Senior Technical Specialist / SME – Supply Chain & Manufacturing (Ground-Launched Counter-Air Missiles)

Title:

Senior Technical Specialist / SME – Supply Chain & Manufacturing (Ground-Launched Counter-Air Missiles)

Belong. Connect. Grow. with KBR!

KBR’s National Security Solutions team provides high-end engineering and advanced technology solutions to our customers in the intelligence and national security communities. In this position, your work will have a profound impact on the country’s most critical role – protecting our national security.

Why Join Us?

· Innovative Projects: KBR’s work is at the forefront of engineering, logistics, operations, science, program management, mission IT and cybersecurity solutions.

· Collaborative Environment: Be part of a dynamic team that thrives on collaboration and innovation, fostering a supportive and intellectually stimulating workplace.

· Impactful Work: Your contributions will be pivotal in designing and optimizing defense systems that ensure national security and shape the future of space defense.

Position Summary:

KBR is seeking a highly experienced technical professional to support a U.S. Government program office executing a fast-paced acquisition effort to field next-generation ground-launched counter-air capabilities. A key priority for this effort is the ability to produce low-cost missiles at scale while maintaining quality, reliability, and schedule. In this role, you will provide independent technical evaluation and program support related to manufacturing, industrial base capacity, supply chain resilience, and production scalability. You will assess contractor manufacturing approaches, identify production risks, evaluate supply chain constraints, and help inform Government decisions related to affordability, readiness, and long-term production viability.

Candidates may be considered at the Senior or SME level based on experience and technical depth.

Key Responsibilities:

• Serve as a key technical resource for manufacturing, supply chain, and industrial base considerations related to ground-launched counter-air missile systems.
• Evaluate contractor production plans, manufacturing readiness, supply chain strategies, and industrial base risks.
• Assess the ability of contractors and suppliers to support low-cost, high-volume missile and ground launcher production.
• Identify production bottlenecks, long-lead material concerns, single points of failure, and supplier capacity constraints.
• Evaluate manufacturing processes for major missile and ground launcher subsystems, including propulsion, structures, sensors, seekers, electronics, power systems, and energetics.
• Assess manufacturing maturity, producibility, and readiness for transition from prototype development to low-rate and full-rate production.
• Research comparable missile and air defense production approaches across the Department of War and industry to identify best practices, lessons learned, and scalable manufacturing concepts.
• Support evaluation of contractor make-versus-buy decisions, supplier selection strategies, and second-source options.
• Assess risks related to foreign dependency, specialty materials, microelectronics, energetics, castings, forgings, and other critical supply chain vulnerabilities.
• Evaluate contractor plans for quality control, process repeatability, configuration management, and yield improvement.
• Support technical reviews focused on manufacturing readiness, supply chain performance, production scalability, and industrial base health.
• Assess opportunities for cost reduction through design simplification, modularity, commonality, automation, advanced manufacturing, and open architectures.
• Evaluate the use of additive manufacturing, digital engineering, model-based manufacturing, and automated production techniques where appropriate.
• Support planning for production ramp-up, surge capacity, depot support, sustainment, and long-term replenishment.
• Develop and deliver technical briefings, assessments, and decision support materials for Government stakeholders.

Work Environment:

• Location: On-site (Eglin AFB, FL)
• Travel Requirements: Medium, 50%
• Working Hours: Standard – Core hours 0900 - 1500

Qualifications:

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Industrial Engineering, Operations, or related technical field
• 10+ years of experience in missile systems, defense manufacturing, industrial base analysis, supply chain management, or closely related domains
• Hands-on experience supporting manufacturing, production, supply chain, or industrial base activities for complex defense systems
• Experience supporting transition from development to production, including manufacturing readiness,