Supplier Account Management IV - Rare Earths

Applied Materials • Austin, TX

2d • $116,000 - $159,500 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Supplier Account Manager IV for Rare Earths is responsible for developing and executing short-term and long-term sourcing, supplier, contracting, and risk-management strategies across rare-earth materials and related applications, including permanent magnets, electric motors, coatings, and other advanced material systems. This role requires a strong combination of technical knowledge, commercial judgment, and contracting experience to build a resilient, competitive, and scalable global supply base. The position works cross-functionally with Engineering, Quality, Operations, Legal, Finance, and business stakeholders to translate product and technology requirements into actionable supplier and commercial strategies.

Requirements

• Demonstrates depth and/or breadth of expertise in own specialized discipline or field.
• Advanced knowledge of strategic sourcing, category management, supplier relationship management, negotiations, and contract lifecycle management.
• Technical understanding of rare-earth elements and the value chain from feedstock through separation, metals and alloys, magnets, motors, coatings, and finished components.
• Working knowledge of material specifications, manufacturing processes, supplier qualification, quality systems, and change-control requirements.
• Demonstrated experience working with machine shops and suppliers of machined parts and assemblies, including knowledge of machining and machined-parts manufacturing processes, supplier capabilities, cost drivers, quality requirements, and production constraints.
• Working knowledge of aluminum and steel raw materials, including material grades, specifications, forms, processing methods, availability, pricing drivers, and their application in machined components and assemblies.
• Demonstrated ability to negotiate and administer complex supply agreements, development agreements, confidentiality agreements, and commercial terms.
• Strong financial and analytical capability, including cost modeling, market analysis, forecasting, capacity analysis, and total-cost evaluation.
• Understanding of geopolitical, environmental, regulatory, responsible-sourcing, and trade-compliance considerations affecting critical minerals.
• Proficiency in supplier performance management, risk assessment, executive presentations, and cross-functional program management.
• Interprets internal/external business challenges and recommends best practices to improve products, processes or services.
• Typically requires a bachelor’s degree in materials science, metallurgy, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, supply chain, business, or a related field; an advanced degree is preferred.
• Typically requires 10+ years of progressive experience in strategic sourcing, supplier management, commodity management, engineering, operations, or commercial contracting.
• Demonstrated experience developing and implementing global category strategies in technically complex, supply-constrained, or highly regulated markets.
• Proven record of managing high-value supplier relationships and achieving measurable improvements in cost, quality, delivery, capacity, innovation, and continuity.
• Ability to connect technology and product road maps with market dynamics, sourcing options, capital requirements, and long-term commercial commitments.
• Experience operating across regions and cultures and engaging suppliers at executive, commercial, and technical levels.
• Leads cross-functional teams and aligns stakeholders without relying solely on formal authority.
• Builds credibility with technical experts, business leaders, legal partners, and supplier executives through fact-based recommendations and dependable execution.
• Sets clear strategy, priorities, decision criteria, and accountability for complex supplier and category initiatives.
• Communicates complex technical and commercial issues in concise, decision-oriented terms for executive audiences.
• Develops supplier capability and internal talent by sharing market knowledge, negotiation practices, analytical methods, and lessons learned.
• Demonstrates experience briefing senior executives and preparing concise, executive-level reports, presentations, business cases, and decision materials that clearly communicate strategy, risks, trade-offs, recommendations, and required actions.
• Demonstrates integrity, ownership, resilience, cultural awareness, and the ability to constructively challenge assumptions.
• Leads others to solve complex problems; uses sophisticated analytical thought to exercise judgment and identify innovative solutions.
• Solves ambiguous, high-impact supply and commercial problems involving limited data, emerging technologies, long qualification cycles, and competing stakeholder priorities.
• Integrates technical, financial, legal, operational, and geopolitical inputs to develop practical recommendations and contingency plans.
• Uses structured analysis to evaluate supplier capability, capacity, cost, risk, scalability, and strategic fit across multiple scenarios and time horizons.
• Anticipates constraints and develops options before issues affect product development, production continuity, customer commitments, or financial performance.
• Exercises sound judgment in determining when to resolve issues independently and when to escalate decisions or risks to senior leadership.
• Shapes enterprise-level supply strategies for materials and components that may be critical to product performance, growth, and business continuity.
• Influences significant spend, multi-year commitments, supplier investments, capacity decisions, and technology-development priorities.
• Reduces exposure to sole-source, geographic, regulatory, price, and capacity risks through proactive portfolio and contracting strategies.
• Improves cost competitiveness, supply assurance, supplier performance, and speed of qualification and commercialization.
• Provides analyses and recommendations that inform senior-management decisions across multiple products, business units, and regions.
• Communicates difficult concepts and negotiates with others to adopt a different point of view.
• Must be a U.S. person as defined by applicable U.S. export-control laws and regulations due to access to export-controlled technical data and information governed by the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).
• Ability and willingness to travel domestically and internationally up to 50% of the time.

Nice To Haves

• Direct experience with permanent magnets, electric motors, rare-earth coatings, critical minerals, advanced materials, or adjacent high-technology supply chains.
• Experience negotiating long-term agreements, take-or-pay structures, capacity investments, index-based pricing, or other strategic supply mechanisms.
• Working relationships or market experience across North America, Europe, and Asia.
• Graduate degree, professional procurement certification, or formal contracting or negotiation training.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute near-term and long-range category strategies for rare-earth materials, permanent magnets, motors, coatings, and related technologies, supported by a comprehensive understanding of the end-to-end rare-earth supply chain—from raw-material extraction, separation, refining, and alloying through component manufacturing and finished products.
• Assess global supply markets, capacity, cost drivers, geopolitical exposure, trade constraints, and supply-chain vulnerabilities; translate findings into sourcing and risk-mitigation plans.
• Identify, qualify, develop, and manage strategic suppliers across mining, separation, refining, alloying, magnet production, component manufacturing, and recycling value chains.
• Lead complex commercial negotiations and contracts, including pricing frameworks, supply commitments, capacity reservations, intellectual property, quality, liability, continuity, and performance provisions.
• Build should-cost, total-cost-of-ownership, scenario, and business-case analyses to support supplier selection and executive decisions.
• Partner with technical teams to define specifications, qualification requirements, product road maps, and supplier-development priorities.
• Establish supplier performance metrics and lead business reviews, corrective actions, capacity planning, and continuous-improvement initiatives.
• Develop dual-source, localization, inventory, recycling, and alternative-material strategies to improve resilience and reduce concentration risk.
• Coordinate cross-functional sourcing decisions and provide clear recommendations, risks, trade-offs, and approval requests to senior leadership.
• Maintain market intelligence on technology, pricing, regulation, sustainability, and emerging suppliers within the rare-earth ecosystem.
• Negotiates and manages the maintenance of agreements with suppliers that provide the structure for all business relationships between Applied Materials and the supply base.
• Engages with the PLC process to ensure alignment with the commodity strategies.
• Directs new supplier introduction and/or disengagement requirements to/from the Applied Materials supply base.
• Drives resolution to systemic supply chain issues affecting quality, cost, delivery or lead-time, which may include engagement with sub-tiers in the supply chain.
• Develops and presents high level cost reduction opportunities.

Benefits

• supportive work culture that encourages you to learn, develop, and grow your career
• programs and support that encourage personal and professional growth and care for you at work, at home, or wherever you may go
• comprehensive benefits package
• participation in a bonus and a stock award program, as applicable

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior