Senior Category Manager - HPC Infrastructure

NorthMark Strategies; Dallas (TX); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A strategic investment firm in Dallas, Texas, is seeking a Senior Category Manager for HPC Infrastructure. This senior leadership position involves managing a substantial annual spend of $500M–$1B+, focusing on advanced technology and supply chain strategy for high-performance computing and AI infrastructures. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in procurement leadership and a proven track record in managing large-scale infrastructure categories. Competitive compensation and growth opportunities are offered.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in category management or procurement.
• Proven experience with $500M–$1B+ in annual spend.
• Deep expertise in HPC and AI data center infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Lead the global category management strategy for HPC Infrastructure.
• Build and mentor a high‑performing category management team.
• Drive the end‑to‑end source‑to‑contract lifecycle.

Skills

Strategic sourcing

Procurement leadership

Supply chain management

Category management

Negotiation skills

Influencing executive stakeholders

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations, Engineering, or Business

Job description

NorthMark Strategies is a leading investment firm, combining capital, innovation, and engineering to drive long-term value. From operating complex businesses to backing breakthrough technologies, our mission is to build enduring businesses. Our team combines intelligent risk-taking, operational excellence, exceptional talent, and world‑class computing capacity to create shareholder value.

Our company offers a dynamic environment where individuals have the freedom to lead companies toward bold achievements by embracing innovation, leveraging technology, and fostering differentiated business strategies. Our values are Integrity, Ability, and Energy, and the company aims to hire individuals who possess those qualities.

At NorthMark Strategies, we believe the future isn’t something to hope for, it’s something to build. We don’t just invest, we create. Bringing together strategic insight and technical horsepower to deliver outcomes that endure.

The Position:

We are seeking a Senior Category Manager – HPC Infrastructure to lead the global sourcing, procurement, and supply chain strategy for end‑to‑end high‑performance computing (HPC) and AI data center infrastructure, including GPU and accelerator platforms, compute systems, rack‑scale solutions, high‑speed networking, and large‑scale storage architectures.

This is a senior leadership role with ownership of the full category lifecycle, responsibility for $500M–$1B+ in annual spend, and direct people management of a team of category managers and sourcing professionals. The role operates at the intersection of advanced technology, constrained global supply chains, and aggressive growth requirements, supporting some of the most sophisticated HPC and AI deployments in the industry.

The ideal candidate combines deep technical and commercial expertise in modern HPC infrastructure with a proven ability to build, mentor, and scale high‑performing procurement teams, influence executive stakeholders, and secure access to next‑generation technologies in capacity‑constrained markets.

Key Responsibilities

Category Strategy & Technology Leadership

• Own and drive the global category management strategy for HPC Infrastructure, spanning:
• GPU and accelerator platforms (latest‑generation GPUs, DPUs, AI accelerators)
• Compute systems and server platforms optimized for HPC and AI workloads
• Rack‑scale and integrated systems, including high‑density and liquid‑cooled designs
• High‑speed networking and interconnects (InfiniBand, Ethernet, optical, switching, NICs)
• Storage infrastructure (parallel file systems, NVMe, object and tiered storage)
• Lead technology road mapping and market intelligence, ensuring early visibility into emerging and next‑generation infrastructure and translating technology shifts into sourcing and investment strategies
• Serve as a senior advisor to infrastructure and engineering leadership on supply market dynamics, vendor roadmaps, and architectural tradeoffs

• Build, lead, and develop a high‑performing category management team, including hiring, onboarding, coaching, and performance management
• Establish clear category ownership, operating rhythms, and best practices across the team to drive consistency, scalability, and execution excellence
• Mentor team members on advanced negotiations, supplier strategy, cost modeling, and executive communication
• Foster a culture of data‑driven decision making, accountability, and continuous improvement

Sourcing & Commercial Execution

• Lead and oversee the end‑to‑end source‑to‑contract lifecycle across HPC infrastructure categories, including:

• Category market intelligence and supplier ecosystem strategy
• Supplier segmentation, allocation strategies, and capacity planning
• RFP/RFQ execution and complex commercial negotiations
• Contract structuring, execution, and lifecycle governance

• Develop and approve should‑cost models, TCO analyses, and competitive benchmarks to evaluate pricing, commercial terms, and supply strategies relative to industry peers
• Set commercial strategy for long‑term supply agreements, capacity reservations, and strategic partnerships with critical suppliers

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner closely with engineering, infrastructure, data center design, architecture, finance, legal, and operations to align sourcing strategies with technical roadmaps, deployment schedules, and capital plans
• Act as a primary procurement interface to executive stakeholders, providing clear insights on capacity risks, cost drivers, and supply constraints
• Enable rapid‑scale deployments by aligning procurement, factory integration, and logistics strategies with cluster‑level and rack‑scale build plans

Supply Chain Risk & Capacity Management

• Design and execute global supply chain strategies for highly constrained, long lead‑time infrastructure components, including GPUs, networking silicon, optics, storage media, and hardware
• Proactively identify and mitigate supply, capacity, geopolitical, and technology risks, including vendor concentration and roadmap dependencies
• Secure long‑term capacity commitments, allocation agreements, and delivery assurances to support aggressive growth trajectories

Financial & Supplier Performance Management

• Own and optimize $500M–$1B+ in annual category spend, balancing cost efficiency, scalability, resilience, and speed to deploy
• Drive supplier performance management, including capacity commitments, delivery reliability, quality, cost, and innovation alignment
• Influence suppliers to co‑invest in next‑generation infrastructure, advanced cooling solutions, and performance‑optimized designs

Organizational & Executive Leadership

• Operate effectively in highly complex, global, multi‑entity environments, coordinating across regions, business units, and legal entities
• Provide executive‑level reporting and recommendations on market conditions, technology inflection points, and supply chain risk posture
• Represent the organization externally in strategic supplier and industry engagements

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; strong preference for Supply Chain Management, Operations, Engineering, Business, or related fields
• 12+ years of experience in category management, strategic sourcing, procurement, or supply chain leadership
• Proven experience owning large‑scale infrastructure categories with $500M–$1B+ spend
• Deep expertise in HPC and AI data center infrastructure, including GPUs/accelerators, compute platforms, high‑speed networking, storage systems, and rack‑scale architectures
• Demonstrated people leadership experience, including building, managing, and developing teams
• Strong background in long lead‑time, high‑demand supply chain strategy and execution
• Proven success leading complex, high‑value commercial negotiations and enterprise‑level contracts
• Experience thriving in fast‑paced, high‑growth, and ambiguous environments
• Exceptional executive communication, stakeholder management, and influence skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Category management or supply chain certifications (CPSM, CSCP, CPM, CIPS, or equivalent)
• Familiarity with next‑generation GPU ecosystems, interconnect technologies, and advanced cooling architectures
• Proven success operating within matrixed, global, or multi‑entity organizations
• Strong analytical capabilities, including cost modeling, benchmarking, capacity forecasting, and market intelligence