RTX, the world's largest aerospace and defense company, is seeking a Supplier Development Lead to drive supplier recovery and capability improvement. This role involves hands-on management of supplier assessments and improvement plans, requiring strong leadership and strategic skills to align with business goals.
Responsibilities:
- Lead internal and supplier containment actions in collaboration with Operations and Quality
- Facilitate supplier kick-off meetings to align expectations and establish rapid response actions
- Conduct Root Cause and Corrective Action (RCCA) investigations to resolve critical quality or delivery issues
- Coordinate with stakeholders to develop and implement improvement plans and ensure clear communication through plan review checkpoints
- Monitor leading and lagging Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to assess progress
- Evaluate whether exit criteria have been achieved for containment efforts
- Escalate persistent issues to crisis mode or tiger teams when warranted
- Partner with Commodity Teams and SBUs to ensure closed-loop feedback and transition to sustainable operations
- Lead supplier site identification and prioritize development efforts aligned with risk, impact, and strategic commodity needs
- Conduct supplier assessments using SRA, SHA, Gemba, etc
- Engage suppliers with development roadmaps, training, and targeted actions tied to maturity models and long-term growth
- Align with Commodity Managers and Engineering teams on supplier readiness for new programs or volume ramp-ups
- Facilitate structured improvement plan development, KPI tracking, and gate reviews
- Monitor progress toward achieving target maturity levels and initiate sustainment planning once development objectives are met
- Support long-term monitoring and re-engagement cycles to ensure supplier performance remains stable
- Develop and build manufacturing process technology tools and standardization include FMEA and Control Plans
- Provide leadership and/or support for supplier transitions, ensuring a smooth handover of work scope with minimal disruption
- Support the sustainment phase by monitoring supplier maturity post-transition and ensuring long-term capability
- Align with internal business units and suppliers to reinforce performance expectations and continuous improvement efforts
- Execute APQP for new product launch and work transition projects
Requirements:
- Typically requires a University Degree and minimum 8 years prior relevant experience or an Advanced Degree in a related field and minimum 5 years of experience
- Ability to travel to supplier sites as needed - minimum of 50% of time
- Experience leading supplier recovery efforts and supplier transitions
- Ability to conduct Root Cause and Corrective Action (RCCA) investigations for critical quality or delivery issues
- Project management experience
- Background in operations/manufacturing, engineering, quality, or supply chain with supplier-facing work
- Experience working with engineered items (castings, plastics, machining, mechanical fabrication, forgings, electrics)
- Ability to apply lean principles/tools for continuous improvement and process management
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (MS Project, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access)
- Experience with and creation of LOB (Line of Balance), WIP (Work in Progress) trackers, Clear to Build, Inch stone charts