Thorlabs Elliptec — an innovative precision photonics and manufacturing company in Dortmund, NRW — is hiring a Supply Chain Coordinator on a permanent full-time basis. This role is the central supply chain interface between Purchasing, Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Warehouse, NPI teams, and international suppliers — ensuring material availability, supporting supplier qualification and PPAP processes, maintaining ERP data, monitoring inventory and WIP, analysing supply chain KPIs, and supporting lean initiatives. 30 days leave, home office option, flexible hours, company pension, Urban Sports Club, and Jobrad leasing included.
About Thorlabs Elliptec — Dortmund, NRW
Company: Thorlabs Elliptec — part of the Thorlabs group — an innovative photonics and precision engineering manufacturing company based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia
Technology: State-of-the-art manufacturing environment with cutting-edge machines, software tools, and innovation-driven engineering and product development
Culture: Inclusive, diverse, and values-driven — Thorlabs Elliptec actively celebrates difference, promotes an equal opportunity working environment, and encourages people from all backgrounds to apply
Employment Type: Unbefristete Festanstellung — permanent, long-term employment within a stable, innovative manufacturing organisation
Contact: For application process questions: bewerbung@thorlabs.com
Benefits — Thorlabs Elliptec Dortmund
Permanent Contract: Unbefristete Festanstellung in an innovative manufacturing company
Flexible Hours: Flexible Arbeitszeiten — individually arranged; Home-Office-Möglichkeit included
30 Days Leave: 30 Tage Urlaub — well above German standard annual leave
Pension & Insurance: Betriebliche Altersvorsorge und Krankenversicherung
Health & Sport: Urban Sports Club membership and company-organised fitness activities
Jobrad: Bicycle leasing scheme — sustainable commuting support
Sabbatical: TimeOut / Sabbatical option available for qualifying employees
Team Events: Regular company social events and employee activities
Position Overview
This Supply Chain Coordinator role at Thorlabs Elliptec in Dortmund is a permanent, full-time position at the heart of the company’s manufacturing and engineering supply chain. You will serve as the central interface between Purchasing, Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Warehouse, and NPI teams — as well as international suppliers — ensuring that Manufacturing and Engineering always have the materials they need, in the right quality, at the right time. The role encompasses supplier qualification support and PPAP processes, ERP data maintenance and optimisation, inventory and WIP monitoring, supply chain KPI analysis, lean process improvement support, and active contribution to NPI project delivery. Minimum 3 years of supply chain or procurement experience is required, along with strong German (C1 preferred) and English (B2) language skills.
Why This Role Matters: As Supply Chain Coordinator at Thorlabs Elliptec in Dortmund — with a permanent contract, 30 days leave, home office flexibility, and outstanding benefits including pension, Urban Sports Club, and Jobrad — you will be the central supply chain link that keeps precision photonics manufacturing running reliably and on time, work at the exciting interface between supply chain coordination and product innovation through direct involvement in NPI projects and lean improvement initiatives, build your supply chain expertise within an innovative, technology-driven manufacturing company where your contributions directly impact production success and product quality, and advance your career in North Rhine-Westphalia’s thriving precision manufacturing and high-technology industrial sector — one of Germany’s most commercially significant and professionally dynamic federal states.
