Configuration Manager - Teamcenter

The Configuration Manager owns the rules that govern product data in Teamcenter. Every part number, revision, BOM structure, and release state across Apptronik's robot programs runs through the configuration framework this role defines and maintains.

This position is the authority on what a revision means, how configuration maturity is defined, and how configuration status is controlled from engineering development through procurement, manufacturing, delivery, and service. Engineering owns technical design approval; Supply Chain owns sourcing and procurement execution; Manufacturing owns build execution; Quality owns applicable quality controls; and Configuration Management owns the governance, traceability, baselines, and configuration controls that connect these functions.. 

The role sits within Operations/Supply Chain because configuration control connects engineering release to sourcing, manufacturing, quality, and delivered product. The Configuration Manager ensures that the configuration Engineering releases is the configuration Supply Chain procures, Manufacturing builds, Quality validates, and Apptronik ultimately delivers and supports.

The Configuration Manager is the process and governance owner within Apptronik's Teamcenter environment, partnering with IT Teamcenter administration on system implementation and with Engineering Teamcenter administration on CAD data management and authoring practice. Design velocity is high and will remain high as programs move from prototype to production; this role builds configuration control that supports that pace without imposing unnecessary process on early-stage development.

This is not a Teamcenter system administrator role. The Configuration Manager owns product configuration policy, process, governance, data requirements, and configuration-control practices. IT owns Teamcenter platform administration and technical infrastructure.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES or KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Own the configuration management framework in Teamcenter, including part numbering and configuration-suffix schemes, revision rules, working-revision policy, effectivity, and baseline definition.
• Define and administer release-state logic and the item release-to-production workflow, including the attribute completeness required before a part becomes procurable.
• Define and govern configuration requirements for Design Release, Procurement-Ready, Build-Ready, and Production Release gates at the part, subassembly, and system level. Ensure required drawings, specifications, BOMs, approved sources, manufacturing data, and revision-controlled documentation are complete before material commitment or build execution.
• Define fit-for-purpose configuration controls across Prototype, EVT, DVT, PVT, and Production phases, enabling rapid engineering iteration during development while progressively increasing configuration rigor as the product matures.
• Govern BOM structure and BOM revision behavior, and maintain alignment between EBOM, MBOM, and as-built structures.
• Establish configuration baselines at program milestones and maintain traceability from released configuration to delivered hardware.
• Define the product configuration model necessary to maintain serial-number-level traceability from engineering baseline through procurement, manufacturing, test, shipment, retrofit, and service.
• Establish the relationship between as-designed, as-planned, as-built, and as-maintained configurations and define the authoritative system of record for each.
• Own the change framework at a process level, including ECR/ECO object models, workflow routing, review gates, closure criteria, and deviation and waiver control.
• Ensure engineering changes assess technical, quality, supply, cost, schedule, supplier, inventory, manufacturing, and field/service impacts before implementation.
• Establish change-effectivity and implementation controls, including date, lot, and serial-number effectivity; cut-in/cut-out strategy; and disposition of open purchase orders, supplier WIP, internal WIP, inventory, rework, scrap, use-as-is material, and fielded units resulting from engineering changes.
• Own AVL/AML representation in Teamcenter and its relationship to sourcing, approved-source, and make/buy attributes.
• Write, publish, and maintain configuration management procedures and work instructions, and train engineering, quality, manufacturing, and supply chain personnel on them.
• Serve as the Supply Chain configuration authority for Teamcenter deployment, including data model decisions, migration mapping from previous PLM, and validation of migrated data.
• Build and maintain reporting on configuration health, including incomplete part records, unreleased parts on open purchase orders, and revision alignment between released design and purchased material.
• Define the revision level suppliers are authorized to build to and the method by which controlled data reaches them.
• Develop configuration-health metrics and dashboards including BOM release status, Procurement-Ready and Build-Ready status, incomplete attributes, ECO aging, change implementation cycle time, superseded revisions on open POs, BOM/PO revision mismatches, configuration deviations, supplier acknowledgement compliance, and as-designed versus as-built discrepancies.
• Partner with IT Teamcenter administration on environments, upgrades, licensing, integrations, and security architecture, translating configuration policy into system implementation.
• Partner with Engineering Teamcenter administration to keep design practice and configuration policy aligned.
• Partner with NPI, Manufacturing Engineering, Procurement, Quality, Test, and Program Management to ensure configuration readiness is incorporated into build planning and program phase gates.
• Serve as the point of contact for engineering, manufacturing, quality, and program management on configuration questions, change governance, and release readiness.

SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS

Required

• Hands-on Teamcenter experience across item and revision structures, BOM management, release statuses, and workflow configuration.
• Demonstrated ownership of a part numbering and revision scheme through real production use, including its edge cases.
• Working knowledge of engineering change processes and change board governance.
• Strong grasp of BOM types and how EBOM/MBOM divergence affects procurement and build execution.
• Demonstrated understanding of as-designed, as-planned, as-built, and as-maintained product configurations.
• Experience managing engineering changes after material has entered procurement, supplier WIP, inventory, or manufacturing.
• Ability to balance configuration rigor with high-velocity NPI development and establish appropriate controls for different stages of product maturity.
• Ability to write procedures teams can follow and to train users across functions.
• Clear written and verbal communication with technical and non-technical audiences.

Preferred

• Experience through a PLM migration or implementation into Teamcenter from Arena, Windchill, Agile, or SAP PLM.
• Electromechanical hardware background including actuators, motors, harnesses, PCBAs, and machined parts.
• Exposure to CMII, AS9100, or ISO 9001 configuration and quality frameworks.
• High-velocity NPI experience where design and build overlap and configuration control has to keep pace.
• Experience supporting Prototype, EVT, DVT, PVT, and production-release processes.
• Experience with serialized products and maintaining configuration traceability through manufacturing, field retrofit, and service.
• Experience managing hardware, embedded firmware, software, and calibration compatibility within a complex product architecture.
• Comfort querying and reporting against PLM data using SQL, Python, or Teamcenter reporting tools.
• A bias toward lean, fit-for-purpose processes.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in Engineering, Industrial Technology, Information Systems, or related field
• At least 8 years of experience in configuration management, PLM administration, or product data management in a complex hardware environment
• Experience establishing or materially improving configuration-management processes in an NPI-to-production environment strongly preferred.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Ability to periodically work in manufacturing, lab, warehouse, and robot operating environments.
• Periods of sitting at a workstation and working on a computer
• Ability to safely lift and/or move approximately 15 pounds at times.
• Ability to move throughout operational areas and maintain awareness of surrounding people, equipment, and robotic systems.
• Visual ability necessary to operate equipment, monitor robotic systems, and read printed and digital material including engineering drawings 
• Ability to communicate effectively with team members during normal operations and when responding to safety or operational concern
• Occasional time on the production floor, including use of required personal protective equipment