Senior Category Manager, Aerospace & Defense

Rocketdyne; Florida; On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Rocketdyne in Jupiter, FL is seeking a Category Manager to develop and execute category strategies for direct-material commodities such as aerospace fasteners, composites, valves, turbomachinery hardware, and raw materials. You will analyze market trends, supplier capabilities, and industry developments to identify competitive sourcing solutions.

You will lead complex sourcing and supplier-transition initiatives, partner with buyers, Programs, Engineering, Quality, and suppliers to address

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 9+ years of related experience, or graduate degree with 7+ years, or 13+ years in lieu of a degree.
• Experience in category management, strategic sourcing, supply chain management, procurement, or related discipline.
• Experience supporting direct-material or hardware categories in aerospace/defense or other technical industries.
• Experience developing category or commodity strategies informed by market research, supplier capabilities, and business requirements.
• Ability to lead large, complex sourcing or supplier-transition initiatives with minimal oversight.
• Experience identifying, evaluating, and recommending alternative suppliers to address performance or supply-continuity concerns.
• Strong ability to assess sourcing alternatives across cost, quality, delivery, risk, and technical capability.
• Proven communication skills and ability to influence stakeholders across organizational boundaries.
• Proven analytical, problem-solving, project-management, negotiation, and business communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute category strategies for assigned direct-material commodities based on business needs, market conditions, and supplier capabilities.
• Serve as category expert, providing market intelligence, supply-base analysis, and sourcing recommendations.
• Identify industry trends, emerging technologies, and new suppliers.
• Lead complex sourcing, supplier-recovery, and transition initiatives with minimal oversight.
• Partner with buyers, Programs, Engineering, Quality, and Operations to identify and qualify alternative sources when needed.
• Evaluate sourcing alternatives based on cost, quality, delivery, capacity, technical capability, and risk.
• Influence stakeholders to implement category strategies and supplier-transition plans.
• Implement category and process improvements that yield measurable business results.

Skills

Category management

Strategic sourcing

Supply chain management

Procurement

Analytical skills

Negotiation

Stakeholder communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree or higher

Tools

ERP systems

Spend analytics tools

MS Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Rocketdyne in Jupiter, FL is seeking a Category Manager to develop and execute category strategies for direct-material commodities such as aerospace fasteners, composites, valves, turbomachinery hardware, and raw materials. You will analyze market trends, supplier capabilities, and industry developments to identify competitive sourcing solutions.

You will lead complex sourcing and supplier-transition initiatives, partner with buyers, Programs, Engineering, Quality, and suppliers to address