Sourcing Manager, Data Center Equipment
A prestigious tech company is seeking a highly skilled and experienced Sourcing Manager to develop and manage strategic vendor partnerships for data center equipment, with a focus on robotics and automation technology. This role requires a strong background in supply chain management, complex negotiations, and a deep understanding of technology trends within the data center and automation space.
Responsibilities
- Develop and nurture strategic vendor relationships through effective relationship management, including implementing performance metrics (e.g., scorecards), conducting regular business reviews, and fostering collaboration to meet the company’s commercial and technical requirements.
- Maintain current knowledge of technology and industry trends for data center equipment, performing relevant market analysis.
- Drive supplier proposals (RFI/RFQ) and business awards.
- Develop and execute negotiation strategies, acceptable terms and conditions, and lead the negotiation team through to contract closure.
- Negotiate complex contracts, including Master Purchase Agreements (MPA), Master Service Agreements (MSA), and Statements of Work (SOW), demonstrating a strong grasp of key terms.
- Own market and actual cost data, including developing should-cost models for data center equipment.
- Resolve all commercial and technical queries arising from the quote process.
- Ensure business metrics are achieved across the end-to-end process, from manufacturing to data center operation.
- Collaborate extensively with cross-functional teams, including Manufacturing Quality, Strategic Engineering and Design, Global Site Sourcing, Data Center Facility Operations, Data Center Construction, and Connectivity.
- Manage operations and define and drive core business metrics and risk indicators for continuous improvement.
- Provide metrics for quarterly business reviews to assess supply chain health and forward-looking risk.
- Drive critical operations related to assurance of supply and capacity through partnership with the Demand/Supply team for accurate forecasting, materials management, qualification, reliability management, and supply allocation.
Qualifications
- BA/BS or equivalent with 3-5 years of supply chain experience.
- A minimum of 5 years of Sourcing Management or Supply Chain Management experience in commercial sourcing roles.
- Proven analytical experience and demonstrated ability to guide teams to deliver results.
- Experience in improving supply chain and supplier performance, including the use of cost models and objective-based performance measures, particularly in the semiconductor/memory commodity.
- Extensive experience in contracts and contract negotiations, including contract strategy development and execution, with a focus on agreement closure.
- Proficiency in robotics and automation, with a strong understanding of supply chain processes and their integration with robotics technology.
- Requires a Master's or Bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Analytics, Robotics and Automation, or a related field, and 5 years of experience in the job offered or a related occupation, including:
- 5 years of Material or production planning experience.
- 5 years experience with broad enterprise systems work, including SAP, Oracle, and custom applications.
- 5 years of working knowledge of SQL and/or BI tools (Tableau/Power BI/Looker) to build and maintain supplier scorecards (quality, OTIF, lead time, defect rates, downtime impact, cost).
- 2 years experience negotiating software licensing models for robotics/AI (per-robot, per-site, usage-based, support/maintenance terms).
- 2 years experience defining contract and supplier requirements for AI systems, specifically addressing:
- Model performance metrics, test/validation methodology, update/rollback processes.
- Telemetry for model monitoring, and incident response protocols for safety-critical failures.
- Data governance requirements (data retention, access controls, auditability).
Preferred Qualifications:
- MS/MBA.
- Strong understanding of complex supply chain operations and processes, including forecasting, supplier qualification, allocation management, material management, and quality assurance.
- Specific experience in automation/robotics and warehouse/logistics.
Pursuant to the California Fair Chance Act, Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, and San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, qualified applicants will be considered for assignment with arrest and conviction records. Criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship with some of the material job duties of this position. These include the duties and responsibilities listed above, as well as the abilities to adhere to company policies, exercise sound judgment, effectively manage stress and work safely and respectfully with others, exhibit trustworthiness, meet client expectations, standards, and accompanying requirements, and safeguard business operations and company reputation.
Work Authorization
Applicants must be located in the United States. Cincinnatus does not sponsor visas and will not provide visa sponsorship for this role.
About Cincinnatus
Cincinnatus is an enterprise staffing company that partners with leading technology companies to source and employ highly skilled professionals for full-time and long-term contingent roles. Cincinnatus serves as the employer of record for these engagements, providing W-2 employment, payroll, benefits, and compliance, while placing employees directly within client teams to work on high-impact initiatives.
Roles hired through Cincinnatus are not project-based or freelance engagements. They are structured, role-based positions that typically involve full-time or fixed-term commitments, close collaboration with a client's internal teams, and integration into standard enterprise workflows.
Cincinnatus is a legal entity separate from Mercor. While opportunities may be discovered through Mercor's platform, employment, onboarding, payroll, and benefits for these roles are administered by Cincinnatus.
Equal Employment Opportunity
Cincinnatus is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, political views or activity, or any other legally protected characteristic.
Cincinnatus is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans throughout the job application process.