Principal Supplier Strategist / Small Business Advocate

Leidos; Atlanta (GA); On-site; USD 116,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Leidos Defense Sector in Huntsville, AL seeks a Principal Supplier Strategist / Small Business Advocate to shape the supplier ecosystem supporting critical defense programs and growth. You will lead supplier strategy, strategic sourcing, long-term agreements, and small business engagement across Programs of Record.

Reporting to the VP, you will translate spend data into executive insights, build cross-functional partnerships, and drive affordability, resiliency, and mission readiness through

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 12+ years of relevant experience, Master's with 10+ years, or equivalent experience.
• Active and current Secret clearance.
• Significant experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, supplier management, subcontracts, contracts, or supply chain within defense, federal, aerospace, or another regulated environment.
• Strong knowledge of FAR/DFARS, government small business requirements, and subcontracting compliance.
• Demonstrated success developing supplier strategies and negotiating complex, high-value or long-term supplier agreements.
• Experience with spend analysis, supplier segmentation, performance management, risk assessment, and supply base optimization.
• Strong analytical, negotiation, executive communication, and cross-functional leadership skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute Defense Sector supplier strategies supporting priority programs, Programs of Record, and strategic captures.
• Analyze cross-program spend, demand, supplier performance, and risk to identify strategic partners, consolidation opportunities, critical dependencies, and new supplier capabilities.
• Lead strategic sourcing initiatives that leverage Sector buying power, strengthen supplier partnerships, increase competition, and optimize the supply base.
• Negotiate strategic and long-term supplier agreements that improve affordability, capacity, performance, supply continuity, and innovation.
• Partner across Programs, Business Development, Contracts, Engineering, Manufacturing, Finance, and Supply Chain to integrate supplier strategy early in captures, proposals, and program execution.
• Lead Defense Sector small business strategy, including supplier development, Small Business Subcontracting Plans, FAR/DFARS compliance, and required government reporting.
• Translate supplier and spend data into executive-level insights and actions that drive savings, strengthen performance, reduce risk, and support growth.

Skills

Strategic sourcing

Procurement

Supplier management

Negotiation

Cross-functional leadership

Spend analysis

Risk assessment

Executive communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Tools

Costpoint

Job description

Description

Principal Supplier Strategist / Small Business Advocate

Huntsville, AL

Clearance: Secret

Leidos Defense Sector is seeking a Principal Supplier Strategist / Small Business Advocate to shape the supplier ecosystem supporting critical defense programs and future growth.

Reporting directly to the Vice President, Material and Procurement Operations, this role will lead Sector supplier strategy, strategic sourcing, long-term agreements, supply base optimization, and small business engagement. The successful candidate will connect supplier capabilities and cross-program demand to improve competitiveness, affordability, resiliency, and mission readiness.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute Defense Sector supplier strategies supporting priority programs, Programs of Record, and strategic captures.
• Analyze cross-program spend, demand, supplier performance, and risk to identify strategic partners, consolidation opportunities, critical dependencies, and new supplier capabilities.
• Lead strategic sourcing initiatives that leverage Sector buying power, strengthen supplier partnerships, increase competition, and optimize the supply base.
• Negotiate strategic and long-term supplier agreements that improve affordability, capacity, performance, supply continuity, and innovation.
• Partner across Programs, Business Development, Contracts, Engineering, Manufacturing, Finance, and Supply Chain to integrate supplier strategy early in captures, proposals, and program execution.
• Lead Defense Sector small business strategy, including supplier development, Small Business Subcontracting Plans, FAR/DFARS compliance, and required government reporting.
• Translate supplier and spend data into executive-level insights and actions that drive savings, strengthen performance, reduce risk, and support growth.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 12+ years of relevant experience, Master's with 10+ years, or equivalent experience.
• Active and current Secret clearance.
• Significant experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, supplier management, subcontracts, contracts, or supply chain within defense, federal, aerospace, or another regulated environment.
• Strong knowledge of FAR/DFARS, government small business requirements, and subcontracting compliance.
• Demonstrated success developing supplier strategies and negotiating complex, high-value or long-term supplier agreements.
• Experience with spend analysis, supplier segmentation, performance management, risk assessment, and supply base optimization.
• Strong analytical, negotiation, executive communication, and cross-functional leadership skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Preference is for individual to reside in the North Alabama Area or surrounding area.
• Experience supporting DoW Programs of Record, major captures, proposals, or production programs.
• Knowledge of CPSR, eSRS, CMMC/NIST requirements, and Small Business Subcontracting Plans/reporting.
• Experience with Costpoint, supplier analytics, dashboards, or supply base risk assessments.
• Demonstrated success leveraging buying power and supplier strategies to reduce cost, increase competition, and improve affordability.
• Relevant defense technology supply chain experience and/or professional certification such as CPSM, CFCM, APICS, PMP, Lean, or Six Sigma.

The Opportunity

This high-visibility role provides the opportunity to shape supplier strategy across the Defense Sector and directly influence senior leadership decisions. The role will leverage Sector buying power, strengthen strategic supplier partnerships, expand small business participation, and build a more competitive and resilient supply base. As the strategy matures, the successful candidate will have the opportunity to expand the role's scope and impact in support of Leidos growth and mission execution.

Defense Supply Chain

If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo - because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 - and moving faster than anyone else dares.

Pay Range

Pay Range $116,350.00 - $210,325.00

Pay Range for this job level is a general guideline onlyand not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.

About Leidos

Leidos is an industry and technology leader serving government and commercial customers with smarter, more efficient digital and mission innovations. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with 47,000 global employees, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $16.7 billion for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2025. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

Pay and Benefits

Pay and benefits are fundamental to any career decision. That's why we craft compensation packages that reflect the importance of the work we do for our customers. Employment benefits include competitive compensation, Health and Wellness programs, Income Protection, Paid Leave and Retirement. More details are available at www.leidos.com/careers/pay-benefits.

Securing Your Data

Beware of fake employment opportunities using Leidos' name. Leidos will never ask you to provide payment-related information during any part of the employment application process (i.e., ask you for money), nor will Leidos ever advance money as part of the hiring process (i.e., send you a check or money order before doing any work). Further, Leidos will only communicate with you through emails that are generated by the Leidos.com automated system - never from free commercial services (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail) or via WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. If you received an email purporting to be from Leidos that asks for payment-related information or any other personal information (e.g., about you or your previous employer), and you are concerned about its legitimacy, please make us aware immediately by emailing us at [e-mail].

If you believe you are the victim of a scam, contact your local law enforcement and report the incident to U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Commitment to Non-Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, ethnicity, age, national origin, citizenship, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, family structure, marital status, ancestry, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Leidos will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with relevant laws.