Director of Materials Jobs
Director of Materials jobs are open across manufacturing, aerospace, defense, automotive, and consumer goods, from manager-level to VP, with specializations in procurement, supply chain strategy, and inventory management. See the openings below and apply to the ones that match your experience.
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Posting Number req27637
Department School of Architecture
Department Website Link https://capla.arizona.edu/
Medical Sub-Speciality
Location Tucson Campus
Address Tucson, AZ USA
Position Highlights
The School of Architecture at the University of Arizona invites applicants with expertise in Advanced Materials, Manufacturing and Lifecycle Analysis for a Tenure-Eligible faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor. The position seeks candidates whose research advances the design, fabrication, performance, and environmental sustainability of architectural materials and building systems through interdisciplinary approaches. The successful candidate will contribute to the school's research mission, undergraduate and graduate architectural education, and service to the school, university, and broader community.
The University of Arizona is a Research 1 institution located in Tucson, a cultural gem in the Sonoran Desert. The school resides in the College of Architecture Planning and Landscape Architecture (CAPLA); a multidisciplinary collaborative community. The School of Architecture’s vision is dedicated to addressing the grand challenges of our time; a catalyst in our curriculum, research and public programming. The school has an intrinsic connection to the Sonoran Desert and its exquisite and extreme conditions. It serves as a living laboratory for researching and teaching timeless and emerging environmental, social and cultural phenomena.
CAPLA is home to a 10,000 sf material fabrication lab. The school has a long tradition of empirical research and learning through hands-on material fabrication in required courses, design build projects and community engagement. The University of Arizona is the state’s flagship, land-grant institution founded in 1885. It has more than 50,000 students in 22 separate colleges and schools. The research and teaching culture of this university offers great resources and opportunities for collaboration.
Outstanding U of A benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; U of A/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; retirement plans; access to U of A recreation and cultural activities; and more!
The University of Arizona has been recognized for our innovative work-life programs.
Duties & Responsibilities
We are seeking an emerging leader in the discipline of architecture with applied and theoretical experience in advanced materials in architectural design, and the vision and potential to become a driving force in our school, our community, the academy and the profession. Applicants are to be collegial and collaborative by nature. They are to establish and maintain an active research agenda supported by external funding and disseminated through peer reviewed scholarship. Research areas may include, but are not limited to, advanced and bio-based and biogenic material systems; computational design and digital or robotic fabrication; additive manufacturing; material and assembly performance; low-carbon and circular construction; life-cycle assessment; and adaptive or climate-responsive building systems. We welcome innovative research that connects material experimentation and fabrication with architectural design and environmental performance.
The successful applicant will be responsible for collaborating on and contributing to the conception, development and delivery of a rigorous and dynamic accredited architectural education. They are expected to integrate material experimentation, computational and physical prototyping, and evidence-based evaluation of building systems. Teaching assignments for this position might include required courses in the architecture technologies and design studios, material and fabrication seminars and elective coursework. This position will also support the emerging building technology subgroup of the Master of Science in Architecture (MS.Arch) degree program with student thesis advising.
The focus of this position on advanced materials, manufacturing and lifecycle analysis aligns with the University of Arizona’s institutional strengths in space science through a new area of growing interest in space architecture, as well as the focus on sustainable mining materials and lifecycle energy. The successful applicant might initiate interdisciplinary projects with faculty in the College of Engineering and the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CALES) regarding material sourcing, manufacturing, assembly, reuse lifecycle and the innovation of new materials and the performance analysis of ecological impact.
This position requires service contributions at the school, college and/or university levels. Service to academic, professional and community organizations is encouraged.
The normal teaching load for tenure-eligible faculty in the department under present policy is two 3-credit courses or one 3-credit course and one 6-credit studio per semester with a workload distribution:
- 40% teaching
- 40% scholarly activity/research; and
- 20% service
Minimum Qualifications
- Professional degree in architecture (Bachelor of Architecture, Master of Architecture or international equivalent)
- Post-Graduate Degree in Architecture or related discipline (Masters or PhD). If masters is terminal degree, 5-years of relevant research or industry experience is required.
- Demonstrated experience in Advanced Materials, Manufacturing and Lifecycle Analysis in the context of architecture
Preferred Qualifications
- PhD or doctorate in architecture or related discipline.
- Professional design and practice experience and/or licensure
- Experience teaching design studio and/or other architecture courses
- Demonstrated record or evidence of potential funding for research or creative practice.
