Engineering Operations Manager – Procurement, Logistics & Prototype Production

Arcfield Overview: Arcfield was purpose-built to relentlessly protect the nation and its allies from today’s national security threats. We have nearly 70 years of proven expertise and excel in space superiority, hypersonic defense and nuclear deterrence, digital transformation, and surface and undersea warfare domains. Our solution areas include space mission engineering, atmospheric science, digital engineering, mission assurance, and advances in modeling and simulation that together with our enterprise-wide adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning, lead to better systems and timely, reliable decision-making. Headquartered in Chantilly, VA with 18 North American offices, Arcfield employs 2,200 engineers, scientists, analysts, IT specialists and other professionals who challenge the status quo to deliver an efficient technological advantage to our national security and defense partners. Responsibilities:

We are seeking an experienced Engineering Operations Manager to provide operational leadership for Procurement/Logistics (Material Handling) and Prototype Production supporting U.S. Navy engineering programs, including Electronic Warfare (EW), Imaging, and RADAR.

 

The Engineering Operations Manager directs the end-to-end flow of materials, equipment, and information across procurement, warehousing, and prototype production laboratories. This role requires establishing disciplined processes to mitigate supply-chain risks, maintain material accountability, and ensure that safe, efficient laboratory operations align with competing program schedules. The ideal candidate is an organized, technical leader with experience in highly regulated environments—like defense or aerospace—who excels at improving operational systems and collaborating with multidisciplinary teams and stakeholders.

 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

 

Operational Leadership & Process Governance

 

• Directly manage, mentor, and develop the Procurement/Logistics and Laboratory Prototype Production teams through clear performance expectations, accountability, training plans, and process guidance.
• Develop and govern cross-functional workflows, intake processes, prioritization methods, and tracking mechanisms to manage competing requirements across EW, Imaging, and RADAR programs.
• Implement transparent processes that balance program urgency, technical dependencies, material availability, customer priorities, and available labor capacity.
• Partner with internal software development teams to define, test, and deploy custom tracking tools, ticketing systems, material-status tools, and operational dashboards; establish KPIs for procurement cycle time, on-time delivery, receiving throughput, inventory accuracy, production backlog, schedule adherence, and material shortages.
• Lead operational planning meetings; coordinate with engineering, program management, quality, finance, security, vendors, and customer representatives; and provide senior stakeholders with routine status updates, performance metrics, risk assessments, and corrective-action plans to drive continuous improvement.

Procurement & Logistics Oversight

 

• Strategic Procurement & Engineering Alignment: Guide cradle-to-grave material sourcing, vendor management, and purchase-order execution while partnering closely with engineering to ensure Bills of Material (BOMs) and Technical Data Packages (TDPs) are fully defined for production.
• Supply Chain Risk & Compliance Management: Proactively manage supply-chain bottlenecks, material lead times, and obsolescence issues, ensuring all procurement activities strictly comply with defense acquisition regulations, contract requirements, and company policies.
• Warehouse Operations & Inventory Control: Oversee end-to-end material-handling operations—including receiving, secure storage, kitting, and issuing hardware to production—by establishing robust inventory controls that ensure material accountability, configuration traceability, and shelf-life management.
• Logistics & Property Accountability: Direct domestic and international shipping and receiving activities, ensuring all documentation is fully traceable and compliant, while maintaining strict controls over government-furnished property (GFP), customer-owned equipment, and sensitive hardware.

Prototype Production & Laboratory Governance

• Supervise the prototype development, hardware integration, assembly, testing, repair, and rework activities conducted within the laboratory environments using software tools provided for scope, scheduling, track, priority, and release.
• Provide management oversight for prototype-build readiness, including availability of approved drawings, TDPs, BOMs, materials, tools, test equipment, and work instructions, as well as tracking material with detail assembly and or repair records.
• Monitor laboratory throughput, backlog, quality trends, rework drivers, and equipment utilization; implement improvements as needed.
• Support planning for lab infrastructure, equipment maintenance, calibrated test equipment, tooling, storage, and facility needs.

Qualifications:

Required Qualifications

 

• BS 10-12, MS 8-10, PhD 5-7
• Bachelor’s degree in business, Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Engineering, Logistics, or a related discipline; equivalent combination of education, technical experience, and leadership experience may be considered.
• 8+ years of progressively responsible experience in operations, procurement, logistics, manufacturing, engineering support, laboratory operations, or program execution.
• 3+ years of experience leading teams, supervising personnel, or managing cross-functional operational activities.
• Strong ability to communicate clearly and professionally with technical teams, program managers, executive leadership, suppliers, and government/customer stakeholders.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams; experience with ERP, procurement, inventory, ticketing, or project-management systems.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment with multiple priorities and firm schedule commitments.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Secret security clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

 

• Experience supporting U.S. Navy, Department of Defense, aerospace, or federal engineering programs.
• Active DoD Secret clearance, or prior eligibility to hold a DoD clearance.
• Experience with FAR/DFARS requirements, government property management, and defense supply-chain compliance.
• Background in prototype manufacturing, electro-mechanical assembly, RF systems, electronics integration, or test and evaluation environments.
• Experience with enterprise resource planning (ERP), material resource planning (MRP), PLM, warehouse management, or custom workflow/ticketing tools.
• Certifications such as Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP), Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM), Project Management Professional (PMP), Lean Six Sigma, or similar.
• Familiarity with quality systems and workmanship standards applicable to hardware assembly, such as ISO 9001, AS9100, IPC standards, or equivalent.

Core Competencies

 

This role requires strong operational leadership and accountability to oversee procurement, supply-chain management, and material logistics while driving process governance, continuous improvement, and strict quality, safety, and configuration discipline. Success in this mission-focused environment demands a customer-service mindset, utilizing data-driven reporting to guide schedule, risk, and priority management while fostering team development and effective technical communication with stakeholders

Equal Pay Act: This is the projected compensation range for this position. There are differentiating factors that can impact a final salary/hourly rate, including, but not limited to, Contract Wage Determination, relevant work experience, skills and competencies that align to the specified role, geographic location (For Remote Opportunities), education and certifications as well as Federal Government Contract Labor categories. In addition, Arcfield invests in its employees beyond just compensation. Arcfield ’s benefits offerings include, dependent upon position, Health Insurance, Life Insurance, Paid Time Off, Holiday Pay, Short Term and Long-Term Disability, Retirement and Savings, Learning and Development opportunities, wellness programs as well as other optional benefit elections. Min: $107,153.39 Max: $186,318.96 EEO Statement:

We are an equal opportunity employer and federal government contractor. We do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment as protected by law.