Category/Commodity Manager

Solar Turbines•San Diego, CA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Your Work Shapes the World at Caterpillar Inc. When you join Caterpillar, you're joining a global team who cares not just about the work we do – but also about each other. We are the makers, problem solvers, and future world builders who are creating stronger, more sustainable communities. We don't just talk about progress and innovation here – we make it happen, with our customers, where we work and live. Together, we are building a better world, so we can all enjoy living in it. Role Definition This role functions as a Strategic Sourcing Specialist II within the newly formed Strategy, Risk, and Compliance organization of Solar’s Global Supply Chain. The position serves as the subject matter expert for assigned commodity strategies and supplier sourcing activities. Additionally, the role is accountable for developing, documenting, and executing short and long-term strategic sourcing plans in close collaboration with assigned group-level Sourcing Specialist(s). These plans are designed to support key business initiatives across New Production, Balance of Plant (BOP), Construction Services, Customer Services, and New Product Introduction (NPI) programs. Key responsibilities include: Strategic Sourcing & Commodity Strategy: Lead the creation and implementation of commodity strategies that align with global and regional business objectives. Ensure sourcing plans support scalability, innovation, and resilience across the supply base. Supplier Identification & Onboarding: Act as the sourcing focal point for identifying, evaluating, and onboarding suppliers that meet technical, commercial, and compliance requirements. Drive supplier qualification and readiness for new and existing programs. Global Supply Chain Alignment: Support the development and execution of global supply chain strategies that enhance performance across People, Quality, Velocity, and Cost. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure sourcing initiatives are integrated into broader supply chain goals. Risk Management & Business Continuity: Proactively identify and mitigate sourcing risks that could impact operational execution or strategic goals. Communicate risk scenarios and develop contingency plans to protect business continuity. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with internal stakeholders including Engineering, Operations, Legal, and Finance to ensure sourcing strategies are aligned with technical requirements, cost targets, and project timelines. Project Management: Demonstrated ability to effectively manage multiple sourcing and strategic initiatives simultaneously, ensuring timely execution, stakeholder alignment, and measurable outcomes. This includes maintaining clear project documentation, proactively identifying risks and dependencies, and regularly reporting progress to leadership and cross-functional teams. This Job Description is intended as a general guide to the job duties for this position and is intended for the purpose of establishing the specific salary grade. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as an exhaustive summary of all responsibilities, duties and effort required of employees assigned to this job. At the discretion of management, this description may be changed at any time to address the evolving needs of the organization. It is expressly not intended to be a comprehensive list of “essential job functions” as that term is defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Requirements

Planning: Tactical, Strategic: Knowledge of effective planning techniques and ability to contribute to operational (short term), tactical (1-2 years) and strategic (3-5 years) planning in support of the overall business plan.
Decision Making and Critical Thinking: Knowledge of the decision-making process and associated tools and techniques; ability to accurately analyze situations and reach productive decisions based on informed judgment.
Negotiating: Knowledge of successful negotiation concepts and techniques; ability to negotiate successfully across the organization and with external vendors and clients in a constructive and collaborative manner.
Leadership: Knowledge of leadership practices and processes; ability to use strategies and skills to enlist others in setting, embracing, and achieving objectives while having a long-term perspective of the future state of things and how to get there.
Project Management: Knowledge of effective project management strategies and tactics; ability to plan, organize, monitor, and control projects, ensuring efficient utilization of technical and administrative resources to achieve project objectives.
Supplier Management : Knowledge of processes and methods to effectively manage business relationships and transactions with suppliers of raw materials or product components; ability to apply related knowledge, experience and skills into real practice.
Contracts Management and Administration: Knowledge of policies, standards and processes of how to manage and administer contracts; ability to use proper processes and practices for managing and administering a variety of contractual agreements.
Strategic Sourcing: Knowledge of strategic sourcing methods, technologies and processes; ability to analyze, improve and re-evaluate organizational procurement process continuously.
Supply Chain Management: Knowledge of functions, principles and techniques used in supply chain management; ability to develop and implement strategies, practices and tools for controlling the whole processes.
Bachelor’s degree with 10+ years or a Master’s degree with 7+ years of experience in Supply Chain.

Nice To Haves

Experience creating Sourcing & Commodity Strategies
Degree in Supply Chain
6-sigma Blackbelt

Responsibilities

Lead the creation and implementation of commodity strategies that align with global and regional business objectives.
Ensure sourcing plans support scalability, innovation, and resilience across the supply base.
Act as the sourcing focal point for identifying, evaluating, and onboarding suppliers that meet technical, commercial, and compliance requirements.
Drive supplier qualification and readiness for new and existing programs.
Support the development and execution of global supply chain strategies that enhance performance across People, Quality, Velocity, and Cost.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure sourcing initiatives are integrated into broader supply chain goals.
Proactively identify and mitigate sourcing risks that could impact operational execution or strategic goals.
Communicate risk scenarios and develop contingency plans to protect business continuity.
Partner with internal stakeholders including Engineering, Operations, Legal, and Finance to ensure sourcing strategies are aligned with technical requirements, cost targets, and project timelines.
Demonstrated ability to effectively manage multiple sourcing and strategic initiatives simultaneously, ensuring timely execution, stakeholder alignment, and measurable outcomes. This includes maintaining clear project documentation, proactively identifying risks and dependencies, and regularly reporting progress to leadership and cross-functional teams.