Manager, Strategic Sourcing, Supply Chain

Merlin Labs•Boston, MA

4d•Onsite

About The Position

Merlin is seeking a sourcing leader to own categories across hardware, software, and services and turn sourcing strategies into signed agreements, resilient supply, and measurable savings. The role balances category strategy with contract negotiation and supplier performance management in a regulated aerospace and defense environment where compliance and audit readiness are essential. The Manager partners with Engineering, Program Management, Supplier Quality, Finance, and Legal to maintain continuity of supply, competitive costs, and compliant procurement. The position owns end-to-end sourcing for assigned spend, develops category strategies across direct and indirect categories, manages and improves the supply base, negotiates and finalizes supplier agreements, and maintains audit-ready purchasing files. It also contributes upstream to specifications and make-or-buy decisions, supports supplier qualification and performance management, mitigates supply risks, and establishes and reports sourcing KPIs. The position is based on-site at Merlin headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Business, Economics, or a similar field.
At least 6 years of experience in commodity management, sourcing, or procurement.
At least 3 years of experience in aviation or aerospace, including commercial aviation, defense aerospace, space, MRO, airline, or aerospace OEM and supplier environments.
Demonstrated ownership of complete tender cycles for medium-to-high-value, long-term contracts, from sourcing strategy through award, contract finalization, and ERP execution.
Proficiency interpreting and negotiating risk in terms and conditions, including judgment about when to escalate matters to Legal.
Working knowledge of aerospace and defense procurement compliance requirements, including ITAR and EAR as they affect supplier selection, technical data exchange, and international sourcing, and government contract flow-downs under FAR and DFARS.
Technical proficiency with ERP systems and analytical tools, advanced Microsoft Office skills (Excel, PowerPoint, and Word), and strong analytical, quantitative, and problem-solving ability.
Proactive approach, clear and effective verbal and written communication, and adaptability in managing deadline pressure, ambiguity, and change.

Nice To Haves

Experience with a government contracting ERP such as Deltek Costpoint, SAP, or similar.
Master's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Economics, Business, Mathematics, or Statistics.
Industry-recognized supply chain or project management certification, such as CPSM, CIPS, CSCP, or PMP.
Familiarity with AS9100 and the certification environment suppliers deliver into, including FAA or EASA airworthiness approvals, DO-178C and DO-254, and associated supplier data and first-article requirements.
Experience sourcing both hardware and software for the same product, particularly licensed software, tool chains, or certification artifacts that form part of an airworthiness approval.
Experience in an early-stage aerospace or autonomy company, or supporting a certifiable autonomy program such as UAM, UAV, or optionally piloted aircraft.
Experience sourcing and scaling a supply chain for a startup or small program team.
Experience working across a multi-site or international supply base.
Private pilot license or hands-on aircraft experience alongside the commercial skill set.

Responsibilities

Run end-to-end sourcing for assigned spend, from supplier sourcing and tender issuance through proposal evaluation, award recommendation, contract finalization, and ERP execution.
Build and execute category strategies across direct and indirect spend, supported by market analysis and should-cost modeling.
Design competitive tenders with defined award criteria to assess cost, capability, and schedule differences, and make the business case for competing scopes that have remained sole-source.
Manage the supply base by rationalizing toward best-in-class suppliers, distinguishing qualification-driven constraints from incumbency, and bringing in new suppliers to reduce single-source exposure.
Negotiate master pricing agreements, NRE/development agreements, statements of work, and software licenses with embedded and redistributable rights.
Ensure executed agreements precede supplier work and maintain compliance with company policy, ITAR/EAR, and FAR/DFARS requirements.
Maintain audit-ready purchase files, including price and cost analysis, for internal audit, external audit, and government review.
Engage with Engineering and Program Management on specifications and make-or-buy decisions; join design reviews and change control boards; support clear-to-build reviews; and partner with Quality on supplier qualification and performance management.
Mitigate supply risks, including long-lead items, obsolescence, and capacity limits.
Establish category baselines and measurement methodology, and report KPIs including spend under management, competitive award rate, savings, cycle time, and single-source exposure.