Supply Chain Manager

Wardstone; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Wardstone is seeking a Supply Chain leader to build and manage the company’s supplier base, secure long-lead components, and help scale from prototype to production. You will work with engineering leads and the Head of Business Operations to ensure cost, lead times, and compliance for aerospace-grade parts.

Responsibilities include negotiating with suppliers, planning for production, and implementing systems for purchasing, inventory, and supplier management, with a focus on ITAR and DFARS

Qualifications

• 5+ years of supply chain, procurement, or sourcing experience in aerospace, defense, or complex hardware.
• Experience sourcing custom and technical parts, such as machined parts, electronics, or composites.
• Working knowledge of FAR/DFARS requirements and ITAR.
• Strong negotiation skills and experience managing supplier relationships.
• Comfortable working closely with engineers and understanding technical requirements.

Responsibilities

• Build the supplier base by finding, evaluating, and qualifying suppliers for machined parts, composites, electronics, sensors, energetic materials, and motor components.
• Manage long-lead and critical parts by identifying early and securing them ahead of need; track supply risks.
• Plan for production by building sourcing plans and cost models for scaling from prototypes to low-rate production.
• Ensure compliance and quality by meeting FAR/DFARS flowdowns, ITAR, and supplier quality requirements.
• Build systems and processes to scale purchasing, inventory, and supplier management.

Job description

Overview

You will build Wardstone’s supply chain, from sourcing prototype parts today to supporting production of Hailstorm, our first interceptor, tomorrow. You’ll find and qualify suppliers, secure long-lead and hard-to-source components, negotiate terms, and make sure our supply chain meets defense requirements. You’ll report to the Head of Business Operations and work closely with every engineering lead and the Technical Program Manager.

You will build Wardstone’s supply chain, from sourcing prototype parts today to supporting production of Hailstorm, our first interceptor, tomorrow. You’ll find and qualify suppliers, secure long-lead and hard-to-source components, negotiate terms, and make sure our supply chain meets defense requirements. You’ll report to the Head of Business Operations and work closely with every engineering lead and the Technical Program Manager. Interceptors depend on specialized parts, including energetic materials, high-performance alloys and composites, precision electronics, and sensors, many with long lead times and few suppliers. Your work will decide how fast we can build and how many we can make.

What You’ll Do

Build the supplier base

• Find, evaluate, and qualify suppliers for machined parts, composites, electronics, sensors, energetic materials, and motor components.
• Build relationships with key suppliers and negotiate pricing, lead times, and terms.
• Set up backup suppliers for critical and single-source parts.

Manage long-lead and critical parts

• Work with engineering leads to identify long-lead and hard-to-source parts early, and secure them ahead of need.
• Track supply risks, such as shortages, single sources, and supplier problems, and maintain plans to address them.
• Support make-vs-buy decisions with cost, lead-time, and supplier data.

Plan for production

• Build sourcing plans and cost models for scaling from prototypes to low-rate production.
• Work with engineering on design choices that lower cost and improve supply availability.

Ensure compliance and quality

• Make sure purchasing meets government contract requirements, including FAR/DFARS flowdowns, specialty metals, counterfeit-parts prevention, and ITAR.
• Work with engineering to set supplier quality requirements, inspection, and documentation.

Build systems and processes

• Set up purchasing, inventory, and supplier management processes and tools that scale with the company.

Required Qualifications

• B.S. in supply chain management, engineering, business, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of supply chain, procurement, or sourcing experience in aerospace, defense, or complex hardware.
• Experience sourcing custom and technical parts, such as machined parts, electronics, or composites.
• Working knowledge of FAR/DFARS requirements and ITAR.
• Strong negotiation skills and experience managing supplier relationships.
• Comfortable working closely with engineers and understanding technical requirements.
• Must be a U.S. person as defined by ITAR (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual). [Must be eligible to obtain a U.S. security clearance.]

Nice to Have

• Experience with missile, rocket, or munitions supply chains, including energetic materials.
• Experience scaling hardware from prototype to production.
• Experience with supplier quality systems (e.g., AS9100).
• Experience setting up ERP or purchasing systems.
• Experience managing a small team.
• Prior early-stage startup experience.

Compensation

The base pay range for this role is $100,000 – $140,000 per year.