Engineering Operations Manager – Procurement, Logistics & Prototype Production

Arcfield•Middletown, RI

About The Position

The Engineering Operations Manager provides operational leadership for Procurement/Logistics (Material Handling) and Prototype Production supporting U.S. Navy engineering programs, including Electronic Warfare (EW), Imaging, and RADAR. The role directs the end-to-end flow of materials, equipment, and information across procurement, warehousing, and prototype production laboratories. It establishes disciplined processes to mitigate supply-chain risks, maintain material accountability, and ensure safe, efficient laboratory operations align with competing program schedules. The manager leads and develops the Procurement/Logistics and Laboratory Prototype Production teams, governs cross-functional workflows and prioritization, and partners with software development teams to define and deploy operational tracking tools and dashboards. The position coordinates with engineering, program management, quality, finance, security, vendors, and customer representatives, and reports status, performance metrics, risks, and corrective actions to senior stakeholders. The role oversees cradle-to-grave sourcing and purchase-order execution; supply-chain, regulatory, and contract compliance; receiving, secure storage, kitting, inventory control, and hardware issuance; domestic and international shipping; and accountability for government-furnished property, customer-owned equipment, and sensitive hardware. It also supervises prototype development, hardware integration, assembly, testing, repair, and rework, while overseeing build readiness, laboratory performance, equipment utilization, and laboratory infrastructure needs.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in business, Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Engineering, Logistics, or a related discipline; an equivalent combination of education, technical experience, and leadership experience may be considered.
8+ years of progressively responsible experience in operations, procurement, logistics, manufacturing, engineering support, laboratory operations, or program execution.
3+ years of experience leading teams, supervising personnel, or managing cross-functional operational activities.
Strong ability to communicate clearly and professionally with technical teams, program managers, executive leadership, suppliers, and government/customer stakeholders.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams.
Experience with ERP, procurement, inventory, ticketing, or project-management systems.
Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment with multiple priorities and firm schedule commitments.
Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Secret security clearance.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting U.S. Navy, Department of Defense, aerospace, or federal engineering programs.
Active DoD Secret clearance, or prior eligibility to hold a DoD clearance.
Experience with FAR/DFARS requirements, government property management, and defense supply-chain compliance.
Background in prototype manufacturing, electro-mechanical assembly, RF systems, electronics integration, or test and evaluation environments.
Experience with enterprise resource planning (ERP), material resource planning (MRP), PLM, warehouse management, or custom workflow/ticketing tools.
Certifications such as Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP), Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM), Project Management Professional (PMP), Lean Six Sigma, or similar.
Familiarity with quality systems and workmanship standards applicable to hardware assembly, such as ISO 9001, AS9100, IPC standards, or equivalent.

Responsibilities

Directly manage, mentor, and develop Procurement/Logistics and Laboratory Prototype Production teams through performance expectations, accountability, training plans, and process guidance.
Develop and govern cross-functional workflows, intake processes, prioritization methods, and tracking mechanisms across EW, Imaging, and RADAR programs.
Establish processes that balance program urgency, technical dependencies, material availability, customer priorities, and labor capacity.
Partner with internal software development teams to define, test, and deploy tracking tools, ticketing systems, material-status tools, and operational dashboards.
Establish and monitor KPIs for procurement cycle time, on-time delivery, receiving throughput, inventory accuracy, production backlog, schedule adherence, and material shortages.
Lead operational planning meetings and coordinate with engineering, program management, quality, finance, security, vendors, and customer representatives.
Provide senior stakeholders with status updates, performance metrics, risk assessments, and corrective-action plans to drive continuous improvement.
Guide cradle-to-grave material sourcing, vendor management, and purchase-order execution, partnering with engineering to ensure Bills of Material and Technical Data Packages are fully defined for production.
Manage supply-chain bottlenecks, material lead times, and obsolescence, ensuring procurement complies with defense acquisition regulations, contract requirements, and company policies.
Oversee receiving, secure storage, kitting, and issuing hardware to production, with controls for material accountability, configuration traceability, and shelf-life management.
Direct domestic and international shipping and receiving, ensuring documentation is traceable and compliant and maintaining controls over government-furnished property, customer-owned equipment, and sensitive hardware.
Supervise prototype development, hardware integration, assembly, testing, repair, and rework activities in laboratory environments using software tools to manage scope, scheduling, tracking, priority, and release.
Oversee prototype-build readiness, including approved drawings, TDPs, BOMs, materials, tools, test equipment, and work instructions, and track detailed assembly or repair records.
Monitor laboratory throughput, backlog, quality trends, rework drivers, and equipment utilization; implement improvements as needed.
Support planning for laboratory infrastructure, equipment maintenance, calibrated test equipment, tooling, storage, and facility needs.