Supply Chain Program Manager III

BLUE ORIGIN•Huntsville, AL

About The Position

The Supply Chain Program Manager is a supply chain owner responsible for translating program demand, design, and schedules into executable sourcing strategies that deliver materials on time and within budget. The position is part of Blue Origin Operations and supports manufacturing and supply chain across Blue Origin facilities. It operates in an AI-first environment that encourages automation of transactional work. Embedded with engineering and manufacturing teams, the manager participates in design reviews, trade studies, and production planning from early stages. The role owns the end-to-end supplier lifecycle, from developing bid packages and running source selections to qualifying suppliers, negotiating contracts, and validating supplier readiness through PPAP, capability studies, and run-at-rate assessments. The role emphasizes cost reduction, multiple sourcing, and cycle-time compression, and suits someone comfortable with ambiguity, incomplete information, technology, and automation.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree and at least 4 years, or a master's degree and at least 2 years, of supply chain, engineering, or program management experience in manufacturing environments.
Exposure to New Product Introduction or development programs from design through high-rate production at scale.
Experience with First Article Inspection, supplier capability studies, and production-readiness validation, including run-at-rate assessments.
Understanding of high-rate production requirements, including takt time, line balancing, capacity validation, and supplier scalability from low-rate to high-rate production.
Experience building and executing sourcing strategies, including competitive events, dual-sourcing, make/buy trades, and total-cost analysis.
Strong cross-functional collaboration skills and ability to work with and influence engineering and manufacturing teams.
Strong communication skills, including the ability to explain complex supply-chain issues through clear executive summaries and recommendations.
Strong analytical and quantitative skills; experience with bills of materials, MRP/ERP systems, material estimating, cost modeling, and supply-chain metrics.
Comfort with digital tools, supplier portals, EDI/TMS, and data-driven decision-making, with enthusiasm for AI and automation adoption.
Self-starter able to define scalable processes, build templates, and work effectively in a startup-like environment.
Willingness to travel up to 25% for supplier visits, audits, and on-site problem-solving.
Must meet the stated U.S. employment eligibility criteria: U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident, or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.
Ability to complete the standard background check; additional checks or credentials may apply to certain job profiles.

Nice To Haves

Experience in high-rate manufacturing with takt-driven planning, JIT principles, and production rates.
Experience onboarding and developing suppliers, including international or global sourcing across multiple regions.
Lean Six Sigma training at Green Belt level or higher, or equivalent continuous-improvement experience.
Experience with cost-down strategies, including should-cost modeling, learning curves, indexed pricing, and competitive re-bids.
Experience with commodity types such as castings/forgings, machined parts, assemblies, electronics, raw materials, and special processes including welding, heat treat, coatings, and NDT.
Background in supplier development, capacity planning, and capital investment in the supplier base.
Familiarity with export-control requirements and global supply-chain compliance.

Responsibilities

Build bid packages with technical requirements, commercial terms, and evaluation criteria in collaboration with Supply Chain Engineers and Commodity Managers.
Support competitive source selection events.
Qualify and onboard suppliers, including facility assessments, capability validation, and contract execution.
Drive supplier readiness through PPAP, tooling acceptance, Control Plans, Cp/Cpk capability studies, and run-at-rate validation.
Validate supplier capacity to scale from low-rate initial production to high-rate steady-state, including tooling, equipment, shifts, and process capability.
Develop and execute dual- and tri-source strategies to mitigate risk and encourage cost competition.
Conduct make/buy/where trade studies with engineering and manufacturing to support vertical integration decisions.
Negotiate supplier contracts, pricing, terms, and remedies; manage long-term agreements with indexed pricing and capacity commitments.
Embed with assigned technical programs.
Partner with Supply Chain Engineers on technical readiness and Commodity Managers on commercial strategy.
Provide status, risk, and mitigation reporting to program leadership and executive stakeholders.
Use AI-agent-generated data and dashboards to identify trends, predict delays, and drive corrective action.
Define requirements for AI-driven procurement automation, including bid package generation, supplier risk screening, PO/ASN reconciliation, and predictive analytics.
Supervise automated processes with human-in-the-loop approvals, focusing on strategic decisions and exceptions.
Improve templates, workflows, and automation to shorten cycle times and eliminate manual work.
Travel up to 25% for supplier visits, audits, and on-site problem-solving.

Benefits

Medical insurance
Dental insurance
Vision insurance
Basic and supplemental life insurance
Paid parental leave
Short- and long-term disability
401(k) with company match of up to 5%
Education Support Program
Stock options for regular employees working at least 20 hours per week
Paid time off of up to four weeks per year based on scheduled weekly hours
Up to 14 company-paid holidays
Some employees may be eligible for bonuses, depending on role type and job level; amounts and eligibility are not guaranteed.