Category Manager

DroneShield; Sydney; On-site; AUD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

DroneShield is seeking a Category Manager in Sydney to secure reliable, timely, and compliant supply for high-tech manufacturing operations. You’ll manage category strategy, supplier evaluation, sourcing, and contracts, while coordinating with Engineering, Operations, Quality, and Programs to enable scalable execution.

Role emphasizes risk management, supplier performance, and collaboration to ensure on-time availability of critical components and services with defence‑industry compliance.

Qualifications

• Experience in procurement or category management in manufacturing or regulated environments.
• Strong supplier negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience with contract manufacturers or critical component suppliers.
• Defence, aerospace, electronics, or high-tech manufacturing background.
• Tertiary qualification in Supply Chain, Engineering or Business.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute category strategies aligned to manufacturing demand and risk profiles.
• Lead supplier evaluation, selection, and onboarding within the category.
• Own sourcing and negotiation activities through to contract award.
• Manage supplier performance against delivery, quality, and risk metrics.
• Enable early supplier involvement to support design-for-manufacture and cost reduction.

Skills

Procurement

Negotiation

Stakeholder mgmt

Technical requirements

Defence/aerospace

Education

Tertiary qualification in Supply Chain, Engineering or Business

Job description

Work with cutting-edge AI technology that helps make the world a safer and more secure place. DroneShield (ASX:DRO) develops market-leading counter‑drone solutions used by military organisations, government agencies, airports, critical infrastructure operators, and law enforcement operating in some of the most challenging and high‑stakes environments in the world. Employees work at the forefront of innovation, solving complex technical problems and delivering mission‑critical capabilities where performance, reliability, and speed matter.

As an ASX200‑listed company and the world's only publicly listed pure‑play counter‑drone business, DroneShield is experiencing rapid growth. Revenue increased from A$57 million in 2024 to more than A$217 million in 2025, supported by record profitability, a global sales pipeline exceeding A$2.5 billion, and annual R&D investment of over A$50 million.

Since 2017, DroneShield has grown from 11 employees to more than 550 globally, with operations across Australia, the United States, Europe, and the Middle East, supporting customers in over 70 countries.

DroneShield's Alexandria facility is a key manufacturing hub, supporting production, assembly, testing, and quality assurance of mission‑critical counter‑drone systems.

About The Role

DroneShield is seeking a Category Manager with relevant experience to join the team in Sydney, NSW. The position will report to the Head of Procurement.

The Category Manager is responsible for securing reliable, timely, and compliant supply within their assigned category to support high tech manufacturing operations. The role ensures that critical components, manufacturing capacity, and services are available exactly when needed, while managing supplier risk, supporting innovation, and meeting defence regulatory requirements.

This role balances speed, resilience, and commercial discipline, working closely with Engineering, Operations, Quality, and Programs to enable execution at scale.

Responsibilities, Duties And Expectations

• Category Strategy & Planning
  • Develop and execute category strategies aligned to manufacturing demand, technology roadmaps, and risk profiles.
  • Identify supply risks, capacity constraints, and single‑source exposure within the category.
  • Support build‑vs‑buy decisions and sourcing strategies for new and scaling products.
• Supplier Evaluation & Selection
  • Lead supplier evaluation, selection, and onboarding within the category.
  • Assess suppliers against technical capability, quality, delivery performance, capacity, security, and compliance requirements.
  • Partner with Engineering, Quality, and Operations to validate supplier readiness.
• Procurement Execution & Contracting
  • Own sourcing and negotiation activities through to contract award.
  • Ensure contracts clearly define scope, performance, delivery, pricing, risk allocation, IP protection, and compliance obligations.
  • Balance commercial outcomes with delivery certainty and operational criticality.
• Supplier Performance & Relationship Management
  • Manage ongoing supplier performance against delivery, quality, responsiveness, and risk metrics.
  • Actively resolve supply issues and elevate risks early to protect manufacturing continuity.
  • Drive corrective actions and continuous improvement with key suppliers.
• Innovation & Early Supplier Engagement
  • Enable early supplier involvement to support design‑for‑manufacture, cost reduction, and innovation.
  • Identify suppliers with differentiated technologies or scalable capabilities.
  • Support rapid introduction of new components or services where required.
• Risk, Compliance & Governance
  • Ensure procurement activities comply with defence, export control, security, and ethical sourcing requirements.
  • Maintain accurate records and support audits related to supplier selection and contracting.
  • Apply consistent sourcing and approval frameworks.
• Measurement & Reporting
  • Track and report category KPIs including delivery performance, supplier risk, responsiveness, and commercial outcomes.
  • Use data to identify improvement opportunities and inform category strategy.
• Measures of Success
  • On‑time availability of category components and services.
  • Reduced supply risk and disruption.
  • Strong supplier delivery and quality performance.
  • Efficient sourcing cycles that support operational speed.
  • Contracts that balance cost, risk, and scalability.

Qualifications, Experience And Skills

• Experience in procurement or category management in manufacturing or regulated environments.
• Strong supplier negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience working with technical or engineering‑driven requirements.
• Defence, aerospace, electronics, or high‑tech manufacturing background.
• Experience with contract manufacturers or critical component suppliers.
• Tertiary qualification in Supply Chain, Engineering or Business.

Note for recruitment agencies: We do not accept unsolicited candidates from external recruiters unless specifically instructed.

Data Privacy

DroneShield Group Pty Ltd collects and processes personal information for recruitment and hiring purposes. Where applicable, personal information is processed on the basis of DroneShield's legitimate interests in assessing and selecting candidates for employment. For further information regarding how we collect, use, disclose, store and retain personal information, including your privacy rights, please refer to our Privacy Policy: https://www.droneshield.com/privacy-policy

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