Strategic Sourcing Manager / Category Sourcing Manager

Position : Category Sourcing Manager Department : Global Sourcing Location : Miamisburg, OH Reports to : Global Sourcing Director Company Overview Tark Thermal Solutions is a manufacturer of highly engineered thermal management solutions serving customers across demanding industrial and technology markets. We operate in a low-volume, high-mix manufacturing environment where quality, responsiveness, and operational excellence are critical to customer success. Job Summary: The Category Sourcing Manager is responsible for developing and executing the commercial strategy for assigned direct-material categories used in the company’s manufacturing operations. Categories may include electromechanical components, thermal-electric components, metals, fabricated parts, plastics, and other engineered production materials. This position manages an assigned portfolio of approximately $10 million to $20 million in annual expenditure and serves as the primary commercial relationship owner for business-critical suppliers. The Category Sourcing Manager develops category strategies, leads supplier selection and commercial negotiations, establishes long-term agreements, and identifies opportunities to improve cost, quality, delivery, capacity, and supply continuity. The position works closely with Engineering, Operations, Quality, Finance, Product Management, and site purchasing teams to align sourcing strategies with product roadmaps, customer requirements, and manufacturing objectives. Essential Functions & Tasks: Category Strategy and Market Intelligence Develop, document, and execute two- to three-year sourcing strategies and roadmaps for assigned direct-material categories, aligned with product plans, customer requirements, engineering priorities, and manufacturing strategy. Maintain a detailed understanding of category spend, suppliers, technologies, cost drivers, capacity constraints, lead times, commodity markets, and other relevant supply-market conditions. Develop and prioritize a rolling pipeline of sourcing, supplier-transition, new-product, risk-reduction, and cost-improvement initiatives. Identify opportunities to consolidate, diversify, regionalize, or otherwise optimize the supply base and develop contingency strategies for critical, constrained, or sole-source materials. Strategic Sourcing and Supplier Selection Identify and recommend suppliers based on total cost, capability, capacity, quality, delivery, technology, financial stability, and supply-chain risk. Lead the commercial aspects of supplier transitions, resourcing initiatives, dual-sourcing strategies, outsourcing opportunities, and make-or-buy evaluations. Partner with Engineering, NPI Development Engineering, Quality, and Operations to ensure sourcing decisions address technical requirements, supplier qualification, tooling, capacity, manufacturing readiness, and applicable company approval requirements. Supplier Relationship and Performance Management Serve as the company’s primary commercial representative for assigned strategic suppliers and develop long-term relationships that support competitive pricing, supply continuity, quality, delivery, innovation, and responsiveness. Evaluate supplier financial health, capacity, geographic exposure, and business-continuity readiness, and lead the commercial resolution of significant supplier risks and escalations. Cost, Contract, and Commercial Management Develop category-level cost targets and execute cost-reduction and cost-avoidance strategies using competitive bidding, should-cost analysis, price benchmarking, value analysis, and negotiations. Analyze supplier quotations and total-cost elements, including material, labor, tooling, logistics, duties, payment terms, commodity indices, and other relevant cost drivers. Monitor commodity-price movements and develop appropriate pricing mechanisms, index-based agreements, and other commercial risk-mitigation strategies. Lead the commercial development and negotiati…

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