Directed Energy Sr. Manufacturing Systems Business Analyst

AeroVironment, Inc.; Albuquerque (NM); On-site; USD 95,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

AeroVironment, Inc. is seeking a Sr Manufacturing Systems Business Analyst to bridge manufacturing operations, engineering, supply chain, quality, finance and IT.

You will gather, analyze, document, and prioritize requirements for PLM, ERP, MRP, MES and related systems to optimize product development, production planning, material control and shop-floor execution. You will lead workshops, define acceptance criteria, assist with deployments, and ensure data governance and operational support

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in a related field.
• 3–7 years of experience in business analysis for manufacturing systems.
• Experience with PLM, ERP, MRP, MES and related manufacturing technology.
• Ability to document requirements for complex processes and work with stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Elicit, document, validate, and prioritize requirements for manufacturing systems.
• Translate needs into user stories, use cases, and acceptance criteria.
• Support system implementations, upgrades, and integrations.
• Collaborate with engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, quality, finance and IT.
• Develop test scenarios, scripts, and acceptance criteria; support testing.
• Maintain requirements traceability from need to deployment.

Skills

Requirements elicitation

Cross-functional collaboration

Process mapping

Data analysis

Testing and quality assurance

Technical writing

Education

Bachelor's degree in business or related

Tools

Oracle Fusion

Arena

Unanet

ERP / MES / PLM familiarity

Job description

Worker Type Regular Job Description Summary

The Directed Energy Sr Manufacturing Systems Business Analyst serves as the bridge between manufacturing operations, engineering, supply chain, quality, finance, and information technology. This role gathers, analyzes, documents, and prioritizes business and technical requirements for manufacturing systems, including Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Material Requirements Planning (MRP), and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES). The analyst supports system implementations, process improvements, integrations, data governance, testing, training, and ongoing operational support. The position ensures that manufacturing applications effectively support product development, production planning, material control, shop-floor execution, quality processes, traceability, and business reporting.

Position Responsibilities

Requirements and Process Analysis

Partner with business stakeholders to understand current and future-state manufacturing processes. Elicit, document, validate, and prioritize functional and non-functional requirements. Translate business needs into clear user stories, use cases, process flows, specifications, and acceptance criteria. Identify process gaps, inefficiencies, risks, and opportunities for automation. Facilitate workshops with engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, quality, finance, and IT teams. Ensure requirements are aligned across PLM, ERP, MRP, MES, and related systems.

Manufacturing Systems Support

Analyze and support business processes involving:

• Product data and bills of material
• Engineering change management
• Production planning and scheduling
• Material requirements planning
• Work orders and routings
• Inventory and warehouse transactions
• Shop-floor execution
• Quality inspections and nonconformance management
• Serial number and lot traceability
• Labor reporting and production performance

Support system configuration decisions and ensure solutions meet operational requirements. Coordinate with system administrators, developers, vendors, and implementation partners. Assist with troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, issue resolution, and production support.

Implementations and Integrations

Participate in system upgrades, implementations, migrations, and continuous-improvement initiatives. Define data, workflow, reporting, and integration requirements. Support integration analysis between PLM, ERP, MRP, MES, and other enterprise applications. Review proposed solutions for process alignment, usability, scalability, security, and data integrity. Maintain requirements traceability from business need through design, testing, and deployment.

Testing and Deployment

Develop test scenarios, test scripts, and acceptance criteria. Coordinate system, integration, regression, and user acceptance testing. Document defects and work with technical teams to verify corrective actions. Support cutover planning, deployment, release management, and post-launch stabilization. Develop user procedures, job aids, training materials, and release communications.

Governance and Continuous Improvement

Maintain process documentation, requirements repositories, data definitions, and system documentation. Support master-data governance and data-quality initiatives. Monitor system performance and user adoption. Identify opportunities to improve standardization, automation, reporting, and operational efficiency. Ensure changes comply with applicable company policies, quality requirements, security standards, and regulatory obligations.

Basic Qualifications (Required Skills & Competencies)

Bachelor’s degree in business, information systems, engineering, supply chain, manufacturing, or a related field; equivalent experience may be considered. 3–7 years of experience in business analysis, manufacturing systems, ERP, MES, PLM, MRP, or related manufacturing technology. Experience gathering and documenting requirements for complex business processes. Understanding of manufacturing, production planning, supply chain, engineering, or quality processes. Experience supporting system implementations, enhancements, integrations, or upgrades. Strong analytical, communication, facilitation, and problem-solving skills. Experience with process-mapping and requirements tools. Ability to work effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Other Qualifications & Desired Competencies

Experience with one or more enterprise systems such as:

• Oracle Fusion
• ERP
• Arena
• Unanet

Experience in aerospace, defense, automotive, electronics, or other regulated manufacturing environments. Familiarity with bills of material, routings, work instructions, configuration management, and engineering change processes. Knowledge of SQL, data analysis, reporting tools, APIs, or system-integration concepts. Experience with Agile, Scrum, Waterfall, or hybrid project methodologies. Familiarity with Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or continuous-improvement practices. Experience with product traceability, auditability, export controls, or quality-management systems.

Core Competencies

Business and systems analysis Manufacturing process knowledge Requirements elicitation and documentation Cross-functional collaboration Process mapping and optimization Data and integration analysis Testing and quality assurance Change management Stakeholder communication Structured problem-solving Prioritization and decision-making Technical writing and documentation

Success Measures

Requirements are complete, accurate, prioritized, and traceable. Manufacturing-system changes are delivered on schedule and meet user needs. PLM, ERP, MRP, and MES processes are aligned and integrated. System defects, manual workar