SaaS and Vendor Manager

Socket.dev; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits: medical, dental, and.

401k with company match

Relocation assistance

Job summary

CHAOS Industries is seeking a hands-on SaaS and Vendor Manager to own governance of our vendor ecosystem, from sourcing and contract negotiation through ongoing performance, risk, and financial oversight. You'll build frameworks that give leadership visibility into vendor risk, vendor performance, and the financial return each vendor delivers to the business.

You'll report to the IT/Cybersecurity Program Director and work with corporate procurement and Business Technology to align sourcing

Qualifications

• Must obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in a related field.
• Direct experience managing vendor relationships (consulting, implementation, managed services, or support).
• Negotiated contracts, SLAs, and KPIs with technology service providers.
• Led or contributed to RFP/RFI processes for services.
• Strong financial acumen including cost analysis and value tracking.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.

Responsibilities

• Oversee vendor relationships across consulting, implementation, managed services, and support.
• Develop sourcing strategies to reduce costs and increase value.
• Define vendor performance KPIs and monitor outcomes.
• Ensure contractual obligations are met and procurement policies followed.
• Provide dashboards and reports to leadership on vendor performance.
• Engage stakeholders to align vendors with business strategy.
• Support workforce planning with internal and external labor.

Skills

Vendor governance

Contract negotiation

RFP/RFI leadership

Stakeholder management

Financial analysis

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Tableau

Power BI

Job description

SaaS and Vendor Manager

El Segundo, California, United States

CHAOS Industries is redefining modern defense with a multi-product portfolio that gives the ultimate advantage—domain dominance. The company's products are powered by Coherent Distributed Networks (CDN™), empowering warfighters, commercial air operators, and border protection teams to act faster, adapt rapidly, and stay ahead of evolving threats.

CHAOS Industries was founded in 2022 and has raised a total of $1 billion in funding from leading investors, including 8VC, Accel, and Valor Equity Partners. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, with offices in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, and London. For more information, please visit www.chaosinc.com.

Role Overview

CHAOS Industries is seeking a hands-on Saas and Vendor Manager to own governance of our vendor ecosystem, from sourcing and contract negotiation through ongoing performance, risk, and financial oversight. You'll build the frameworks that give leadership real visibility into vendor risk, vendor performance, and the financial return each vendor delivers to the business.

This role reports to the IT/Cybersecurity Program Director. You'll manage vendor relationships spanning, including consulting, implementation, managed services, and support, partnering closely with corporate procurement and Business Technology (BT) stakeholders to keep sourcing decisions, contractual commitments, and delivery outcomes aligned to CHAOS Industries' objectives.

Responsibilities

Vendor Governance & Strategy

• Oversee all aspects of vendor relationships, including consulting, implementation, managed services, and support services.


• Lead strategic oversight and performance governance of enterprise vendors, ensuring alignment with business objectives.


• Serve as the primary interface between vendor leadership, IT service owners, and stakeholders.


• Develop and execute sourcing strategies that reduce costs while increasing value.


• Cost management by tracking spend against budget, identifying consolidation opportunities, benchmarking pricing against market rates

Performance & Service Delivery

• Define and monitor vendor performance expectations and KPIs.


• Monitor vendor performance, manage escalations, and drive continuous improvement in service delivery.


• Drive accountability and cross-functional remediation of performance gaps.


• Ensure vendor delivery supports reliability, user experience, and business continuity objectives.


• Reconcile IT department credit card transactions weekly against approved purchase requests, open POs, and budget lines, resolving discrepancies

Sourcing, Contracts & Procurement

• Assist procurement in the negotiation of contracts, SLAs, and KPIs with service providers to ensure alignment with company goals.


• Assist corporate procurement and lead stakeholders through RFPs, RFIs, and other procurement processes for services.


• Enforce contractual obligations and ensure alignment between delivery execution and agreed terms.


• Ensure compliance with all relevant procurement policies.

Risk & Compliance

• Assess and manage vendor cyber, operational, financial, and reputational risk.


• Identify and mitigate risks associated with service vendors, including financial, compliance, and operational risks.

Insights, Reporting & Financial Oversight

• Develop and maintain dashboards/scorecards for the IT/Cybersecurity Leadership to track vendor performance and inform decisions.


• Regularly review and report on vendor performance metrics against set benchmarks, providing regular reporting to the Program Director.


• Translate analytics into actionable insights; identify systemic risks, root causes, and improvement opportunities.


• Use data-driven insights to influence vendor selection and management strategies.


• Partner with Finance and Procurement to manage vendor financial performance and discipline.

Stakeholder Engagement & Workforce Strategy

• Cultivate strong, strategic partnerships with key vendors to enhance business capabilities and innovation.


• Facilitate communication between vendors, Business Technology (BT) teams, and other stakeholders to ensure project success and alignment with business strategy.


• Collaborate with BT stakeholders to shape an effective workforce mix of internal team members and professional services labor.


• Lead vendor business reviews and maintain strong cross-functional partnerships.


• Perform other related duties as required and assigned.

Minimum Requirements

• Must be able to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.


• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in Business, Technology, Supply Chain, or a related field.


• Has directly managed vendor relationships such as consulting, implementation, managed services, or support.


• Has negotiated or materially contributed to negotiating contracts, SLAs, and KPIs with technology service providers.


• Has led or substantially supported RFP/RFI processes or other formal procurement activities.


• Working knowledge of commercial agreements and contractual governance.


• Strong financial acumen, including cost analysis and value tracking.


• Excellent communication, negotiation, and influence skills, with experience managing escalations across vendor and internal stakeholders.

Preferred Requirements

• Experience with data visualization tools such as Tableau or Power BI.


• Experience shaping workforce strategies that blend internal staff with or contract labor.

Why CHAOS?

• Health Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision benefits 100% paid for by the company


• Additional benefits: 401k (+ 50% company match up to 6% of pay), FSA, HSA, life insurance, and more


• Our Perks: Free daily lunch, ‘No meeting Fridays’, unlimited PTO, casual dress code


• Compensation Components: Competitive base salaries, generous pre-IPO stock option grants, relocation assistance, and (coming soon!) annual bonuses


• Team Growth: 350 employees and counting across 5 global offices

Base Salary Range: $130,000 - 180,000