- Experience in collaborative interdisciplinary practice or teaching and/or ability to bridge across architecture and related fields
- Experience with courses with 50-100 students focused on varying material methods, hands-on instruction and learning, safety protocols, while advancing both research agendas and the curricular needs of the college
- Recognition through relevant scholarly publications, creative work, professional achievements, or awards.
Rank Assistant Professor
Tenure Information Tenure Track (T/TE)
FLSA Exempt
Full Time/Part Time Full Time
Number of Hours Worked per Week 40
Job FTE 1.0
Work Calendar Academic
Job Category Faculty
Benefits Eligible Yes - Full Benefits
Rate of Pay DOE
Compensation Type salary at 1.0 full-time equivalency (FTE)
Type of criminal background check required: Name-based criminal background check (non-security sensitive)
Number of Vacancies 1
Target Hire Date
Expected End Date
Contact Information for Candidates Alex Litchfield
alitchfield@arizona.edu
Open Date 11/12/2026
Open Until Filled Yes
Documents Needed to Apply Curriculum Vitae (CV), Cover Letter, and Five Additional Documents
Special Instructions to Applicant
- Cover letter (1-2 pages max)
- CV
- In the Additional Document slot: 5-year research/scholarship/creative practice plan including potential external funding sources and milestones (such as publications or other outputs) (2-3 pages max)
- In the Additional Document slot: Teaching philosophy statement (1 page max)
- In the Additional Document slot: a writing sample (one sample of no more than 25 pages, published or unpublished)
- In the Additional Document slot: Three references (name, contact information and relationship to the applicant)
- In the Additional Document slot: Design, research, scholarship and/or creative practice portfolio (PDF, max. dimensions 11 x 17, landscape format preferred, 10 pages and 20 MB file size max.)
Review of applications will begin on January 6, 2027. Submissions received by that date are guaranteed full review.
Notice of Availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report
In compliance with the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act (Clery Act), each year the University of Arizona releases an Annual Security Report (ASR) for each of the University’s campuses. These reports disclose information including Clery crime statistics for the previous three calendar years and policies, procedures, and programs the University uses to keep students and employees safe, including how to report crimes or other emergencies and resources for crime victims. As a campus with residential housing facilities, the Main Campus ASR also includes a combined Annual Fire Safety report with information on fire statistics and fire safety systems, policies, and procedures.
Paper copies of the Reports can be obtained by contacting the University Compliance Office at cleryact@arizona.edu.
Posting Number req27637
Department School of Architecture
Department Website Link https://capla.arizona.edu/
Medical Sub-Speciality
Location Tucson Campus
Address Tucson, AZ USA
Position Highlights
The School of Architecture at the University of Arizona invites applicants with expertise in Advanced Materials, Manufacturing and Lifecycle Analysis for a Tenure-Eligible faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor. The position seeks candidates whose research advances the design, fabrication, performance, and environmental sustainability of architectural materials and building systems through interdisciplinary approaches. The successful candidate will contribute to the school's research mission, undergraduate and graduate architectural education, and service to the school, university, and broader community.
The University of Arizona is a Research 1 institution located in Tucson, a cultural gem in the Sonoran Desert. The school resides in the College of Architecture Planning and Landscape Architecture (CAPLA); a multidisciplinary collaborative community. The School of Architecture’s vision is dedicated to addressing the grand challenges of our time; a catalyst in our curriculum, research and public programming. The school has an intrinsic connection to the Sonoran Desert and its exquisite and extreme conditions. It serves as a living laboratory for researching and teaching timeless and emerging environmental, social and cultural phenomena.
CAPLA is home to a 10,000 sf material fabrication lab. The school has a long tradition of empirical research and learning through hands-on material fabrication in required courses, design build projects and community engagement. The University of Arizona is the state’s flagship, land-grant institution founded in 1885. It has more than 50,000 students in 22 separate colleges and schools. The research and teaching culture of this university offers great resources and opportunities for collaboration.
Outstanding U of A benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; U of A/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; retirement plans; access to U of A recreation and cultural activities; and more!
The University of Arizona has been recognized for our innovative work-life programs.
