Strategic Sourcing Associate — Level 3
Job Location:
Santa Ana, CA - USA
Monthly Salary:
Posted:
Application Deadline:
Vacancies:
Job Summary
Position Overview:
The Strategic Sourcing Associate 3 leads complex sourcing initiatives and develops category strategies to ensure supply continuity cost competitiveness and regulatory compliance within an aerospace manufacturing environment. This role maintains a high level of engagement with the supply base including frequent onsite supplier visits to validate manufacturing capability assess capacity and ensure adherence to technical quality and delivery requirements.
The position plays a critical role in supporting NADCAPcontrolled special processes partnering with Supplier Quality to ensure suppliers meet accreditation requirements maintain process controls and successfully pass audits. The role proactively identifies risks related to special processes (e.g. heat treat plating NDT coatings) and drives corrective actions to ensure compliance and uninterrupted supply.
As a senior individual contributor the Strategic Sourcing Associate III owns key supplier relationships leads negotiations and long-term agreements and is accountable for supplier execution against cost schedule and quality commitments. The role collaborates closely with Engineering Quality and Operations to support new product introduction supplier development and continuous improvement initiatives. Additionally this position provides supply market intelligence mentors junior team members and ensures sourcing strategies align with both operational readiness and long-term business objectives.
This role supports a manufacturing facility located near Philadelphia and requires significant travel (75100%) to supplier sites. When not traveling the position is based on-site at a PCC facility in California; candidates should reside within a reasonable commuting distance of Santa Ana.
Core Responsibilities:
- Develop and execute category strategies for assigned commodities (e.g. precision machining castings/forgings electronics composites).
- Lead competitive sourcing events and multiround negotiations; perform TCO/shouldcost analysis and cleansheet cost reviews.
- Own Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) for key suppliers; conduct Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) and drive supplier scorecard improvements (ontime delivery defective parts per million cost responsiveness).
- Structure and manage Master Service Agreements (MSAs) LongTerm Agreements (LTAs) pricing agreements and capacity reservations; ensure full ITAR/EAR and FAR/DFARS compliance.
- Partner with Engineering teams on Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA) as well as VA/VE costreduction initiatives.
- Manage sourcing for New Product Introduction (NPI) including early supplier engagement prototype sourcing and production rampreadiness.
- Lead dualsourcing and supplycontinuity plans for critical components; support riskmitigation strategies.
- Collaborate with Supplier Quality on Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) and specialprocess controls.
- Mentor Level 12 sourcing associates and help standardize processes templates and RFP/RFQ packages.
- Maintain auditready sourcing documentation for customer internal regulatory and government reviews.
- Provide supplymarket intelligence (capacity rawmaterial trends tariffs geopolitical factors) to inform annual operating plans.
- Traveling about 80% (primarily regional).
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelors degree in Supply Chain Business Engineering or related field; a masters degree is a plus.
- 7 years of strategic sourcing or procurement experience in manufacturing preferably aerospace.
- Strong experience leading complex negotiations and drafting multiyear agreements.
- Proficiency in AS9100 aerospace quality requirements ITAR/EAR export regulations and FAR/DFARS compliance.
- Advanced Excel and dataanalysis ability; Power BI or Tableau skills are a plus.
- Ability to read engineering drawings and specialprocess requirements with enough depth to challenge cost drivers.
Preferred Qualifications
- Commodity expertise in machining castings/forgings electronics/printed circuit board assemblies (PCBA) composites or aerospace fasteners.
- Experience with NADCAP special processes and supplier development.
- Background supporting defense or government programs and related cybersecurity posture requirements.
- Certifications such as CPSM Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) or Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.
- Experience with shouldcost/cleansheet modeling and VA/VE programs.
Required Experience:
IC