Key Responsibilities
Central Supply Chain Interface — Cross-Functional Coordination
- Serve as the central supply chain interface and coordination hub — working closely and proactively with Purchasing, Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Warehouse, and New Product Introduction (NPI) teams, as well as international suppliers, to ensure seamless material flow and timely material availability across Thorlabs Elliptec’s precision manufacturing operations
- Coordinate purchasing and supply chain activities to satisfy Manufacturing and Engineering material requirements — translating production demands, engineering bills of materials, and NPI timelines into procurement actions, supplier orders, and delivery schedule management that ensures materials arrive in the right quality and at the right time
- Communicate proactively with international suppliers — managing delivery schedules, following up on open orders, escalating supply risks early, and coordinating expediting activities when production urgency requires accelerated material availability without compromising quality standards
- Provide strong stakeholder communication and cross-functional coordination — bringing together Purchasing, Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, and Warehouse teams around shared supply chain objectives, resolving cross-functional conflicts constructively, and maintaining the information flow that keeps all teams aligned and aligned with production priorities
Supplier Qualification, PPAP & Quality Coordination
- Support the qualification of new suppliers for Thorlabs Elliptec’s manufacturing material requirements — coordinating supplier assessment activities, gathering qualification documentation, supporting supplier approval processes, and ensuring that newly qualified suppliers are correctly set up in ERP and operational supply chain systems before the first production order is placed
- Support PPAP (Production Part Approval Process) activities — coordinating the collection, review, and submission of required PPAP documentation packages, ensuring that all necessary sample approvals, dimensional reports, material certifications, and process capability data are received from suppliers within required timelines and to the required quality standard
- Maintain close coordination with the Quality team on supplier quality performance — sharing inspection findings, coordinating responses to supplier non-conformances, supporting supplier corrective action requests (SCARs), and ensuring that quality feedback is systematically incorporated into supplier development and future procurement decisions
- Prepare and maintain all required supply chain qualification and PPAP documentation — ensuring that documentation packages are complete, accurate, correctly filed, and immediately accessible for internal review, regulatory inspection, or customer quality audit requirements
ERP Data Maintenance & Supply Chain Data Optimisation
- Maintain and continuously optimise all supply-chain-relevant data within the ERP system — including article master data, procurement parameters, minimum order quantities, lead times, safety stock levels, trade agreements, supplier information, and any other ERP data that drives purchasing, planning, and inventory management decisions
- Ensure ERP data accuracy and completeness — conducting regular data quality reviews, identifying and correcting incorrect or outdated master data, and maintaining the ERP data standards that are essential for reliable material requirements planning (MRP) and accurate supply chain reporting
- Optimise ERP procurement parameters based on supply chain performance data — adjusting safety stock levels, reorder points, lot sizes, and lead time assumptions to reflect actual supplier performance and production consumption patterns, improving MRP reliability and reducing unnecessary inventory investment
- Support ERP system improvements and data governance initiatives — contributing supply chain operational expertise to ERP development discussions, system upgrades, and data quality improvement projects that enhance the reliability and usability of ERP as a supply chain planning and execution tool
Inventory Monitoring, WIP Management & Stock Accuracy
- Monitor inventory levels, material flow, and Work-in-Process (WIP) status across Thorlabs Elliptec’s manufacturing operations — maintaining real-time visibility of stock availability, consumption rates, open purchase orders, and in-transit materials to ensure manufacturing always has the information it needs to plan production reliably
- Ensure high data and inventory accuracy — supporting cycle count activities, investigating and resolving stock discrepancies, and maintaining the inventory record integrity that is essential for accurate MRP planning, reliable stock reporting, and effective financial inventory management
- Identify inventory risks — including potential shortages, excess stock situations, slow-moving materials, and expiry or obsolescence risks — and escalate these proactively to Purchasing, Planning, and Management with clear analysis and recommended actions that prevent supply disruption or unnecessary stock write-offs
KPI Analysis, NPI Support & Lean Improvement
- Analyse supply chain performance data and KPIs on a regular basis — including on-time delivery performance, supplier lead times, purchase order fulfilment rates, inventory turnover, and stock accuracy metrics — identifying trends, root causes of underperformance, and specific improvement opportunities that drive measurable supply chain efficiency gains
