Sr Supplier Relations Associate

Strategic Sourcing Associate III

The Strategic Sourcing Associate 3 leads complex sourcing initiatives and develops category strategies to ensure supply continuity, cost competitiveness, and regulatory compliance within an aerospace manufacturing environment. This role maintains a high level of engagement with the supply base, including frequent on-site supplier visits to validate manufacturing capability, assess capacity, and ensure adherence to technical, quality, and delivery requirements.

The position plays a critical role in supporting NADCAP-controlled special processes, partnering with Supplier Quality to ensure suppliers meet accreditation requirements, maintain process controls, and successfully pass audits. The role proactively identifies risks related to special processes (e.g., heat treat, plating, NDT, coatings) and drives corrective actions to ensure compliance and uninterrupted supply.

As a senior individual contributor, the Strategic Sourcing Associate III owns key supplier relationships, leads negotiations and long-term agreements, and is accountable for supplier execution against cost, schedule, and quality commitments. The role collaborates closely with Engineering, Quality, and Operations to support new product introduction, supplier development, and continuous improvement initiatives. Additionally, this position provides supply market intelligence, mentors junior team members, and ensures sourcing strategies align with both operational readiness and long-term business objectives.

This role supports a manufacturing facility located near Philadelphia and requires significant travel (75100%) to supplier sites. When not traveling, the position is based on-site at a PCC facility in California; candidates should reside within a reasonable commuting distance of Santa Ana.

Core Responsibilities:

• Develop and execute category strategies for assigned commodities (e.g., precision machining, castings/forgings, electronics, composites).
• Lead competitive sourcing events and multi-round negotiations; perform TCO/should-cost analysis and clean-sheet cost reviews.
• Own Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) for key suppliers; conduct Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) and drive supplier scorecard improvements (on-time delivery, defective parts per million, cost, responsiveness).
• Structure and manage Master Service Agreements (MSAs), Long-Term Agreements (LTAs), pricing agreements, and capacity reservations; ensure full ITAR/EAR and FAR/DFARS compliance.
• Partner with Engineering teams on Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA), as well as VA/VE cost-reduction initiatives.
• Manage sourcing for New Product Introduction (NPI), including early supplier engagement, prototype sourcing, and production ramp-readiness.
• Lead dual-sourcing and supply-continuity plans for critical components; support risk-mitigation strategies.
• Collaborate with Supplier Quality on Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP), Production Part Approval Process (PPAP), and special-process controls.
• Mentor Level 12 sourcing associates and help standardize processes, templates, and RFP/RFQ packages.
• Maintain audit-ready sourcing documentation for customer, internal, regulatory, and government reviews.
• Provide supply-market intelligence (capacity, raw-material trends, tariffs, geopolitical factors) to inform annual operating plans.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, or related field; a master's degree is a plus.
• 47+ years of strategic sourcing or procurement experience in manufacturing, preferably aerospace.
• Strong experience leading complex negotiations and drafting multi-year agreements.
• Proficiency in AS9100 aerospace quality requirements, ITAR/EAR export regulations, and FAR/DFARS compliance.
• Advanced Excel and data-analysis ability; Power BI or Tableau skills are a plus.
• Ability to read engineering drawings and special-process requirements with enough depth to challenge cost drivers.

Preferred Qualifications

• Commodity expertise in machining, castings/forgings, electronics/printed circuit board assemblies (PCBA), composites, or aerospace fasteners.
• Experience with NADCAP special processes and supplier development.
• Background supporting defense or government programs and related cybersecurity posture requirements.
• Certifications such as CPSM, Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP), or Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.
• Experience with should-cost/clean-sheet modeling and VA/VE programs.