Director, Materials Management & Supply Chain Execution

The Director of Materials Management & Supply Chain Execution leads the team, operating processes, and supplier execution strategies that ensure material readiness and supply continuity across manufacturing programs and business priorities.

This role is accountable for translating supply plans into reliable execution, anticipating material constraints, and driving decisions that balance delivery commitments, inventory investment, and operational risk. The Director establishes performance standards, leads resolution of complex supply issues, and builds scalable capabilities to support new product introductions, production growth, and infrastructure expansion.

Partnering closely with Supply Planning, Sourcing, Engineering, Manufacturing, Logistics, and global suppliers, this leader drives cross-functional accountability and communicates supply risks, tradeoffs, and recovery decisions to senior leadership. The ideal candidate combines deep materials management expertise with strong business judgment and a demonstrated ability to develop teams and improve performance across complex hardware supply chains.

Key Responsibilities

Materials Management & Execution Leadership

• Own materials execution performance across assigned products, manufacturing partners, and production programs, ensuring alignment with business commitments.

• Establish the operating cadence, controls, and escalation mechanisms for material availability, clean-to-build readiness, and supply continuity.

• Translate production and supply plans into execution priorities, supplier commitments, and measurable team deliverables.

• Anticipate capacity, lead-time, and material constraints; lead mitigation plans before they affect manufacturing milestones.

• Partner with Supply Planning to recommend material allocation and prioritization during constrained supply, making business tradeoffs explicit.

• Drive inventory strategies that balance service levels, working capital, excess and obsolete inventory exposure, and supply resilience.

Supplier Performance & Supply Risk Management

• Establish supplier execution expectations for on-time delivery, commitment accuracy, responsiveness, and recovery performance.

• Lead resolution of critical shortages and systemic supplier execution issues across internal teams, suppliers, and contract manufacturers.

• Require recovery plans with clear ownership, milestones, contingency options, and measurable exit criteria.

• Partner with Sourcing on supplier performance reviews, corrective actions, and longer-term supply continuity improvements.

• Develop risk visibility and escalation frameworks that connect material constraints to production, customer, and financial impacts.

• Drive contingency planning for critical components, supplier disruptions, and changes in manufacturing demand.

Operational Excellence & Analytics

• Own the performance management framework for materials execution, including OTIF, supplier commit accuracy, shortage aging, material readiness, and inventory health.

• Set improvement targets, review results, and hold teams accountable for sustained performance.

• Use operational data and scenario analysis to inform prioritization, resource allocation, and risk mitigation decisions.

• Lead root cause analysis and systemic corrective actions for recurring shortages, delivery misses, and inventory imbalances.

• Sponsor improvements to ERP/MRP processes, data quality, dashboards, and automation that strengthen execution visibility and scalability.

• Standardize effective processes across programs and manufacturing partners while accommodating business requirements.

Cross-Functional & Business Leadership

• Serve as the materials execution leader in cross-functional planning, manufacturing readiness, and business reviews.

• Partner with Engineering, Supply Planning, Sourcing, Manufacturing, and Logistics to align material strategies with product roadmaps and production requirements.

• Lead materials readiness for new product introductions, production ramps, engineering transitions, and infrastructure expansion.

• Resolve competing priorities across programs and functions through clear analysis, recommendations, and decision ownership.

• Communicate supply outlook, business exposure, recovery progress, and required decisions to senior leadership.

• Influence planning and sourcing decisions using execution insights, supplier performance trends, and emerging risks.

Team Leadership & Organizational Development

• Lead and develop a materials management and supply chain execution organization, including team leads or managers as organizational scope requires.

• Define team structure, responsibilities, staffing needs, and performance expectations to support current operations and future growth.

• Build leadership capability through coaching, succession planning, talent development, and effective delegation.

• Establish clear accountability for operational outcomes while empowering timely decisions at the appropriate level.

• Strengthen team capabilities in supplier management, shortage resolution, analytics, inventory management, and cross-functional leadership.

• Foster a culture of ownership, collaboration, continuous improvement, and proactive risk management.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations, Business, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

• 10+ years of progressive experience in supply chain operations, materials management, production planning, or supplier execution.

• 4+ years of people management experience, including hiring, performance management, and team development.

• Demonstrated ownership of materials execution across multiple programs, manufacturing sites, or contract manufacturing partners.

• Proven ability to lead complex shortage recovery, improve supplier delivery performance, and strengthen manufacturing readiness.

• Strong understanding of ERP/MRP systems, supply planning, inventory management, and manufacturing execution processes.

• Demonstrated ability to establish operating mechanisms, set performance targets, and deliver measurable improvements at scale.

• Strong analytical and business judgment, including the ability to evaluate delivery, inventory, cost, and risk tradeoffs.

• Experience influencing senior stakeholders and leading cross-functional decisions in a global, matrixed organization.

• Strong communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to lead through ambiguity and changing business priorities.

Preferred

• Experience in data center infrastructure, server or networking hardware, semiconductor, or other complex high-tech supply chains.

• Experience leading global teams and working with suppliers and contract manufacturers across Asia and North America.

• Experience managing managers or developing team leads.

• Experience supporting new product introductions, high-volume production ramps, and engineering change transitions.

• Familiarity with S&OP/IBP, inventory optimization, supplier capacity planning, and supply continuity strategies.

• Experience implementing supply chain analytics, automation, or process transformation initiatives.

• Advanced degree in business, supply chain, operations, or a related discipline.

Success Measures

Success in this role will be measured by:

• Sustained improvement in supplier on-time delivery and commitment accuracy.

• Improved clean-to-build readiness and achievement of manufacturing and production ramp milestones.

• Reduced frequency, duration, and business impact of material shortages and production disruptions.

• Healthier inventory levels, including reduced excess and obsolete exposure while maintaining supply continuity.

• Earlier identification of supply risks and effective execution of mitigation and recovery plans.

• Adoption of scalable operating processes, reporting, and accountability across programs and partners.

• Strong team performance, leadership development, and organizational readiness to support business growth.