audits and continuous improvement in a fast-paced defense environment, with relocation considerations as needed and a focus on ISO9001 standards.

Qualifications

• Significant previous experience of procurement within an engineering / manufacturing biased industry (ISO9001 and/or Defence Certified).
• Knowledge of APQP, PPAP, FMEA.
• Understanding and interpretation of engineering drawings.

Responsibilities

• Interface with Procurement, Project, Engineering & Quality teams to prioritise supplier development needs by component to improve cost competitiveness or supply constraints.
• Research external market information and identify potential sources and suppliers.
• Drive supplier selection through robust qualification processes.
• Assess new and existing supplier capabilities to meet product, cost, quality, capacity, and fulfilment requirements incl. AS 9100, ISO 9001, ISO 14001.
• Drive improvements using Lean methodologies, supplier scorecards and audits to deliver value.
• Develop relationships with sourcing leaders to manage changes and New Product Introduction.
• Provide technical leadership to sourcing and development of suppliers regarding tech, performance, quality, cost, logistics and delivery.
• Lead APQP/PPAP processes and supplier cost improvements; manage supplier interactions and customer interaction.

Skills

Procurement experience

APQP/PPAP knowledge

FMEA

Engineering drawings

Travel readiness

Education

ISO9001 / Defence Certified

Job description

L3Harris is dedicated to recruiting and developing high-performing talent who are passionate about what they do. Our employees are unified in a shared dedication to our customers’ mission and quest for professional growth. L3Harris provides an inclusive, engaging environment designed to empower employees and promote work-life success. Fundamental to our culture is an unwavering focus on values, dedication to our communities, and commitment to excellence in everything we do.

L3Harris is the Trusted Disruptor in defense tech. With customers’ mission-critical needs always in mind, our employees deliver end-to-end technology solutions connecting the space, air, land, sea and cyber domains in the interest of national security.

Job Title – Supplier Development Specialist

Job Location – Brighton

Our Brighton business is moving to a new location in 2027. The new site is expected to be located in either Shoreham, Burgess Hill or Horsham and will be within a 15-minute drive of our current site.

Job ID – 43052

About this opportunity and L3Harris UK

Operating at 11 sites in the United Kingdom, L3Harris supports Britain's mission to secure and strengthen the country by delivering sovereign innovation across the space, air, land, sea and cyber domains.

L3Harris in Brighton are part of our Release Systems & Antennas division operating in the Aerospace domain. For over 70 years, L3Harris has designed and developed industry-leading carriage and release systems for fighter, rotary-wing and unmanned platforms and we design, manufacture and test a large portion of our release systems portfolio in our Brighton facility which offers 48,500 square feet of manufacturing space. Our mission-critical release systems equipment is on most major airborne fighter platforms worldwide, including the F-35, along with other aircraft like the Gripen and Typhoon.

Please note, our Brighton business is moving to a new location in 2027. The new site is expected to be located in either Shoreham, Burgess Hill or Horsham and will be within a 15-minute drive of our current site.

A few of our employee benefits are:

• Half day finish on a Friday
• 25 days holiday per year (plus bank holidays), increasing with long service and with the opportunity to buy/sell up to 5 days
• Private medical insurance with optional family cover
• Pension scheme of up to 8% employer contribution
• Life Assurance 4x salary (flexible up to 10x)
• Group income protection
• Flexible opt-in extras such as a health care cash plan, dental insurance, gym membership, critical illness cover, cycle to work scheme, travel insurance and electric car scheme
• Employee Family Assistance Program providing mental health and wellbeing support
• Professional membership reimbursement (discretionary)

What the role will involve

The responsibilities of your role will include the following:

• Interface with Procurement, Project, Engineering & Quality teams to prioritise supplier development needs by component to improve cost competitiveness or supply constraints.
• Research external market information and entrepreneurial companies to identify potential sources and suppliers.
• Drive supplier selection through robust qualification processes.
• Assess new and existing supplier capabilities to meet product, cost, quality, capacity, and fulfilment ensuring suppliers can meet requirements for performance, quality, cost and delivery of components, including AS 9100, ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and other applicable customer and internal quality system requirements.
• Drive improvements utilising Lean methodologies, supplier scorecards and supplier audit, ensuring supplier compliance, whilst driving systematic problem solving and process improvement plans to deliver value.
• Develop positive relationships and work closely with sourcing leaders to manage, implement and track supplier/engineering, design changes, capacity studies and New Product Introduction, and transfers.
• Provide technical expertise and leadership to sourcing and development of suppliers with respect to technology, performance, quality, cost, logistics and delivery.
• Responsible for leading the solution for supplier component concerns, driving Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP), Production Part Approval Process (PPAP), customer interaction, supplier interaction, Value Analysis/Value Engineering (VA/VE) support, supplier component development and approval and supplier cost improvements.
• Perform due diligence checks supplier validation audits, with supplier support and supplier Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP).

What you’ll bring

The role requires the following experience and skills:

• Significant previous experience of procurement within an engineering / manufacturing biased industry. (ISO9001 and / or Defence Certified).
• Unrestricted travel on an occasional basis will be required.
• Strong knowledge of Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP), Production Part Approval Process (PPAP), Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA).
• Understanding and interpretation of engineering drawings.

Important to know

Applicants who accept a conditional offer of employment must meet the requirement of right to work in the UK and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information and will be subject to government security checks.

L3Harris Technologies is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to maintaining a workplace that is free from unlawful discrimination and offers equal opportunities for all. Applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, and marriage and civil partnerships.