Procurement VAVE Specialist

Strattec Security Corporation; Milwaukee (WI); On-site; USD 85,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Health benefits

Paid time off

401(k) with company match

Life insurance

Wellness program

Local location benefits

Job summary

Strattec Security Corporation seeks a Procurement VAVE Specialist to drive cost-reduction initiatives in a high-volume automotive setting. Lead ideation, teardowns, and business-case development while coordinating with Quality, Engineering, and Procurement.

Organize supplier-led VAVE workshops, manage programs end-to-end, and ensure engineering excellence and robust documentation throughout the lifecycle.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, or hybrid technical-commercial field.
• CVS or VMA value engineering certification is highly preferred.
• 4-6 years managing technical cost-reduction or continuous improvement programs in a high-volume production sector.

Responsibilities

• Ideation and teardowns to identify cost-out opportunities.
• Develop business cases with ROI/TCO, costs, tooling updates, and payback.
• Coordinate validation testing across Quality, Engineering, and Procurement.
• Facilitate supplier-led VAVE workshops to uncover cost savings.
• Manage multi-team programs from kickoff through deployment and compliance.
• Ensure engineering excellence, testing, documentation, and lifecycle alignment.

Skills

Value engineering

Financial acumen

Project management

Education

Bachelor's degree

CVS or VMA certification

Job description

Procurement VAVE Specialist

Strattec (NASDAQ: STRT) is a global automotive access company that designs and delivers safe, secure, and highly engineered access solutions for the automotive and mobility industries.

Built on generations of access and security engineering expertise, Strattec partners closely with leading automotive OEMs to create differentiated, system-level access experiences for drivers and passengers around the world. Our innovative portfolio spans the entire vehicle access journey:

• Permission: Secure vehicle entry through advanced mechanical and electronic access systems.
• Motion: Reliable, powered access solutions that enhance convenience and everyday usability.
• Hold: Precision-engineered latching systems that deliver strength, safety, durability, and performance trusted by global OEMs.

As vehicle access becomes increasingly intelligent, connected, and central to the overall driving experience, Strattec continues to expand its market presence, diversify its customer base, and grow its global reach. Our vision is to be the world’s most trusted access solutions partner, delivering long-term value across the automotive and mobility markets.

Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Strattec operates facilities throughout the United States, including locations in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Auburn Hills, Michigan; and El Paso, Texas. Internationally, we maintain manufacturing, engineering, and commercial operations in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, and Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico, as well as engineering and commercial operations in South Korea.

Our global footprint combines world-class engineering expertise, advanced manufacturing capabilities, and responsive customer support to help shape the future of vehicle access and security.

Guided by our culture pillars of Think New, Do Together, and Own It, we empower associates to innovate, collaborate, and take ownership to make a meaningful impact every day.

Join Strattec and help engineer the access experience for the next generation of mobility.

Key Responsibilities

• Ideation & Teardowns: Lead physical product teardowns and competitive benchmarking workshops to identify cost-out opportunities (e.g., material substitution, weight reduction, process optimization).
• Business Case Development: Calculate the financial feasibility of optimization ideas, factoring in implementation costs, modification charges (MOD), tooling updates, and payback periods.
• Cross-Functional Orchestration: Coordinate validation testing between Quality, Engineering, and Procurement to ensure ideas are approved without risking product performance.
• Supplier-Led Innovation: Facilitate VAVE workshops directly with key suppliers to uncover cost savings hidden in their manufacturing tiers or raw material supply chains.
• Project Management: Track a portfolio of cost-out projects from raw idea through testing, regulatory approval, and factory implementation [VAVE Project Manager].
• Manage complex, multi-team technical programs with multiple interconnected workstreams from kickoff through deployment.
• Translate product requirements into technical roadmaps, technical milestones, and engineering deliverables.
• Identify, track, and mitigate technical risks, technical bottlenecks, and resource constraints before they impact delivery dates.
• Own the program schedule, establishing realistic milestones, managing technical dependencies, and driving accountability across engineering squads.
• Participate in technical design reviews to ensure solutions are scalable, maintainable, and aligned with long-term infrastructure goals.
• Facilitate technical trade-off decisions between engineering and product teams, balancing speed-to-market against technical debt.
• Enforce engineering excellence standards, ensuring appropriate testing, code quality, security protocols, and documentation are integrated into the program lifecycle.

Communication & Stakeholder Alignment

• Serve as the primary technical point of contact for cross-functional stakeholders, including Product, Security, Compliance, and executive leadership.
• Synthesize complex technical status reports into clear, actionable executive updates, translating engineering metrics into business impacts.
• Lead post-mortems and root-cause analyses (RCA) for program failures or major deployment incidents to drive continuous process improvement.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, or a hybrid technical-commercial field. Certification in Value Engineering (e.g., CVS or VMA) is highly preferred.

• Experience: 4-6 years managing technical cost-reduction or continuous improvement programs in a high-volume production sector (e.g., automotive, consumer electronics)
• Skills: Value engineering methodologies, financial acumen (ROI/TCO analysis), and strong project management capabilities.

What We Offer

Our benefits package is designed to support your wellbeing, growth, and life outside of work.

• Competitive compensation package, including base pay, regular salary reviews, and short-term incentive opportunities
• Comprehensive health benefits, including medical, dental, and vision coverage with eligibility starting day one
• Paid time off for vacation, holidays, sick time, and bereavement for eligible employees
• 401(k) retirement savings plan with company match up to 5 percent and immediate vesting
• Company-paid life insurance coverage to support you and your beneficiaries
• Wellness program supporting physical, emotional, and financial wellbeing, plus opportunities to volunteer and give back to your community
• Additional local benefits may apply depending on location or facility

Strattec is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to status as a protected veteran or a qualified individual with a disability, or other protected status such as race, religion, color, national origin, sex, and age.