Director of Supplier Development and Production Acceleration

The posting, as ACT1 Federal wrote it

Position Title: Director of Supplier Development and Production Acceleration

Program: Transformation, Acceleration, and Supplier Capacity Team (TASC)

Category: Funded
Schedule: Full Time

Security Clearance: U.S. citizenship and the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Top Secret security clearance are required. An active Secret or Top-Secret clearance is preferred but is not required to apply. Clearance sponsorship may be available for qualified candidates, subject to contract requirements and Government authorization. Any assignment before clearance approval will be limited to authorized unclassified duties.

Salary: $180,000 - $200,000

Position Overview

ACT1 Federal seeks a Director of Supplier Development and Production Acceleration to lead a team of approximately six to seven Senior Supplier Development and Manufacturing Readiness Engineers supporting Department of the Navy industrial-base initiatives, particularly missile production and critical supplier capacity.

The Director will bring substantial automotive manufacturing, supplier-development, industrialization, and production-launch experience to the challenge of accelerating defense production. This individual will organize and lead concurrent supplier interventions, establish consistent assessment and recovery methods, allocate engineering resources, and ensure improvements translate into sustained delivery of conforming products.

The successful candidate will have personally led difficult supplier recoveries and production ramp-ups before progressing to responsibility for multiple engineers, suppliers, plants, or manufacturing programs. The role requires a leader who can challenge a capacity assessment on the factory floor, coach an engineer through a recovery plan, engage a supplier executive, and explain production risks and decisions to senior Government leaders.

The Director will report to ACT1’s TASC Program Manager and coordinate Government priorities through the established program structure.

Responsibilities

Team Leadership and Resource Deployment

• Lead, supervise, and develop a team of approximately six to seven supplier-development and manufacturing-readiness engineers.
• Translate approved Government priorities into supplier assignments, assessment objectives, recovery activities, and measurable team outcomes.
• Match engineers to suppliers based on commodity expertise, process knowledge, risk, urgency, and availability.
• Establish staffing, travel, coverage, and escalation plans for concurrent supplier interventions.
• Coach engineers on manufacturing diagnosis, supplier engagement, structured problem solving, and verification of results.
• Review team performance and work products; identify capability gaps and recommend additional technical support.

Supplier Portfolio Prioritizatio
[…]
ity

Candidates should be prepared to demonstrate

• Leadership of a supplier-development team comparable in size and complexity to the proposed six-to-seven-engineer organization.
• A portfolio of supplier recoveries showing how resources were prioritized and results verified.
• A difficult production ramp-up, including the baseline, binding constraints, interventions, setbacks, and sustained outcome.
• A case in which the candidate escalated a structural issue rather than continuing ineffective corrective actions.
• A capital or process investment that delivered measurable capacity or delivery benefit.
• Examples of coaching engineers, improving assessment quality, and establishing repeatable methods across a team.
• Sanitized examples of supplier recovery plans, portfolio dashboards, capacity assessments, and executive decision packages.

Benefits

• Medical/Dental/Vision Insurance
• ACT1 Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
• Company Paid Life and AD&D Insurance
• Company Paid Short-Term Disability
• Voluntary Long-Term Disability
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• Health Savings Account (HSA)
• 401K with employer match
• Paid Time Off
• Paid Holidays
• Parental Leave
• Military Leave
• Education, Training & Professional Development
• Voluntary Accidental Injury/Critical Illness/Hospital Care
• Voluntary Pet Insurance, Legal Resources, and Identity Protection

Our people-first culture prioritizes the benefits of flexibility and collaboration, whether that happens in person or remotely.

• If this position is listed as remote or hybrid, you’ll periodically work from a ACT1 Federal or client site facility.
• If this position is listed as onsite, you’ll work with colleagues and clients in person, as needed for the specific role.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to disability, status as a protected veteran or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, local or international law.