Duties & Responsibilities
We are seeking an emerging leader in the discipline of architecture with applied and theoretical experience in advanced materials in architectural design, and the vision and potential to become a driving force in our school, our community, the academy and the profession. Applicants are to be collegial and collaborative by nature. They are to establish and maintain an active research agenda supported by external funding and disseminated through peer reviewed scholarship. Research areas may include, but are not limited to, advanced and bio-based and biogenic material systems; computational design and digital or robotic fabrication; additive manufacturing; material and assembly performance; low-carbon and circular construction; life-cycle assessment; and adaptive or climate-responsive building systems. We welcome innovative research that connects material experimentation and fabrication with architectural design and environmental performance.
The successful applicant will be responsible for collaborating on and contributing to the conception, development and delivery of a rigorous and dynamic accredited architectural education. They are expected to integrate material experimentation, computational and physical prototyping, and evidence-based evaluation of building systems. Teaching assignments for this position might include required courses in the architecture technologies and design studios, material and fabrication seminars and elective coursework. This position will also support the emerging building technology subgroup of the Master of Science in Architecture (MS.Arch) degree program with student thesis advising.
The focus of this position on advanced materials, manufacturing and lifecycle analysis aligns with the University of Arizona’s institutional strengths in space science through a new area of growing interest in space architecture, as well as the focus on sustainable mining materials and lifecycle energy. The successful applicant might initiate interdisciplinary projects with faculty in the College of Engineering and the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CALES) regarding material sourcing, manufacturing, assembly, reuse lifecycle and the innovation of new materials and the performance analysis of ecological impact.
This position requires service contributions at the school, college and/or university levels. Service to academic, professional and community organizations is encouraged.
The normal teaching load for tenure-eligible faculty in the department under present policy is two 3-credit courses or one 3-credit course and one 6-credit studio per semester with a workload distribution:
- 40% teaching
- 40% scholarly activity/research; and
- 20% service
Minimum Qualifications
- Professional degree in architecture (Bachelor of Architecture, Master of Architecture or international equivalent)
- Post-Graduate Degree in Architecture or related discipline (Masters or PhD). If masters is terminal degree, 5-years of relevant research or industry experience is required.
- Demonstrated experience in Advanced Materials, Manufacturing and Lifecycle Analysis in the context of architecture
Preferred Qualifications
- PhD or doctorate in architecture or related discipline.
- Professional design and practice experience and/or licensure
- Experience teaching design studio and/or other architecture courses
- Demonstrated record or evidence of potential funding for research or creative practice.
- Experience in collaborative interdisciplinary practice or teaching and/or ability to bridge across architecture and related fields
- Experience with courses with 50-100 students focused on varying material methods, hands-on instruction and learning, safety protocols, while advancing both research agendas and the curricular needs of the college
- Recognition through relevant scholarly publications, creative work, professional achievements, or awards.
Rank Assistant Professor
Tenure Information Tenure Track (T/TE)
FLSA Exempt
Full Time/Part Time Full Time
Number of Hours Worked per Week 40
Job FTE 1.0
Work Calendar Academic
Job Category Faculty
Benefits Eligible Yes - Full Benefits
Rate of Pay DOE
Compensation Type salary at 1.0 full-time equivalency (FTE)
Type of criminal background check required: Name-based criminal background check (non-security sensitive)
Number of Vacancies 1
Target Hire Date
Expected End Date
Contact Information for Candidates Alex Litchfield
alitchfield@arizona.edu
Open Date 11/12/2026
Open Until Filled Yes
Documents Needed to Apply Curriculum Vitae (CV), Cover Letter, and Five Additional Documents
Special Instructions to Applicant
- Cover letter (1-2 pages max)
- CV
- In the Additional Document slot: 5-year research/scholarship/creative practice plan including potential external funding sources and milestones (such as publications or other outputs) (2-3 pages max)
- In the Additional Document slot: Teaching philosophy statement (1 page max)
- In the Additional Document slot: a writing sample (one sample of no more than 25 pages, published or unpublished)
- In the Additional Document slot: Three references (name, contact information and relationship to the applicant)
- In the Additional Document slot: Design, research, scholarship and/or creative practice portfolio (PDF, max. dimensions 11 x 17, landscape format preferred, 10 pages and 20 MB file size max.)
Review of applications will begin on January 6, 2027. Submissions received by that date are guaranteed full review.
Notice of Availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report
In compliance with the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act (Clery Act), each year the University of Arizona releases an Annual Security Report (ASR) for each of the University’s campuses. These reports disclose information including Clery crime statistics for the previous three calendar years and policies, procedures, and programs the University uses to keep students and employees safe, including how to report crimes or other emergencies and resources for crime victims. As a campus with residential housing facilities, the Main Campus ASR also includes a combined Annual Fire Safety report with information on fire statistics and fire safety systems, policies, and procedures.
