Director, Data Center Equipment Category Manager

Lambda•San Jose, CA

2d•$224,000 - $350,000

About The Position

Lambda is hiring a Director, Data Center Equipment Category Manager to lead category management for datacenter infrastructure equipment. The role manages and develops category managers across electrical, mechanical, and modular equipment while personally owning critical categories, sourcing events, and negotiations. It is responsible for multi-year category strategy covering equipment such as transformers, switchgear, generators, UPS systems, busway, power distribution, chillers, CDUs, air handling and liquid cooling systems, and prefabricated and modular power and cooling solutions. The position secures constrained supply by reserving manufacturing capacity, negotiating commitments and framework agreements, and aligning supplier capacity with multi-site demand. It leads sourcing from specifications through award and contract execution, negotiates major equipment agreements, and partners with Legal and Finance on contract terms. The role collaborates with Design, Engineering, Construction, and Development to standardize specifications, align equipment awards and deliveries with construction schedules, manage expediting and related delivery activities, and establish owner-furnished versus contractor-furnished equipment strategies. The Director drives cost reduction through should-cost and total-cost-of-ownership models, design-to-cost, value engineering, and commodity-index pricing. It builds supplier partnerships, qualifies new and second-source suppliers, manages supplier performance and supply-chain risks, sets scalable category governance and data standards, and briefs executives on strategy, market conditions, risk, and savings. Lambda offers cash and equity compensation, health, dental, and vision coverage, wellness and commuter stipends for select roles, a 401(k) plan with a 2% company match for U.S. employees, and a flexible paid time off plan. The company is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, or category management, including at least 5 years focused on datacenter, mission-critical, energy, or heavy industrial electrical and mechanical equipment.
Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Engineering, Business, Finance, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
5+ years of people leadership managing category managers or sourcing professionals, while remaining hands-on in sourcing strategy and negotiations.
Experience owning multi-year strategies for high-spend, supply-constrained equipment categories with material cost and continuity-of-supply impact.
Knowledge of the datacenter equipment supply base, including major OEMs, integrators, manufacturing capacity, lead times, and pricing dynamics.
Demonstrated personal experience closing large master supply agreements and capacity commitments as a lead negotiator.
Experience sequencing long-lead equipment against live construction schedules and working closely with design, engineering, and construction teams.
Experience setting process, policy, or governance standards adopted by an organization.
Ability to brief and persuade executives and supplier stakeholders and develop business cases that support decisions.
Ability to operate in ambiguity, on compressed timelines, and in supply-constrained markets.

Nice To Haves

Experience at a hyperscaler, AI cloud, colocation provider, or datacenter developer.
Experience on the OEM or integrator side in sales, commercial, or supply chain at an electrical or mechanical equipment manufacturer.
Hands-on experience with prefabricated and modular power or cooling solutions.
Experience with high-density AI infrastructure, including liquid cooling and CDUs.
Engineering background or technical fluency in electrical distribution and cooling systems.
Experience establishing a category management function or team where little previously existed.

Responsibilities

Lead and develop category managers across electrical, mechanical, and modular equipment while personally owning critical categories, sourcing events, and negotiations.
Own multi-year category strategy for datacenter infrastructure equipment, including electrical, mechanical, liquid-cooling, prefabricated, and modular solutions.
Secure supply in constrained markets through manufacturing-slot reservations, capacity commitments, framework agreements, and alignment with multi-site demand forecasts.
Lead end-to-end RFI, RFP, and RFQ sourcing events from specification through supplier selection, award, and contract execution.
Negotiate high-value equipment agreements, including master supply agreements, pricing, lead times, warranties, liquidated damages, and performance guarantees, in partnership with Legal and Finance.
Partner with Design, Engineering, Construction, and Development to standardize specifications and basis-of-design across sites and aggregate demand.
Sequence equipment awards and deliveries against construction schedules; manage expediting, factory witness testing, logistics, and storage.
Own the owner-furnished versus contractor-furnished equipment strategy, including installation, warranty, and commissioning interfaces with general contractors and EPCs.
Drive cost reduction through should-cost and total-cost-of-ownership models, design-to-cost, value engineering, and index-based commodity pricing.
Build strategic supplier partnerships and qualify new and second-source suppliers to reduce concentration risk.
Manage supplier quality, on-time delivery, and safety through scorecards, factory audits, and executive business reviews.
Identify and mitigate supply-chain risks, including lead-time volatility, tariffs, commodity pricing, single-source exposure, and geopolitical disruption; maintain contingency plans.
Set scalable standards for category governance, contract templates, spend data, and supplier data.
Deliver executive briefings on category strategy, market conditions, supply risk, and savings performance.