Category Manager, Mechanical

Salient Motion; Hawthorne (CA); On-site; USD 160,000 - 175,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Healthcare benefits

Life Insurance

Flexible PTO

Job summary

Salient Motion in Hawthorne, CA seeks a Category Manager, Mechanical Equipment to own the mechanical supply base for actuator product lines. You will source gears, housings, bearings, shafts, and raw materials, and manage supplier relationships to ensure on-time, cost-effective, and compliant delivery.

The role requires 5+ years in strategic sourcing or category management in regulated manufacturing (aerospace/defense preferred). U.S.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive experience in strategic sourcing or category management for precision mechanical components.
• Experience sourcing machined, forged, or cast metal components and raw materials (aluminum, titanium, steel, specialty alloys).
• Knowledge of GD&T, material certifications, and special process requirements (heat treat, plating, NDT).
• Experience negotiating supply agreements, pricing, and capacity commitments with machine shops, forge/casting houses, and material distributors.
• Familiarity with AS9100 quality systems and supplier qualification/audit processes.

Responsibilities

• Own commodity strategy and supplier selection for precision mechanical components: gears, housings, bearings, shafts, and related machined/formed parts.
• Lead sourcing for new programs from RFQ through award, negotiating cost, lead time, and capacity commitments.
• Own procurement for New Product Introduction (NPI): lead early supplier involvement, drive right-first-time supplier selection, and manage components through initial production before handover to operational buyers.
• Qualify and develop precision machining, forging, and casting suppliers; lead supplier audits and capability assessments.
• Partner with design and manufacturing engineering on material selection to balance cost, performance, and manufacturability.
• Develop should-cost and price targets for mechanical commodities and own NPI cost-out commitments, using teardown and cost-modeling to drive supplier negotiations.
• Manage supplier corrective action for dimensional, material, or process quality escapes.
• Negotiate long-term agreements and POs with key machine shops, component providers, and distributors.
• Ensure supplier compliance with AS9100, ITAR/EAR, and material traceability/certification requirements (special process approvals).
• Support make/buy decisions and capacity planning in coordination with Salient Motion's internal CNC machine shop.

Skills

Strategic sourcing

Category management

Supply chain

AS9100

ITAR

GD&T

Negotiation

Supplier audits

ERP/MRP

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Business, or related field

Tools

NetSuite

SAP

Epicor

Job description

We are pioneering modular motion technologies to power the next generation of innovation for Industrial, Aerospace and Defense. If you're excited about disrupting legacy industries, and passionate about building the financial infrastructure behind cutting-edge hardware, let's chat!

We are at the forefront of innovation, crafting exclusive motion control components that propel the industrial, aerospace, and defense sectors into the future.

A couple other things:

• We offer a lot of autonomy
• We like to run lean for impact
• We have great benefits
• We are well funded, and already generating revenue
• We're currently in Torrance, CA, but will be moving into a new facility in Hawthorne, CA in the summer!

About the role:

The Category Manager, Mechanical Equipment owns the mechanical supply base behind Salient Motion's actuator product lines. This role is responsible for sourcing precision mechanical components, including gears, housings, bearings, shafts, and related machined/formed parts, as well as the raw materials (aluminum, titanium, steel, specialty alloys) that feed both the supplier base and Salient Motion's internal machine shop.

This is the strategic owner of supplier relationships that directly determine whether Salient Motion's actuators ship on time, at the right cost and within spec, and requires U.S. Person status due to the export-controlled nature of the components and programs involved.

What you'll do:

• Own commodity strategy and supplier selection for precision mechanical components: gears, housings, bearings, shafts, and related machined/formed parts.
• Lead sourcing for new programs from RFQ through award, negotiating cost, lead time, and capacity commitments.
• Own procurement for New Product Introduction (NPI): lead early supplier involvement, drive right-first-time supplier selection, and manage components through initial production before handover to operational buyers.
• Qualify and develop precision machining, forging, and casting suppliers; lead supplier audits and capability assessments.
• Partner with design and manufacturing engineering on material selection to balance cost, performance, and manufacturability.
• Develop should-cost and price targets for mechanical commodities and own NPI cost-out commitments, using teardown and cost-modeling to drive supplier negotiations.
• Manage supplier corrective action for dimensional, material, or process quality escapes.
• Negotiate long-term agreements and POs with key machine shops, component providers, and distributors.
• Ensure supplier compliance with AS9100, ITAR/EAR, and material traceability/certification requirements (special process approvals).
• Support make/buy decisions and capacity planning in coordination with Salient Motion's internal CNC machine shop.

What you need:

• 5+ or more years of progressive experience in strategic sourcing, category management, or supply chain for precision mechanical components, ideally in aerospace, defense, or another regulated manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated experience sourcing machined, forged, or cast metal components and raw materials (aluminum, titanium, steel, specialty alloys).
• General knowledge of GD&T, material certifications, and special process requirements (heat treat, plating, NDT).
• Experience negotiating supply agreements, pricing, and capacity commitments with machine shops, forge/casting houses, and material distributors.
• Familiarity with AS9100 quality systems and supplier qualification/audit processes.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Business, or related field, or equivalent experience.
• Must qualify as a U.S. Person under ITAR (22 CFR §120.15).

Nice to have:

• Experience sourcing components for actuation systems, flight controls, or other high-precision mechanical assemblies.
• Familiarity with internal CNC machine shop operations and make/buy capacity planning.
• Experience with ERP/MRP systems ('NetSuite, SAP, Epicor') for demand planning and PO management.

What we have to offer:

We are not just building components. We are reshaping the future of the Aerospace and Defense component industry, which is a $300B+ market! Come join us and help build next generation systems that will make a massive impact at global scale.

• Competitive compensation: $160,000-$175,000
• Exceptional healthcare benefits - Medical is 100% covered by the company
• Life Insurance (2x Salary) 100% covered by the company
• Flexible PTO, 401K, Financial Wellness Resources, and more