Directed Energy Materials Planning and Production Control Manager

AeroVironment • Albuquerque, NM

3d • $106,500 - $181,000

About The Position

The Directed Energy Materials Planning and Production Control Manager manages the end-to-end flow of materials, resources, production planning, material planning, and manufacturing execution throughout the product lifecycle—from proof of concept and prototype development through research and development, Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP), Full-Rate Production (FRP), and sustaining production. The role aligns material availability, production capacity, planning systems, supplier performance, inventory, and manufacturing schedules with program objectives, engineering requirements, customer commitments, quality standards, and financial targets.

The manager works closely with Engineering, Program Management, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Finance, and Manufacturing to establish scalable processes and support product maturity and transition into production. Responsibilities span lifecycle and program support, materials management, production planning and control, production readiness and scale-up, cross-functional leadership, and systems and process governance. The role also leads and develops materials, production planning, inventory control, and production control personnel, and helps establish team objectives, staffing plans, and professional development activities.

Work is primarily performed in an office, manufacturing, laboratory, or warehouse environment, with regular interaction with production floors, engineering laboratories, warehouses, suppliers, and manufacturing partners. Occasional travel may be required. The position may require extended hours or periodic schedule adjustments for critical program milestones or production requirements. This is a full-time position, typically Monday through Friday, with flexible work hours potentially accommodated. The role requires access to ITAR- and/or EAR-controlled information; applicants must qualify as a U.S. person or be eligible for an export license. The posting states that U.S. citizenship is required for this role due to support of government programs.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Business, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent years of service.
• U.S. citizenship is required due to support of government programs.
• Typically 3–5 or more years of progressive experience in materials management, production planning, manufacturing operations, supply chain, or program operations.
• Experience supporting multiple product lifecycle phases, including new product introduction, prototype development, R&D, LRIP, and FRP.
• Experience managing or supporting ERP/MRP systems and production planning processes.
• Demonstrated experience with bills of material, material requirements planning, capacity planning, inventory management, and production scheduling.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and resolving complex material or production constraints.
• Strong analytical, organizational, decision-making, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to manage competing priorities in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to interpret engineering documentation, production plans, schedules, forecasts, and program requirements.
• Ability to sit, stand, stoop, reach, bend, and lift up to 10 pounds; hand and wrist dexterity to use a computer.
• Ability to work in office and manufacturing environments and in a team environment.
• Must qualify as a U.S. person under ITAR/EAR or be eligible for an export license to access controlled information.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in aerospace, defense, electronics, or other highly regulated manufacturing environments.
• Experience with high-mix, low-volume and/or complex electromechanical products.
• Experience with configuration management, engineering change control, and product lifecycle management systems.
• Experience supporting government contracts, customer audits, or regulated production environments.
• Experience with production rate transitions, factory scaling, contract manufacturing, or supplier development.
• Familiarity with DOD or aerospace quality standards and requirements.
• Experience managing serialized, lot-controlled, export-controlled, or customer-furnished materials.

Responsibilities

• Establish materials and production control strategies for each product lifecycle phase, from proof of concept and prototype development through R&D, LRIP, FRP, and sustaining production.
• Participate in program and material planning, design reviews, manufacturing readiness reviews, and production readiness assessments.
• Translate program requirements, engineering plans, demand forecasts, and customer commitments into executable material and production plans.
• Set planning rigor, inventory strategies, lead-time assumptions, and control processes appropriate to product maturity.
• Identify risks involving long-lead materials, constrained components, sole-source suppliers, capacity limitations, obsolescence, and design changes.
• Support the transition from development to production by defining readiness criteria, production control requirements, and material flow processes; incorporate prototype and R&D lessons into LRIP and FRP planning.
• Develop and maintain material requirements, purchasing plans, replenishment strategies, and inventory objectives, ensuring timely availability of materials, tooling, consumables, and production support items.
• Manage material allocation and prioritization when components are constrained or program requirements compete for resources.
• Establish controls for excess, obsolete, slow-moving, nonconforming, and program-specific inventory; monitor inventory accuracy, shortages, availability, and inventory health.
• Coordinate with Engineering and Supply Chain on substitutions, alternate sources, obsolescence, and engineering changes; support material disposition with Quality, Engineering, and Operations.
• Ensure appropriate handling and traceability of serialized, lot-controlled, customer-furnished, and special-process materials; develop strategies for long-lead and high-risk components.
• Own master production schedules, material plans, build plans, and detailed production schedules, converting demand signals, orders, contracts, forecasts, and program schedules into realistic production plans.
• Balance delivery requirements, capacity, material constraints, labor availability, and manufacturing priorities.
• Establish production control processes for prototype, engineering, pilot, LRIP, FRP, rework, repair, and sustaining production.
• Coordinate build readiness checks for materials, documentation, tooling, equipment, labor, and work instructions.
• Monitor work-in-process, schedule adherence, production output, bottlenecks, and order status; lead recovery planning for disruptions, shortages, quality issues, engineering changes, and capacity constraints.
• Set batch and lot sizes, reorder points, safety stocks, and production release methods; ensure timely release, sequencing, and closure of production orders in the ERP system.
• Develop capacity plans for labor, equipment, work centers, manufacturing cells, and critical processes; support make-versus-buy decisions and internal or external production allocation.
• Define materials and production control requirements and readiness gates for progression from prototype and R&D builds into LRIP and FRP.
• Support factory layout, line balancing, work-center planning, labor modeling, capacity expansion, pilot builds, first article activities, rate demonstrations, qualification builds, and customer acceptance activities.
• Partner with Manufacturing Engineering and Operations to identify constraints, improve production flow, and scale planning and control processes without compromising quality, cost, or delivery.
• Implement process improvements to reduce cycle time, shortages, excess inventory, expediting, and production interruptions; ensure processes can support changing demand, configuration variations, and product improvements.
• Lead cross-functional shortage reviews, production planning meetings, material review meetings, and program supply reviews.
• Partner with Program Management, Engineering, Supply Chain and Procurement, Quality, and Finance on risks, schedules, design maturity, configuration changes, supplier performance, material disposition, inventory, working capital, and program financial objectives.
• Provide leadership with timely updates on material availability, production performance, constraints, and risks; build relationships with internal stakeholders, suppliers, and contract manufacturers.
• Maintain accurate bills of material, planning parameters, item attributes, sourcing rules, lead times, and inventory policies in ERP/MRP systems.
• Establish data governance and transactional discipline for production orders, purchase orders, inventory transactions, work-in-process, and material movements.
• Align engineering configuration management, manufacturing bills of material, planning bills, and production documentation.
• Develop and maintain standard operating procedures, work instructions, planning policies, and materials management processes; improve ERP/MRP functionality, planning, reporting, and system use.
• Establish dashboards and performance metrics for materials and production control, and ensure compliance with company procedures, contractual requirements, quality standards, export controls, and regulatory requirements.
• Lead, mentor, and develop materials, production planning, inventory control, and production control personnel; establish team objectives, performance expectations, staffing plans, and development activities.
• Build a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, and proactive risk management; promote standardized processes and ensure organizational capability as products scale into production.

Benefits

• Medical insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• 401(k) with company matching
• Flexible work schedule options
• Some programs may offer a 9/80 work schedule and paid holiday shutdown, depending on business unit, role, and customer contract requirements.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager