Category Lead, Technology Procurement & Strategic Sourcing

Appian Corporation • McLean, VA

7d

About The Position

Here at Appian, our values of Intensity and Excellence define who we are. We set high standards and live up to them, ensuring that everything we do is done with care and quality. We approach every challenge with ambition and commitment, holding ourselves and each other accountable to achieve the best results. When you join Appian, you’ll be part of a passionate team dedicated to accomplishing hard things, together. We are seeking a Strategic Category Lead, Technology Procurement & Strategic Sourcing to lead the end-to-end lifecycle of our technology spend. In this influential role, you will serve as the primary architect for our IT category strategy, managing a high-growth portfolio that includes enterprise suppliers such as AWS, Salesforce, Workday, and Snowflake. This is a mission-critical partnership role requiring deep collaboration with Engineering, InfoSec, Legal, Finance and key stakeholders across business. You will ensure the organization maintains a cutting-edge technology stack at an optimal price point while proactively mitigating risk in an evolving digital landscape.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Finance, or a related field.
• 6+ years of experience in procurement, sourcing, and contract management, preferably in a technology category.
• Direct experience negotiating with Top enterprise technology suppliers (e.g., Oracle, Salesforce, AWS, Google) known for complex and sophisticated commercial models.
• Deep understanding of modern software delivery. You should be fluent in various licensing models, including seat-based, consumption/usage-based, and tiered bundles.
• Demonstrated ability to build consensus across cross-functional teams (Engineering, Finance, Information Security) and lead high-stakes supplier transitions through expert communication.
• Highly proficient in modeling consumption-based spend, performing TCO analysis, and creating "what-if" scenarios to support renewal strategies.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Roadmap: Design and execute multi-year category strategies for SaaS, Cloud, and Professional Services that anticipate global business growth and technology shifts.
• Change Management & Adoption: Orchestrate the transition when shifting to new suppliers or licensing models; act as a bridge between technical requirements and procurement outcomes to ensure seamless organizational buy-in.
• Commercial Intelligence: Navigate complex licensing models (per-user, consumption-based, and tiered) with major industry suppliers to drive Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) reductions.
• Demand Management: Collaborate with technical leaders and business owners to forecast needs, ensuring our procurement pipeline is driven by business utility rather than supplier-driven sales cycles.
• Proactive Lifecycle Management: Own the "Intake-to-Contract" pipeline, maintaining a 24-month renewal look-ahead to maximize negotiation leverage and avoid "emergency" renewals.
• Process Transformation: Drive continuous improvement in procurement workflows; develop Technology Category Playbooks to standardize negotiation strategies and increase organizational agility.
• Supplier Partnership (SRM): Conduct Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) with Top Technology suppliers to ensure roadmap alignment, performance accountability, and value realization.
• Negotiation Leadership: Partner with Legal to navigate complex agreements; while Legal focuses on indemnity and liability, you will own the commercial architecture, focusing on AI use restrictions, data privacy, SLAs, and exit strategies.
• Financial & Analytical Governance: Manage "True-ups/True-downs" and consumption-based modeling to mitigate overage risks and auto-renewal traps.
• Strategic Reporting: Integrate complex deal structures into concise, data-driven decision memos for senior leadership, highlighting fiscal impact, risk profiles, and strategic trade-offs.

Benefits

• Benefits may include health coverage, Employee Assistance Program (EAP) with free mental health support, life and disability insurance, an Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP), a retirement/pension plan, wellness dollars, tuition reimbursement, family-forming benefits and more.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level