Director, Electrical Category Management, NA

Vantage Data Centers•Remote - CO, CO

5d•$190,000 - $200,000•Remote

About The Position

This role leads the global electrical category strategy, supplier portfolio, and governance model for mission-critical power distribution infrastructure supporting data center and large-scale technical builds. This includes high voltage to medium- and low-voltage equipment such as switchgear, transformers, UPS systems, busway, PDUs, and associated controls and monitoring systems. The role sets the enterprise sourcing direction, drives executive alignment across Engineering, Construction, Operations, and Finance, and is accountable for long-term capacity planning, supply resilience, and lifecycle value across global regions. The Director partners deeply with internal stakeholders including Electrical Engineering, Energy and Utility interface teams, Product, Construction, Commissioning, Reliability, and Operations, as well as external OEMs and suppliers, to ensure sourcing strategies align with technical standards, regional deployment models, and accelerating capacity requirements. This role also drives standardization, supplier performance governance, and total cost of ownership improvements while proactively managing risks such as supply constraints, obsolescence, and geopolitical exposure to support scalable and reliable infrastructure delivery.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Supply Chain, Construction Management, or a related field; advanced degree preferred.
10+ years of experience in category management, strategic sourcing, engineering procurement, or supplier leadership within electrical infrastructure, utilities, or large-scale capital projects.
Deep technical knowledge of electrical distribution systems, including high-voltage and medium/low-voltage switchgear, transformers, UPS systems, busway, PDUs, and controls.
Proven experience leading complex global supplier strategies, executive negotiations, and long-term contractual agreements for critical engineered equipment.
Strong understanding of lifecycle cost drivers, including capital efficiency, reliability, maintenance strategies, and total cost of ownership optimization.
Experience managing supplier performance through scorecards, KPIs, and executive-level governance frameworks.
Demonstrated ability to identify and mitigate supply chain risks, including capacity constraints, sourcing concentration, and technology obsolescence.
Strong cross-functional leadership skills, with the ability to influence senior stakeholders across Engineering, Construction, Operations, and Finance.
Experience driving standardization, modularization, and scalable infrastructure deployment across multiple regions.
Excellent executive communication and stakeholder management skills, including experience presenting category strategies, risks, and recommendations to leadership.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree preferred.

Responsibilities

Define and lead the global category vision and multi-year strategy for electrical infrastructure, aligned with enterprise growth, uptime requirements, regional expansion, and power distribution standards.
Establish and execute supplier portfolio strategy, including preferred supplier frameworks, segmentation, regional allocation models, and executive governance structures.
Own executive-level supplier relationships and negotiations, including long-term agreements, capacity reservations, risk-sharing mechanisms, warranty structures, and performance accountability.
Develop and implement enterprise contracting strategies for switchgear, transformers, UPS systems, busway, PDUs, and associated services, including commercial levers, indexed pricing, and escalation frameworks.
Partner with Engineering, Product, Construction, Operations, and Finance to align category decisions with network growth, capital planning, and technical roadmaps.
Drive alignment to enterprise electrical standards, preferred platforms, interface requirements, Product Design Libraries (PDLs), and approved deviation frameworks while enabling scalable deployment and reduced customization.
Lead supply chain risk management strategies, including mitigation of capacity shortfalls, utility constraints, component obsolescence, grid interface challenges, and geopolitical risks.
Sponsor and deliver total cost of ownership improvements through standardization, modularization, reduction of conversion losses, optimized service strategies, and lifecycle maintenance planning.
Lead supplier performance management through scorecards, executive business reviews, corrective action programs, and closed-loop resolution of field performance and reliability issues.
Ensure alignment of sourcing strategies with commissioning, quality, and operational requirements, including support for quality control, field performance feedback, and continuous improvement.
Provide executive-level reporting on supply market conditions, supplier performance, cost outlook, and category risks, with clear recommendations for mitigation and strategic actions.
Lead and develop category management team capabilities, operating cadence, governance, and performance expectations to scale with business demand.
Drive adoption of standardized electrical configurations across regions, reducing non-standard variants and improving repeatability, deployment efficiency, and scalability.
Ensure delivery performance for long-lead equipment, including alignment with project schedules, energization milestones, and critical path dependencies.
Support closed-loop reliability improvements by translating field performance, quality issues, and commissioning learnings into supplier strategy, sourcing decisions, and future infrastructure standards.
Additional duties as assigned by Management