Commodity Manager

Location: Chandler, AZ  |  Work Arrangement: On-site, five days per week
Department: Strategic Sourcing  |  Reports To: Mechanical Strategic Sourcing Leader
Schedule: Generally Monday–Friday, 7:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m., with flexibility based on business needs  |  Travel: Up to 20%

Position Summary
The Commodity Manager develops and executes strategic sourcing and supplier management strategies for critical aerospace and defense materials, with primary emphasis on energetics, followed by advanced composites and engineered plastics. This individual contributor role provides broad functional leadership across the business, ensuring reliable material supply, strong supplier quality, competitive total cost of ownership, and resilience across complex, highly regulated supply chains. The role requires practical understanding of how energetic materials are sourced, processed, assembled, and incorporated into finished products, together with the ability to influence cross-functional decisions and develop sustainable supplier partnerships.

Key Responsibilities
•    Own and execute category strategies for energetics, composites, and plastics, prioritizing energetic-material sourcing and production continuity.
•    Develop, qualify, negotiate with, and manage suppliers of energetic materials, regulated components, fabricated composite structures, specialized composite processes, and engineered plastics, including injection-molded parts.
•    Lead strategic negotiations, long-term agreements, cost modeling, should-cost/total-cost analyses, and commercial terms that balance cost, quality, delivery, and risk.
•    Assess supplier capacity, financial and operational health, lead times, material availability, single-source and sole-source exposure, and obsolescence; establish mitigation and continuity plans.
•    Drive supplier performance and corrective action through measurable quality, delivery, cost, and risk indicators.
•    Partner with Engineering, Quality, Operations, Program Management, Finance, and Contracts on supplier selection, technical requirements, new-product introduction, and program execution.
•    Coordinate with appropriate internal experts to ensure sourcing activities comply with applicable safety, contractual, export-control, and government requirements.
•    Build trusted relationships and provide concise, data-driven recommendations to functional leaders and senior stakeholders.
•    Identify opportunities for supplier innovation, process improvement, and sourcing efficiency while supporting a rapidly growing manufacturing organization.

Required Qualifications
•    Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent relevant professional experience.
•    Extensive progressive experience in strategic sourcing, category management, or commodity management, with demonstrated experience in aerospace and defense.
•    Direct experience sourcing energetic materials and a practical understanding of their supply chain, manufacturing/assembly flow, and integration into products; detailed expertise in individual formulations is not required.
•    Demonstrated expertise in category strategy, supplier negotiations, supplier development, and managing complex or high-risk supply bases.
•    Ability to assess and mitigate supply continuity risks, including sole-source constraints, supplier capacity, long lead times, and material obsolescence.
•    Strong analytical judgment, cross-functional influence, executive communication, and ownership in a fast-paced environment.
•    Ability to work on-site in Chandler, Arizona and travel up to 20%.

Preferred Qualifications
•    Deep expertise across energetic-material categories; experience with advanced composite structures and manufacturing processes and/or injection-molded plastics.
•    Experience interpreting engineering drawings, specifications, and manufacturing requirements.
•    Working knowledge of ATF, DoD, ITAR, or other applicable regulatory frameworks.
•    Experience using ERP/MRP systems such as SAP or Oracle and applying data analytics to sourcing decisions.
•    Lean, Six Sigma, or continuous improvement experience; CPSM, CPIM, PMP, or other relevant certifications.
•    Master’s degree in a relevant discipline.

Success Factors
•    Protects production continuity while improving supplier quality, total cost, and supply resilience.
•    Quickly understands the supplier landscape and establishes actionable commodity strategies.
•    Balances decisive execution with sound risk management and compliance.
•    Builds credibility through integrity, concise communication, collaboration, and functional leadership without direct reports.
•    Thrives in an evolving, high-growth manufacturing environment with a fast operating pace.

Why Join Us
This is an opportunity to establish and shape a strategically important sourcing capability, influence decisions across the business, and contribute to the growth of an aerospace and defense manufacturer. The successful candidate will have meaningful ownership of supplier strategy and the opportunity to expand their functional leadership impact.

U.S. Citizenship Requirement
Due to U.S. Government contract requirements applicable to this position, only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment in this role.

#LI-AM1