Strategic Supply Chain, Industrial Base Operations

ABOUT THE JOB

Strategic Supply Chain, Industrial Base Operations is a key strategic and operational role responsible for architecting, implementing, and governing priority rating frameworks (e.g., DPAS) and defense supply chain resilience across the enterprise.

As the company scales rapidly to support mission-critical defense programs, safeguarding material availability and accelerating delivery timelines are paramount. In this role, you will serve as the enterprise operational authority ensuring defense priority requirements are seamlessly integrated into procurement, ERP/MRP workflows, supplier contracts, and program delivery schedules. Partnering across Supply Chain, Program Management, Contracts, Legal, Engineering, and Government Relations, you will bridge the gap between high-level defense policy and tactical shop-floor execution—mitigating supply risk and strengthening our enterprise operating posture.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Defense Priority Governance & Strategy: Serve as the enterprise operational lead for defense supply priorities, partnering closely with Supply Chain, Procurement, Contracts, Program Management, Legal, and Government Relations to drive operational execution and close critical supply vulnerabilities.
• Strategic Commodity De-Risking: Collaborate with Supply Chain teams to identify critical commodities and supply chain bottlenecks where priority ratings can mitigate material risk; proactively lead cross-functional initiatives to secure and apply these ratings across programs.
• Single Source of Truth & Data Architecture: Build, manage, and scale a centralized data repository capturing strategic commodities, program allocations, rating statuses, active purchase orders, supplier flow-downs, identified risks, and open corrective actions.
• Contract Flow-Down & Supplier Execution: Partner with tactical and strategic procurement teams to ensure priority ratings and mandatory flow-down requirements are accurately reflected on purchase orders and legally binding supplier commitments.
• Enterprise Systems & Workflow Integration: Collaborate with Business Systems, IT, and Operations to embed priority rating logic and traceability into core enterprise platforms, including ERP, MRP, P2P, Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM), and business intelligence dashboards.
• Executive Alignment & Reporting: Deliver high-visibility reporting and operational briefings to senior leadership, VPs, and stakeholders detailing rating coverage, process deficiencies, material exposure, and strategic decisions required.
• Enterprise Roadmapping & Operating Posture: Serve as a strategic advisor to executive leadership to establish annual supply priorities, assess corporate defense industrial base posture, and design continuous-improvement roadmaps to mature the company's operating model.
• Policy Translation & Process Scale: Translate complex defense regulations, statutory mandates, and industrial base policies into actionable business processes, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), RACI matrices, templates, and company-wide training programs.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Operations, National Security Policy, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
• 5+ years of experience consulting and working alongside government agencies, defense defense technology companies, or advisory firms supporting the defense industrial base.
• Deep functional understanding of defense priority allocation frameworks (e.g., DPAS), defense acquisition workflows, FAR/DFARS flow-down clauses, and operational supplier controls.
• Hands-on experience deploying or managing defense priority requirements within enterprise ERP/MRP systems (e.g., SAP, NetSuite, Oracle) and modern procurement tools.
• Demonstrated ability to move seamlessly between strategic enterprise vision (30,000-foot view) and granular execution (auditing individual POs, contract clauses, and delivery schedules).
• High ownership with proven success collaborating across multi-disciplinary stakeholders (Legal, Procurement, Engineering, and Program Management).
• Ability to travel up to 25%-50% domestically and internationally as needed.
• Ability to relocate, if not already local to be onsite in Costa Mesa.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s degree in Supply Chain, Business (MBA), Public Policy, or Juris Doctorate (JD).
• Subject matter expertise in the Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) and industrial base defense policies.
• Strong analytical capability with a proven track record of synthesizing complex contract, supplier, and program datasets into clear, actionable executive reporting.
• Systems-level problem solver with experience navigating ambiguity, building scalable processes from scratch, and executing effectively in fast-paced environments.
• Demonstrated track record of standing up enterprise-wide governance, SOPs, and cross-functional compliance/enablement programs.
• Ability to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Security Clearance.