Strategic Sourcing Specialist

Apple•Austin, TX

5d•Onsite

About The Position

Apple Inc. is hiring a Strategic Sourcing Specialist in Austin, Texas. The role develops an understanding of commodity markets to forecast industry trends, assess competitive forces, and identify shifts in buyer and supplier power. It conducts supplier financial research, spend analysis, and ad hoc financial analysis to support strategic procurement deals, and negotiates with suppliers to establish terms that balance cost, volume, quality, performance criteria, and long-term supply continuity. The specialist collaborates across Apple to meet business objectives, synthesizes and communicates findings to senior leaders, and identifies potential supply issues that could affect product strategy. The role optimizes supply chain performance through cost and capacity scenario analysis and benchmarking, and uses knowledge of value-added manufacturing processes, costs, and market intelligence to influence product roadmaps and sourcing decisions. It also provides program management support and contributes to developing processes, templates, escalation procedures, and reporting. Domestic and international travel of 10% is required. The position is 40 hours per week.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree or foreign equivalent in Industrial and System Engineering, Business, Supply Chain Management, or a related field.
Two years of experience in the job offered or a related occupation.
Experience or education managing end-to-end supply chain operations, including supplier qualification, purchase order management, and demand planning.
Experience or education using Advanced Excel, SQL, Power Query, and Python to track supplier performance and analyze procurement data.
Experience or education using Agile Methodology, Root Cause Analysis, and Gantt charts to lead projects and influence cross-functional teams.
Understanding of contract negotiations and commercial clauses.
Familiarity with Master Service Agreements (MSA), SLAs, and KPIs for supplier performance.
Understanding of should-cost models, including labor, material, process loss, profit margins, and bottoms-up costing.
Experience or education using lean engineering to understand the impacts of multiple DOEs and optimize process workflow and cycle times using Takt time and Value Stream Mapping (VSM).
Experience or education using Peak Planned Week Capacity versus Peak Planned Week Demand to support long-term capacity, supply planning, and risk mitigation.

Responsibilities

Develop a nuanced understanding of commodity landscapes to forecast industry trends and assess emerging competitive forces.
Identify changes in buyer and supplier power and use industry dynamics to Apple's advantage.
Perform supplier financial research, spend analysis, and ad hoc financial analysis for strategic procurement deals.
Work with suppliers to negotiate optimal sourcing terms.
Balance cost, volume, and quality in agreements to meet Apple's performance criteria and secure long-term supply continuity.
Collaborate across Apple to ensure business objectives are met.
Synthesize and communicate findings to senior leaders and identify potential supply issues that could affect product strategy.
Optimize supply chain performance through cost and capacity scenario analysis and benchmarking.
Develop knowledge of value-added manufacturing processes, costs, and market intelligence to influence Apple's product roadmap and sourcing decisions.
Provide program management support and contribute to the development of processes, templates, escalation procedures, and reporting.