Strategic Government Supply & NPI Lead

Viasat; Phoenix (AZ); On-site; USD 99,000 - 156,000; Full time

Job summary

Viasat is seeking a Government Supply Manager to lead end-to-end procurement across development, qualification, and production phases for space and defense programs. You will identify, onboard, and manage contract manufacturers to ensure supply continuity, cost competitiveness, and production readiness.

The role demands strong FAR/DFARS experience, supplier risk mitigation, and close collaboration with engineering, planning, finance, and contracts to resolve issues and accelerate NPI and LRIP

Qualifications

• 10+ years directly applicable supply chain experience.
• Experience managing suppliers in manufacturing, technology, aerospace, or complex operations.
• Wide range of commodity knowledge.
• Working knowledge of Federal and Defense contracting requirements (DFAR/FAR/ITAR).
• Familiarity with MS Office, ERP/MRP systems and supply planning tools.
• Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Supply Chain, or related field; US citizenship.
• Remote work arrangement with residency in Arizona.
• Ability to travel up to 25%.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end procurement strategy across development, qualification, and production phases.
• Identify, qualify, and onboard contract manufacturers meeting government program requirements (quality, security, compliance, scalability).
• Lead competitive sourcing events (RFIs, RFPs, RFQs) and evaluate suppliers based on technical capability, cost, capacity, and compliance readiness.
• Develop dual-source or contingency strategies for high-risk or sole-source components.
• Negotiate pricing, lead times and supply agreements such as program specific agreements (PSAs).
• Build and maintain relationships with suppliers while holding them accountable to delivery and performance commitments.
• Manage supplier delivery, cost, quality, and lead time performance.
• Identify supply chain risks early and build mitigation plans to prevent production disruptions.
• Resolve supplier issues impacting production schedules or program milestones.
• Understand quarterly forecast requirements and translate that into a supply plan with risks and mitigations.
• Monitor supplier readiness against program ramp schedules and translate demand signals into capacity plans.
• Develop and execute recovery plans for constrained or underperforming suppliers.
• Identify single-source, capacity, and long lead-time risks and implement mitigation plans.
• Conduct supplier business reviews and drive corrective actions where performance gaps exist.
• Participate in program reviews, build readiness meetings, and engineering change discussions.
• Support new product introduction activities including supplier onboarding, qualification, and production ramp readiness.
• Influence design-for-manufacturability and design-for-supply-chain decisions to reduce cost and risk.
• Work with engineering teams to improve component availability, manufacturability, lead times, and cost.
• Coordinate with planning and program teams to align material availability with production schedules.
• Support engineering changes, alternate part qualifications, and redesign efforts when supply issues arise.
• Support transition from prototype to LRIP to full-rate production.
• Ensure contract manufacturers are prepared for scale with tooling, staffing, and process maturity.
• Monitor supplier readiness against ramp schedules.
• Manage lifecycle changes including engineering revisions and end-of-life transitions.
• Drive closure of critical supply chain actions, open shortages, and escalations.
• Make timely decisions in fast-moving environments with incomplete information.
• Escalate issues appropriately while maintaining ownership of resolution plans.
• Balance tradeoffs between cost, delivery, quality, inventory, and supply risk.
• Communicate status, risks, and recovery plans clearly to stakeholders and leadership.
• Identify and implement process improvements to improve efficiency, visibility, and scalability.
• Use ERP, MRP, and supplier performance data to drive prioritization and decision-making.
• Develop reporting and tracking tools for shortages, supplier performance, and operational risks.
• Support long-term sourcing, dual-source, and supply continuity strategies.
• Track cost and drive cost reduction initiatives.
• Drive automation and standardization where possible to improve team efficiency and execution.
• Identify and implement process improvements to improve efficiency, visibility, and scalability.
• Use ERP, MRP, and supplier performance data to drive prioritization and decision-making.

Skills

Supply chain experience

Vendor management

Negotiation

Supply risk management

Cross-functional collaboration

Strategic sourcing

Problem solving

Leadership

Communication

Adaptability

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Business or related field

Tools

MS Office

ERP/MRP systems

Supply planning tools

Job description

Viasat is seeking a Government Supply Manager to lead end-to-end procurement across development, qualification, and production phases for space and defense programs. You will identify, onboard, and manage contract manufacturers to ensure supply continuity, cost competitiveness, and production readiness.

The role demands strong FAR/DFARS experience, supplier risk mitigation, and close collaboration with engineering, planning, finance, and contracts to resolve issues and accelerate NPI and LRIP