The Director of Procurement is responsible for developing and executing the strategic sourcing and procurement strategy for a manufacturing company in Southern Maine, within a high-precision CNC aerospace manufacturing environment. The role oversees approximately $5M in raw material spend, influences an additional $2M in subcontracting, and will establish structure around roughly $1.5M in tooling and consumables that are not currently under contract.
This position focuses on building a disciplined procurement function that improves supplier performance, reduces cost, and ensures supply continuity as the organization grows. The Director of Procurement will establish procurement guardrails including supplier agreements, spend visibility, purchasing discipline, and supplier accountability while supporting the company’s growth through new program launches and operational expansion.
This role requires a strategic procurement leader with strong aerospace experience, strong financial and negotiation skills, and the ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, growth-oriented manufacturing environment.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Procurement Leadership
- Develop and execute the overall procurement and strategic sourcing strategy
- Establish supplier contracts, blanket purchase orders, and long-term supply agreements to reduce reliance on spot purchasing.
- Lead supplier negotiations to achieve optimal service levels, cost competitiveness, and supply reliability.
- Build a disciplined purchasing structure that improves cost control and strengthens supplier accountability.
- Develop long-term supply strategies that support growth, new program launches, and operational stability.
Supplier Management and Strategy
- Manage and strengthen relationships with approximately 40 core suppliers across metals, plastics, tooling, coatings, heat treat, and machining subcontractors.
- Establish supplier performance expectations around delivery, quality, responsiveness, and cost.
- Implement supplier performance metrics including on-time delivery, quality performance, and cost improvement.
- Identify opportunities for supplier consolidation, improved sourcing leverage, and strategic partnerships.
- Lead supplier negotiations and long-term commercial agreements.
Cost Management and Spend Visibility
- Conduct detailed spend analysis to provide leadership visibility into supplier spend and cost drivers.
- Establish baseline metrics and reporting for Purchase Price Variance (PPV).
- Identify and execute cost reduction opportunities across raw materials, subcontracting, and tooling.
- Ensure procurement decisions support EBITDA expansion and cost competitiveness.
- Implement procurement reporting and analytics to support data-driven decision making.
Aerospace Compliance and Quality Requirements
- Ensure supplier compliance with aerospace and defense documentation and traceability requirements.
- Maintain adherence to ECN revision control, PPAP, FAI, and Process of Record (POR) requirements.
- Ensure material certifications and documentation meet customer and regulatory expectations.
- Coordinate supplier change management and deviations with Engineering and Quality teams.
Cross Functional Collaboration
- Partner with Account Management, Engineering, Operations, Planning, and Quality to ensure supply readiness.
- Support Account Managers while maintaining their ownership of part numbers, subcontract execution, and customer communication.
- Ensure procurement strategies support production schedules, customer commitments, and program launches.
- Provide leadership visibility into supply risks, supplier performance, and mitigation plans.
Project Management and New Program Introduction
- Support New Part Introduction (NPI) programs by ensuring supplier readiness and material availability.
- Establish project visibility across new program launches including supplier readiness, capacity, and documentation requirements.
- Coordinate cross-functional teams to ensure successful product launches and eliminate surprises.
- Track program status and escalate risks that could impact production or delivery commitments.
Continuous Improvement and Process Development
- Develop scalable procurement processes, workflows, and standard work.
- Improve ERP purchasing data accuracy including lead times, safety stock levels, and purchasing parameters.
- Implement supplier scorecards and performance management systems.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives across the supply chain and procurement function.
- Support the development of a scalable supply chain structure aligned with company growth.
Required Qualifications
- 10+ years of procurement or supply chain leadership experience in CNC machining, aerospace, defense, or regulated manufacturing.
- Demonstrated experience negotiating supplier contracts and long-term supply agreements.
- Strong familiarity with aerospace documentation requirements including PPAP, FAI, POR, and ECN processes.
- Strong financial acumen including cost analysis, spend management, and supplier negotiations.
- High proficiency with ERP systems and Excel/data analysis.
- Strong leadership, communication, and supplier relationship management skills.
- Ability to operate strategically while maintaining strong operational execution.
Ideal Candidate Attributes
- Strategic thinker capable of building procurement infrastructure in a growing manufacturing organization.
- Strong negotiator with the ability to drive measurable cost improvements.
- Highly organized, disciplined, and process oriented.
- Data-driven decision maker who uses analytics to drive procurement strategy.
- Calm and effective in a fast-paced, growth-focused manufacturing environment.
- Team-oriented leader who supports a positive, high-performance culture.
What Success Looks Like
- Long-term agreements established with core suppliers.
- Improved supplier delivery, quality, and cost performance.
- Clear procurement visibility into spend and supplier performance metrics.
- Reduced reliance on spot purchasing through structured sourcing strategies.
- Predictable material availability supporting production and revenue targets.
- A scalable supply chain infrastructure that supports company growth and operational expansion.
Procurement Execution and Order Management
- Issue purchase orders for raw materials, tooling, consumables, and related items.
- Ensure all specifications, revisions, certifications, and quality requirements flow down accurately.
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
