Director, Spares Sourcing Strategy

Microsoft•Redmond, WA

8d•$142,800 - $304,200

About The Position

Microsoft’s Cloud Supply Chain (CSCP) organization enables the hardware infrastructure supporting the company’s cloud and AI services. The Spares Supply Chain (SSC) organization manages the spares hardware ecosystem that supports Azure fleet availability across the product lifecycle, from early engineering engagement and new product introduction through deployment, service, repair, reuse, and end-of-life disposition. The Director, Spares Sourcing Strategy owns the multi-year sourcing vision and strategy for the spares hardware portfolio. The role translates Azure fleet growth, technology transitions, and lifecycle economics into sourcing approaches that promote continuity of supply, cost advantage, and supplier accountability. It leads complex, ambiguous, cross-organizational problems and influences senior leaders across Sourcing, Planning, Engineering, Quality, and Finance. The position also shapes the future of the spares supply chain and supports Azure fleet availability. Microsoft describes its culture as grounded in a growth mindset, innovation, collaboration, respect, integrity, accountability, and inclusion.

Requirements

Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field and 7+ years of technical engineering experience; or bachelor's degree in one of these fields and 8+ years of technical engineering experience; or equivalent experience.
Ability to meet Microsoft, customer, and/or government security screening requirements, including passing the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire or transfer and every two years thereafter.
Excellent influencing and executive communication skills, including the ability to build relationships across organizational levels and with supplier leadership.
Deep analytical capabilities and ability to synthesize data to influence leadership decisions.
Strong understanding of data center hardware technologies, including product roadmaps and transitions.
Expertise with business tools such as Word, Excel, Power BI, and PowerPoint.
AI hardware proficiency.

Nice To Haves

Doctorate in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field and 5+ years of technical engineering experience; or master's degree in one of these fields and 8+ years; or bachelor's degree in one of these fields and 12+ years; or equivalent experience.
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Supply Chain Analytics, or a related field and 10+ years of supply chain operations, supplier cost optimization, sourcing and manufacturing, or related experience; or master’s degree in one of these fields and 8+ years of related experience.
7+ years of experience in cloud or high-tech supply chain.
Demonstrated experience translating long-range demand, technology roadmaps, or commercial commitments into multi-year sourcing strategies and supplier capacity plans.
Experience building or transforming sourcing or supply chain operating models across multiple commodities, suppliers, or geographies.
Proven ability to solve complex, ambiguous problems with structured thinking, sound judgment, and durable, scalable solutions.

Responsibilities

Define and own multi-year sourcing vision and category strategies for the spares hardware portfolio, aligned with Azure fleet growth, technology roadmaps, and lifecycle economics from new product introduction through end of life.
Anticipate long-term supply, cost, and geopolitical risks and develop proactive, structural mitigation strategies.
Translate long-range demand, fleet aging, reuse, and recovery outlooks into supplier capacity plans, multi-source strategies, and multi-year commercial commitments.
Set sourcing decision frameworks for make-or-buy, multi-source, last-time-buy, reuse, and warranty renewal trade-offs.
Lead strategic contract and terms negotiations with key suppliers, aligning agreements with cross-functional requirements and long-term business objectives.
Own executive-level relationships with strategic suppliers, act as the senior supplier escalation point, and establish joint multi-year roadmaps and governance, including business and quarterly reviews and executive reviews.
Design supplier SLA and KPI frameworks covering performance, component pricing, lead time, and multi-source allocation.
Architect RFQ/RFP strategies for large-scale, multi-commodity, or multi-year engagements; lead complex negotiations and coach sourcing engineers and managers.
Develop and drive multi-year cost roadmaps for new product introduction, sustaining, end-of-life, and multi-source initiatives using should-cost modeling, total cost of ownership analysis, and benchmarking.
Shape warranty, RMA, repair, and reuse strategies to lower lifecycle cost while protecting service continuity; partner with Engineering, Quality, and Finance on quality remediation and business cases.
Build executive-ready business justifications and lead leadership decisions on significant investments and trade-offs, including tariffs, import/export compliance, and inventory consumption.
Identify systemic gaps across the spares lifecycle and lead cross-functional initiatives to address them at scale.
Design scalable sourcing processes, data, and decision frameworks, including AI-enabled tooling and analytics, to improve the effectiveness and speed of the sourcing team.
Serve as a thought leader for spares sourcing across CSCP, mentor sourcing engineers and managers, and represent the organization in cross-functional and executive forums.