Director of Supplier Development & Production Acceleration

ACT1 Federal LLC.; Arlington (VA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

ESOP

Life and AD&D insurance

Short-term disability

Long-term disability (voluntary)

FSA

Job summary

ACT1 Federal LLC seeks a Director of Supplier Development and Production Acceleration to lead a team of six to seven senior engineers supporting Navy industrial-base initiatives, missile production, and supplier capacity.

The role demands automotive-like manufacturing leadership, cross-functional execution, and the ability to drive rapid supplier recoveries, ramp production, and deliver conforming output under government priorities and tight schedules.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in industrial, manufacturing, mechanical, systems, or equivalent.
• 15+ years in manufacturing, supplier development, supplier quality, industrialization, program launch, or production operations.
• 5+ years leading engineering teams, supplier-development organizations, or manufacturing-improvement teams with multiple concurrent assignments.
• Substantial automotive OEM/Tier1/2 experience, including supplier recovery, industrialization, launches, or major rate increases.
• Evidence of leading interventions across multiple suppliers, plants, commodities, or processes.
• Strong knowledge of capacity, equipment, tooling, labor, process capability, material flow, quality, and production planning.
• Experience with automotive launch and quality methods (APQP, PPAP, PFMEA, control plans, SPC, MSA, 8D, Lean, standard work).
• Ability to influence supplier executives and lead cross-organizational recovery activities without direct authority.
• Experience preparing executive assessments, recovery recommendations, and performance briefings.
• Willingness to travel frequently and manage competing priorities.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of six to seven supplier-development and manufacturing-readiness engineers.
• Translate Government priorities into supplier assignments, objectives, recovery activities, and measurable outcomes.
• Match engineers to suppliers based on commodity expertise, risk and urgency.
• Establish staffing, travel, coverage, and escalation plans for concurrent interventions.
• Coach engineers on manufacturing diagnosis, supplier engagement, and structured problem solving.
• Review team performance and identify capability gaps to request additional support.
• Prioritize suppliers by impact on production and delivery.
• Maintain an integrated view of interventions, risks, milestones, and decisions.
• Identify local vs systemic constraints and recommend actions accordingly.
• Recommend exit criteria and sustainment checks to reduce recurrence.

Skills

Leadership

Supplier development

Manufacturing readiness

Production ramp-up

APQP/PPAP

Education

Bachelor’s degree in industrial/manufacturing/mechanical/systems

Master’s degree (preferred)

Job description

ACT1 Federal LLC seeks a Director of Supplier Development and Production Acceleration to lead a team of six to seven senior engineers supporting Navy industrial-base initiatives, missile production, and supplier capacity.

The role demands automotive-like manufacturing leadership, cross-functional execution, and the ability to drive rapid supplier recoveries, ramp production, and deliver conforming output under government priorities and tight schedules.