Lead Category Manager: Rare Earths & Critical Minerals

L3Harris Technologies, Inc.; Palm Bay (FL); On-site; USD 101,000 - 187,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health and disability insurance

401(k) match

Flexible spending accounts

Employee assistance program (EAP)

Education assistance

Parental leave

Paid time off

Company-paid holidays

Job summary

L3Harris Technologies, Inc. is seeking a Lead Category Manager to drive multi-year sourcing strategies for rare earths and critical minerals, ensuring cost reductions, supply continuity, and risk mitigation across the supply base.

This role partners with engineering, R&D, quality, and operations to align procurement with product roadmaps and regulatory requirements. Based in a multi-location environment (Palm Bay or other U.S.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree and a minimum of 9 years of prior relevant experience; Or, Graduate Degree and a minimum of 7 years of prior related experience; Or, in lieu of a degree, a minimum of 13 years of prior related experience.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute multi-year category strategies focusing on rare earths and critical minerals to drive cost reduction, supply continuity, risk mitigation, and compliance.
• Serve as the category SME, partnering with internal stakeholders to align sourcing strategies with business objectives, technical requirements, and product roadmaps.
• Monitor market conditions, supplier capabilities, geopolitical risks, trade regulations, and emerging technologies to inform category strategy and sourcing decisions.
• Lead supplier diversification, strategic negotiations, and long-term agreements to strengthen supply resilience and maximize enterprise value.
• Influence cross-functional teams and suppliers to drive design-to-value ideation, joint process improvement, and enhanced innovation.
• Develop market insights through research and data, industry developments, supply/demand dynamics, emerging technologies, and leading-edge practices.
• Drive supplier risk management, traceability, and due diligence to ensure compliance with sourcing restrictions, import/export controls, and regulatory requirements.
• Manage strategic supplier relationships, performance reviews, and escalations to improve accountability, quality, service, and delivery.
• Apply procurement levers and analytics such as supplier rationalization, should-cost modeling, make-vs.-buy, and inventory optimization to deliver value.
• Partner cross-functionally with engineering, R&D, quality, legal, and operations to support innovation, NPI execution, and overall category performance.
• Assess supplier and platform risks, develop appropriate contingency plans, and drive inclusion into the overall decision-making process

Skills

Analytical skills

Negotiation

Communication

Cross-functional leadership

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

Graduate Degree

Job description

L3Harris Technologies, Inc. is seeking a Lead Category Manager to drive multi-year sourcing strategies for rare earths and critical minerals, ensuring cost reductions, supply continuity, and risk mitigation across the supply base.

This role partners with engineering, R&D, quality, and operations to align procurement with product roadmaps and regulatory requirements. Based in a multi-location environment (Palm Bay or other U.S.