Senior Manager, Strategic Category Management - Data Center Supply Chain (Maharaj)
About The Position
SB Energy is a leading infrastructure company backed by SoftBank Group and Ares Infrastructure, focused on delivering reliable and secure data center and power infrastructure. Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Redwood City, California, SB Energy develops, builds, owns, and operates large-scale energy and data center infrastructure projects across the United States. The company leverages a strong culture of innovation and an AI-based digital platform to deliver local, reliable energy infrastructure matched to load. SB Energy is seeking to accelerate the energy and infrastructure transition. The Senior Strategic Category Manager will drive the global end-to-end category strategy, strategic sourcing, and supplier development for hyper-scale data center mechanical infrastructure. This role involves managing a multi-hundred-million-dollar annual spend across key thermal & mechanical cooling management systems, including Chillers, Cooling Towers & Dry Coolers, CRAC/ CRAH, Direct-to-Chip Liquid Cooling & Cooling Distribution units. The position acts as the primary commercial authority for critical thermal & mechanical cooling suppliers, aligning engineering roadmaps, securing manufacturing capacity, and establishing resilient, cost-optimized supply chains to support rapid global data center deployment.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Supply Chain Management, Business, or related technical discipline.
- 8+ years of experience in strategic sourcing, program management, category management, or procurement for thermal & cooling infrastructure equipment or related mechanical systems
- Experience leading end-to-end sourcing processes including RFx development, supplier evaluation, commercial negotiation, and contract execution for capital equipment categories
- Experience developing category strategies that incorporate market intelligence, total cost of ownership analysis, and supply risk assessment
- Experience managing supplier relationships and driving measurable improvements in supplier performance across cost, quality, and delivery
- Experience communicating complex sourcing strategies and supplier performance data to cross-functional teams and executive stakeholders
Nice To Haves
- Master’s degree or MBA preferred
Responsibilities
- Define and execute multi-year category strategies for Thermal & Mechanical cooling infrastructure equipment including market analysis, supplier segmentation, and sourcing roadmaps aligned to data center capacity growth
- Lead competitive sourcing events, contract negotiations, and supplier selection processes for Thermal & Mechanical Cooling equipment categories
- Assess and mitigate supply chain risks associated with categories, including geopolitical exposure, single-source dependencies, long-lead-time components, and commodity price volatility
- Partner with data center engineering, construction, and capacity planning teams to align sourcing strategies with technology roadmaps and infrastructure deployment schedules. Collaborate with legal, finance, and sustainability teams to structure contracts that reflects commercial, compliance, and environmental requirements
- Act as the day-to-day procurement lead for assigned equipment packages and the primary commercial contact for suppliers. Maintain an integrated action list covering technical submissions, production, quality, delivery, and field support. Establish and track supplier capacity commitments to ensure supply availability supports global data center build pipeline
- Drive supplier development initiatives to qualify new sources of supply, expand geographic diversity, and improve supply chain resilience for critical power and cooling categories
Benefits
- 100% Company-Paid Medical, Dental & Vision (for employees and dependents)
- 401(k) with Company Match
- Generous Paid Time Off + 11 Paid Holidays
- 12 Weeks Parental Leave
- Life, AD&D & Long-Term Disability Coverage
- Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) for Medical, Dependent Care, Transit & Parking (with company contributions)
- Mental, Physical & Social Wellness Support (with company contributions)
- Flexible Work Arrangements & Hybrid Office Setup Benefits
- Monthly Reimbursement for Phone, Internet & Data
- Optional Legal & Pet Insurance Plans
- Device Purchase Support
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
