Sr Manager Supplier Development Engineer (R4699)

What You'll Do:

Strategic Supplier Transformation & Process Excellence
• Define and lead the supplier development strategy across key commodities driving systemic improvements in cost lead time quality and scalability.
• Establish and institutionalize supplier process audit frameworks and continuous improvement roadmaps aligned to company growth objectives.
• Partner with executive leadership to prioritize supplier investments consolidations and capability expansion.
Quality & Operational Governance
• Own the supplier quality strategy including audit standards escalation frameworks and corrective action governance.
• Lead root cause investigations for systemic supplier performance issues and ensure cross-functional resolution.
• Develop standardized quality and performance review mechanisms (QBRs scorecards KPI dashboards).
Supplier Capability & Capacity Development
• Assess supplier technical maturity manufacturing readiness and operational scalability.
• Drive supplier capability upgrades in partnership with Engineering and Operations to meet future product and rate requirements.
• Lead make vs. buy strategy alignment for new and existing programs.
Engineering & Technical Leadership
• Establish technical standards and expectations for supplier manufacturing processes drawing interpretation GD&T adherence and quality controls.
• Ensure supplier alignment with evolving product designs material specifications and manufacturing complexity (composites injection molding mechanical hardware).
• Influence early design decisions to ensure manufacturability and supply chain scalability.
Performance & Risk Management
• Build and oversee supplier performance monitoring systems covering delivery quality cost and risk indicators.
  Proactively identify supply chain risks (capacity geopolitical technical financial) and implement mitigation strategies at the portfolio level.
• Lead executive-level supplier escalations and recovery plans when required.
New Product Introduction (NPI) Leadership
• Own supplier readiness strategy for NPI programs ensuring manufacturability quality validation (FAI/PPAP) and capacity planning are completed prior to production ramp.
• Partner with Engineering to align release timelines with supplier capability and risk mitigation plans.

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in mechanical hardware manufacturing manufacturing engineering or supplier development leadership roles.
• Demonstrated leadership of supplier development or manufacturing teams.
• Strong expertise in composite manufacturing injection molding and/or precision mechanical fabrication.
• Proven ability to interpret 2D drawings GD&T and critical mechanical features at a high level.
• Willingness and ability to travel domestically and internationally (~50%+ as required).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Proficiency in CAD tools (SolidWorks CATIA) with ability to engage technically in DFM discussions.
• M.S. in Mechanical Engineering Aerospace Engineering or equivalent technical discipline.
• Deep experience in root cause analysis failure investigation and structured corrective action frameworks.
• Demonstrated success leading cross-functional initiatives across Engineering Supply Chain Production and Quality.
• Experience building and scaling supplier networks in aerospace or high-growth hardware environments.

What We Do

Founded in 2015 Shield AI is a venture-backed deep-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include the V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft Hivemind Enterprise and the Hivemind Vision product lines. With offices and facilities across the U.S. Europe the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide.

Why Work With Us

What makes Shield AI special is our people. We unlock the power of autonomy and in the face of overwhelming odds and challenges we find ways to win and make a difference for our customers. We bring together software AI and aerospace engineering disciplines to deploy the most intelligent aviation capabilities in the world.

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