Director of Materials

??? Director of Materials?? Los Angeles County, CA?? Full-time | On-site | Relocation assistance providedWhy Join UsMy client is a high-growth aerospace and defense-tech company developing advanced autonomous hardware platforms for mission-critical applications. The team has scaled quickly over the past year and is now looking to bring on a Director of Materials to lead and scale its materials organization across production planning, inventory, logistics, warehouse operations, shipping/receiving, and material flow.This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who can build structure, implement best practices, identify gaps, and help support production scale-up in a fast-moving manufacturing environment.What You'll OwnOwn and scale core materials management functions, including materials planning, inventory, warehouse, logistics, shipping/receiving, and production planning.Identify team gaps and present data-backed recommendations for hiring, process improvements, and operational changes.Build and improve processes around SIOP / S&OP, demand planning, material readiness, and production alignment.Develop KPIs, dashboards, and reporting around inventory health, shortages, material risk, and team performance.Partner cross-functionally with manufacturing, quality, engineering, program management, and supply chain teams.Support new product introduction (NPI) of complex hardware into manufacturing and production.Improve material flow, inventory accuracy, planning discipline, and overall operational accountability.Ensure all shipping activities comply with aerospace industry standards and regulatory requirements.Lead, mentor, and scale a hands-on team in a high-growth aerospace manufacturing environment.RequirementsBachelor's degree in Operations, Business, Engineering, Supply Chain Management, or related.10+ years of experience in materials management, supply chain, logistics, production planning, or operations within aerospace, defense, or highly regulated manufacturing.5+ years of leadership experience managing and developing cross-functional materials, planning, logistics, inventory, warehouse, or production teams.Strong understanding of SIOP / S&OP, production planning, inventory management, logistics, and material flow.Proven experience directing warehouse operations, shipping/receiving, inventory control, and materials availability.Strong track record building out processes from the ground up in a scaling manufacturing environment.Experience using data to identify gaps, reduce risk, and improve performance.Comfortable operating in a hands-on manufacturing environment while supporting fast-paced operational execution.Highly analytical, self-directed, and able to bring structure and clarity to ambiguous environments.Nice to HaveExperience with aerospace components, defense hardware, robotics, autonomous systems, or similarly complex technical products.Exposure to DoD, government-funded, or export-controlled programs.Lean Manufacturing, operational excellence, APICS, or Six Sigma certifications.ITAR ClauseTo conform to U.S. Government export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), applicants must be a U.S. citizen, lawful U.S. permanent resident (i.e., current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State and/or the U.S. Department of Commerce, as applicable.

Created: 2026-05-09