Lead Category Management - 1011

Quantinuum; United States; Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Quantinuum seeks a Lead Category Management in Broomfield, CO, to act as a trusted commercial advisor and category SME for direct and indirect spend in advanced technical programs and government-funded research.

This role owns category strategies and portfolio performance, leads complex contract negotiations, and guides the category team across engineering, R&D, operations, legal, finance, and compliance to deliver resilient, compliant supply solutions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required and 8+ years in category management with spend portfolio ownership.
• 8+ years leading complex, high-dollar negotiations and managing supplier agreements.
• 8+ years sourcing technically complex products or services.
• U.S. Person due to contractual requirements.

Responsibilities

• Own and execute multi-year category strategies for direct materials, equipment, services, and partnerships.
• Translate category strategies into end-to-end sourcing and contracting initiatives.
• Draft, structure and negotiate complex agreements and master/subcontracts.
• Partner with engineers, scientists, and program leaders to translate requirements into sourcing plans.
• Provide commercial leadership in supplier selection and negotiations for emerging tech.
• Develop should-cost and total-cost-of-ownership models to inform decisions.
• Establish supplier governance, scorecards, and quarterly business reviews.
• Identify and mitigate supply, cybersecurity, compliance, and continuity risks.

Skills

Category management

Negotiation

Sourcing

Vendor governance

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

Lead Category Management - 1011 at Quantinuum, US Broomfield, CO (remote). A lead-level full time position in the Materials Management team, listed under business operations.

We are seeking a Lead Category Management in our Broomfield, CO Location.

This individual-contributor role will serve as a trusted commercial advisor and category management subject-matter expert for high-value, high-complexity direct and indirect categories supporting advanced technical programs, government-funded research, and national laboratory relationships. The Lead will own category strategies and portfolio performance, lead complex contract negotiations, guide the category management team on contracting matters, and partner across engineering, R&D, operations, legal, finance, program management, quality, information security, and compliance to deliver resilient, compliant, and commercially sound supply solutions.

Quantinuum believes that employees work better, more efficiently and more collaboratively in close proximity to other employees, where ideas can be exchanged readily, and decisions can be made more quickly for the benefit of the Company and our customers. All employees should work at their assigned location; however, this role may offer the opportunity to work remotely up to 2 days per week, with approvals.

WE VALUE

• Experience working with government-funded research laboratories or similar institutions through research, user-facility, technical services, licensing, material transfer, collaboration, or other partner-specific agreement structures.
• Advanced degree or professional certification such as CPSM, C.P.M., PMP, CPCM, CFCM, CSCP, or equivalent.
• Strong commercial, financial, analytical, and risk-management acumen, with the ability to develop and defend executive-level recommendations.
• Experience negotiating intellectual property, technical data, confidentiality, cybersecurity, export-control, research and development, publication, or technology-licensing

Responsibilities

• Own and execute multi-year category strategies for critical direct materials, capital equipment, technical services, research partnerships, software, and other strategic spend portfolios.
• Translate category strategies into end-to-end sourcing initiatives for high-value, high-risk, and technically complex requirements, including market intelligence, supplier discovery, make-versus-buy analysis, RFIs, RFPs, RFQs, SOWs, proposal evaluation, award recommendations, and contracting.
• Structure, draft, and negotiate complex agreements, statements of work, master agreements, long-term agreements, subcontracts, amendments, and commercial terms covering price, intellectual property, data rights, warranties, indemnities, liability, acceptance, milestones, payment, change control, security, and termination.
• Partner early with engineers, scientists, technical program leaders, quality, manufacturing, facilities and IT, to translate complex requirements into executable sourcing and contracting strategies.
• Provide commercial leadership for supplier selection and negotiations involving emerging technologies, limited-source markets, long lead times, developmental scope, intellectual property, and significant schedule or performance risk.
• Develop should-cost, total-cost-of-ownership, scenario, and financial models to inform investment decisions and deliver sustainable value, working-capital improvement, and lifecycle cost reduction.
• Establish supplier segmentation, governance models, performance scorecards, quarterly business reviews, and development roadmaps for key suppliers, aligning supplier performance and improvement priorities with category objectives.
• Identify and mitigate supply, geopolitical, cybersecurity, compliance, financial, capacity, quality, and continuity risks through alternate sourcing, contractual protections, and contingency plans.
• Influence senior stakeholders and lead cross-functional decision forums, presenting clear recommendations, tradeoffs, risks, and outcomes to business and technical leadership.
• Provide guidance and subject-matter expertise to the category management team on category strategy, portfolio planning, supplier governance, sourcing execution, contract strategy, terms, risk, negotiation, and issue resolution.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree minimum
• Minimum of 8 years’ experience in category management, including ownership of category strategies, spend portfolios, supplier governance, and value-delivery initiatives, with additional experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, contracts, subcontracts, or a related commercial discipline.
• Minimum of 8 years’ experience leading complex, high-dollar negotiations and managing the full lifecycle of supplier agreements and subcontracts.
• Minimum of 8 years’ experience sourcing technically complex products or services
• Due to Contractual requirements, must be a U.S. Person defined as, U.S. citizen permanent resident or green card holder, workers granted asylum or refugee status