Sr. Category Manager, Strategic Sourcing (Mechanical)

Crusoe•Arvada, CO

4d•$120,000 - $145,000

About The Position

The Senior Category Manager, Mechanical owns the mechanical category of spend—including enclosures, structural fabrication, doors, sheet metal, and related components—end-to-end at the strategic layer. In this position, you will lead market intelligence, supplier qualification, commercial negotiations, and proactive risk management. Because this category spans both Strategic custom fabrications and Leverage standard items, you will exercise strategic judgment on when technical vetting takes priority versus when commercial drive dominates. Unlike tactical procurement, this role is accountable for the strategic foundation—establishing why a supplier earns a spot on the Approved Vendor List (AVL) rather than executing daily purchase orders. The ideal candidate brings a strong grasp of manufacturing/fabrication capabilities, knows how to audit shop-floor realities against supplier claims, and builds robust commercial contracts to protect Crusoe’s build timelines. This is a Full-Time position.

Requirements

4–7+ years of dedicated strategic sourcing or category management experience focused on fabricated metal, enclosures, or mechanical components.
Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Business, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
Working familiarity with metal fabrication methods, tolerancing, and shop-floor assessment techniques to audit supplier capabilities effectively.
Proven experience reading, structuring, and redlining commercial contracts and legal terms.
Proficiency with supplier qualification frameworks, RFI/RFQ processes, scorecarding, and category segmentation methodologies.

Nice To Haves

Direct experience evaluating or auditing supplier welding, machining, or sheet metal shop floors.
Hands-on ERP experience with systems like Acumatica or similar enterprise platforms.
Experience in data center infrastructure, modular enclosures, or heavy industrial equipment environments.

Responsibilities

Track and analyze supply base capabilities, pricing benchmarks, actual fabrication lead times, and capacity constraints across all mechanical categories.
Own the mechanical Approved Vendor List (AVL), verifying actual shop-floor fabrication capabilities (tolerances, welding, equipment) to ensure paper claims match manufacturing reality.
Apply frameworks like the Kraljic Matrix to differentiate Strategic custom items (focusing on quality and capability) from Leverage standard items (focusing on cost and logistics), building a 12–24 month category roadmap.
Structure and negotiate MSAs, SLAs, and commercial terms while redlining buyer-adverse clauses (such as delivery commitments, liability caps, and force majeure).
Monitor supplier capacity risks during high-volume production cycles, maintaining a category risk register with clear mitigation strategies and dual-sourcing options.
Evaluate make/buy opportunities where internal fabrication capacity serves as a viable, cost-effective alternative.
Maintain quarterly supplier scorecards and build clear standing terms that enable Procurement Operations to execute POs seamlessly.