- Support NPI (New Product Introduction) projects from a supply chain and procurement perspective — coordinating material availability for prototype builds and pilot production runs, supporting supplier selection for new components, contributing to make-or-buy analyses, and ensuring that supply chain readiness is in place before new products move from development into volume production
- Support lean initiatives and continuous process improvement activities within the supply chain function — contributing practical supply chain expertise to lean improvement workshops, value stream mapping exercises, and waste reduction projects that advance the efficiency and resilience of Thorlabs Elliptec’s manufacturing supply chain
Qualifications & Requirements
Education
- Completed university degree or equivalent vocational qualification (Ausbildung mit Weiterbildung) in Supply Chain Management, Purchasing, Logistics, Industrial Engineering, or a related field — a relevant academic or professional qualification is required for this role
Experience Requirements
- Minimum 3 years of professional experience in supply chain coordination, procurement, or a comparable operational function — ideally within a manufacturing, engineering, or technology industry environment
- Solid practical understanding of supply chain processes, procurement workflows, material flow management, and inventory management — applied in a real production environment where material availability directly impacts manufacturing output
- Hands-on experience working with suppliers in an operational supply chain context — ideally including direct experience with supplier qualification processes, PPAP documentation requirements, and supplier quality management activities
- Proficient and confident ERP system user — with practical experience maintaining supply-chain-relevant ERP data and using ERP for purchase order management, inventory monitoring, and MRP-driven supply chain planning
Language Requirements
- Very good German language skills — C1 level preferred — for effective daily communication with internal teams, German-speaking suppliers, and management across all supply chain coordination activities
- Good English language skills — B2 level — for communication with international suppliers, global Thorlabs group colleagues, and English-language supply chain documentation and reporting
How to Apply
Send your application to: bewerbung@thorlabs.com
Position: Supply Chain Coordinator — Dortmund, NRW, Germany
Company: Thorlabs Elliptec — Permanent Contract · 30 Days Leave · Home Office
About Thorlabs Elliptec & Supply Chain Careers in Dortmund, NRW
Thorlabs Elliptec is part of the globally recognised Thorlabs group — a world leader in photonics equipment, precision opto-mechanical components, and innovative photonic instrumentation. The Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia facility combines cutting-edge manufacturing technology, precision engineering excellence, and a genuine commitment to innovation and employee development in one of Germany’s most important industrial and technology clusters.
North Rhine-Westphalia is Germany’s most populous and economically powerful federal state — home to a dynamic mix of precision manufacturing, automotive, chemical, digital technology, and logistics industries that collectively create outstanding career opportunities for supply chain professionals. Dortmund in particular has reinvented itself from a coal and steel city into a technology and logistics hub — making it an excellent professional base for ambitious supply chain coordinators who want to work at the intersection of high-technology manufacturing and global supply chain management.
Career Excellence: Join Thorlabs Elliptec as Supply Chain Coordinator in Dortmund, Germany — where your supply chain expertise, ERP proficiency, supplier management skills, and bilingual German/English capability will keep a world-class photonics manufacturing operation running reliably, and where an outstanding benefits package including 30 days leave, home office flexibility, Jobrad, pension, and sabbatical option makes this one of NRW’s most attractive supply chain career opportunities in 2026.
Who Should Apply?
- Supply Chain Coordinators with Manufacturing Experience: With 3+ years of supply chain or procurement coordination experience in a German manufacturing or engineering company — fluent in German (C1) and English (B2) and ready for a permanent role in Dortmund’s innovative photonics manufacturing sector
- Procurement & Supplier Management Specialists: With hands-on supplier qualification, PPAP process experience, and ERP data management skills — seeking a comprehensive supply chain coordination role within an internationally connected precision manufacturing environment
- NPI & Supply Chain Interface Professionals: With experience supporting New Product Introduction projects from the supply chain side — coordinating material availability for prototypes, supporting supplier selection, and ensuring supply chain readiness for production launch
- ERP-Proficient Supply Chain Data Specialists: With strong ERP master data management skills and practical experience optimising procurement parameters, maintaining inventory data, and ensuring MRP plan accuracy in a manufacturing ERP environment
- Lean-Minded Supply Chain Professionals in NRW: With a continuous improvement mindset and experience contributing to lean initiatives, KPI analysis, and process optimisation — seeking a permanent, well-benefited supply chain coordination role at one of Dortmund’s most innovative manufacturing technology companies
Recently opened JOBS 👇🏻
Head of Supply Chain Procurement Jobs Germany 2026
Senior Supply Chain Manager Jobs Bavaria Germany