Paper copies of the Reports can be obtained by contacting the University Compliance Office at cleryact@arizona.edu.
Director of Materials Jobs by Experience Level
See All 42 Director of Materials Jobs
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Find Director of Materials JobsDirector of Materials Job Market
Who's Hiring
Top Industries Hiring
- Education
What Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in director of materials jobs.
- 7 or more years of materials management or supply chain experience in a manufacturing environment
- Proficiency with ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle, or similar enterprise platforms
- Demonstrated experience managing procurement, planning, and inventory control functions
- Bachelor's degree in supply chain management, engineering, business, or a related field
- APICS CPIM or CSCP certification or equivalent professional credential
- Experience leading cross-functional teams including buyers, planners, and warehouse staff
Tips for Your Director of Materials Job Search
Quantify cost savings and lead time wins
Your resume needs numbers that hiring managers recognize as director-level impact: percentage reductions in carrying costs, supplier lead time cuts, and inventory turns improved. Vague claims about managing suppliers get skipped. Concrete figures in the first bullet of each role don't.
Align your ERP experience with the posting
Many director of materials roles are built around a specific platform like SAP, Oracle, or NetSuite. If the posting names one and you have it, put it in your summary line, not buried in a skills section. Mismatches here kill callbacks before anyone reads further.
Apply early to roles that fit
Migrate Mate lists director of materials openings from across the United States in one place, so you can find roles that match and apply directly to each listing.
Target postings by commodity or category
Director of materials roles in electronics sourcing, raw materials, or finished goods each demand different supplier relationships and risk profiles. Filter openings by the commodity category closest to your background rather than applying broadly and hoping the resume speaks for itself.
Prepare a supply disruption story for interviews
Interviewers for this role almost always ask how you've handled a supplier failure or material shortage. Walk in with one specific example, the decision you made under pressure, and the measurable outcome. Generic answers about process improvement don't land at the director level.
Negotiate total compensation including relocation
Director of materials roles at manufacturers and defense contractors frequently require on-site presence, and many postings include relocation assistance. When you receive an offer, ask explicitly about relocation terms before accepting, since that budget is often negotiated separately from base pay.
Director of Materials Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies are hiring the most director of materialss?
Los Alamos National Laboratory, West Virginia University, and The University of Texas at Austin are hiring the most director of materialss right now, with openings concentrated in Texas, Missouri, and New Mexico, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Aerospace, defense, and industrial manufacturing employers tend to post the highest volume of director-level materials roles consistently.
How many director of materials jobs are remote?
About 0% of director of materials openings are fully remote or hybrid as of November 2026, reflecting the hands-on nature of most materials leadership roles. Strategic and planning-heavy functions like demand forecasting and supplier performance management are most likely to allow partial remote arrangements, while roles tied to warehouse or production floor oversight typically require on-site presence.
How do you become a director of materials?
Start in a materials coordinator, buyer, or planner role to build hands-on experience with procurement cycles, inventory systems, and supplier relationships. Progress into a materials manager position where you lead a team and own KPIs like inventory turns and on-time delivery. Earning an APICS certification strengthens your candidacy, and demonstrated success reducing costs or improving service levels is what moves you to the director level.
Can you get a director of materials job without direct director-level experience?
Yes, candidates who have managed a materials team as a senior manager or led a significant supply chain initiative are regularly considered for director roles, especially at mid-size manufacturers. The most effective path is to frame your resume around scope and outcomes rather than title, highlighting the number of direct reports, budget responsibility, and measurable improvements you drove in your most recent role.
What does the director of materials interview process look like?
Most processes run three to four rounds. An initial call with HR or a talent partner screens for experience and fit. A second round with the VP of operations or supply chain goes deep on how you've managed supplier risk, inventory strategy, and team performance. A final panel often includes peers from finance and production planning, and candidates are frequently asked to walk through a past supply disruption or cost-reduction initiative in detail.
Where can I find and apply to director of materials jobs?
You can find and apply to director of materials jobs on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings from across the United States. Search the roles that fit your background in terms of industry, function, and seniority, and apply directly to each listing that matches what you're looking for.
See All 42 Director of Materials Jobs
Find roles that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Director of Materials Jobs