Back to jobs
New

Director of Supply Chain (Aerospace)

Seattle, Washington

Karman Space & Defense is a leader in the rapid design, development, and production of critical, next-generation system solutions that align with the U.S. Department of War and its allies’ core mission priorities, and meet the accelerating demand for access to space. Building on nearly 50 years of success, we deliver Payload & Protection Systems, Aero/Hydrodynamic Interstage Systems, and Propulsion & Launch Systems to more than 80 prime contractors supporting over 130 space and defense programs.

In this role, you will lead Karman’s enterprise-wide supply chain function, shaping long-term strategy, strengthening supplier partnerships, and driving execution excellence across sourcing, demand planning, supplier management, receiving, and inspection. You will ensure a resilient, cost-effective, high-performance supply chain that supports production, delivery commitments, and strategic growth while partnering closely with operations, materials management, quality, finance, and program management.

Responsibilities

  • Develops and executes a comprehensive supply chain strategy aligned with business objectives, operational requirements, and long-term growth.
  • Leads initiatives to strengthen sourcing resilience, reduce supply-chain risk, and improve cost structure.
  • Oversees long-range demand planning and forecasting to support production needs and customer commitments.
  • Builds and manages supplier relationships and negotiates commercial terms, master agreements, and long-term partnerships.
  • Establishes supplier performance metrics and leads quarterly business reviews.
  • Owns strategic sourcing across major commodity categories to drive cost reduction, quality improvement, and delivery reliability.
  • Partners with materials management to ensure seamless workflows across inventory control, warehousing, planning, and scheduling.
  • Collaborates with operations leadership to align supply chain execution with production requirements, capacity constraints, and scheduling assumptions.
  • Ensures receiving and inspection processes support quality standards and efficient throughput.
  • Implements performance metrics, dashboards, and reporting for supply chain health, supplier performance, forecast accuracy, and cost savings.
  • Drives continuous improvement across sourcing, planning, and supplier management, aligning processes with quality management system (QMS) requirements.
  • Partners with finance, quality, engineering, program management, and operations to enable cross-functional execution and support organizational transformation.

Required Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in supply chain, operations, engineering, or a related field.
  • Ten or more years of progressive supply chain leadership experience in aerospace, defense, or complex manufacturing environments.
  • Proven success in sourcing, supplier management, materials planning, and multi-site coordination.
  • Strong negotiation, analytical, and relationship-building skills.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead through influence, drive change, and deliver measurable improvements.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Master’s degree.
  • Experience in aerospace, defense, manufacturing, engineering, or other regulated environments.

This position requires U.S. person status under U.S. export control laws, including U.S. citizens and nationals, lawful permanent residents, refugees, and asylees.

Benefits

  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance
  • 401(k) with company match
  • Paid time off
  • Health Savings Account (HSA) with company contribution
  • Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
  • Company‑paid life and AD\&D insurance
  • Short‑ and long‑term disability coverage
  • Tuition reimbursement

Salary Range

$186,000 - $210,000 USD

Karman Space and Defense is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

View our Privacy Policy

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Select...
Which option best describes the highest level and current status of any DoD security clearance eligibility you hold or previously held? *
Select...
Select...
Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Karman Space & Defense’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...