Senior Category Manager, Metals & Raw Materials

CRUSOE; Arvada (CO); On-site; USD 120,000 - 145,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation and equity

Restricted Stock Units

Paid time off and holidays

Health, dental & vision insurance

HSA contributions

Parental leave

401(k) retirement plan

Commuter benefits

Job summary

Crusoe is seeking a Senior Category Manager, Metals & Raw Materials, to own upstream spend and input control for metals, structural steel, sheet metal, aluminum, copper, and electrical balance-of-plant components. The role spans Arvada and other hubs, blending commodity markets with fabrication and BOM analytics.

You will lead AVL vetting, negotiate MSAs, assess tolling and make/buy strategies, and drive TCO decisions with engineering and production teams to maximize value and resilience.

Qualifications

• 5–8+ years of strategic sourcing, supply chain, or category management in metals/structurals.
• Bachelor’s degree in Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• Working knowledge of metal alloys, MTRs, welding standards, tolerances, and cost breakdowns.
• Ability to read engineering drawings, GD&T, weld symbols, and electrical schematics with NEC/UL familiarity.
• Experience structuring MSAs and raw material indexation agreements; redlining commercial terms.
• Proficient in TCO modeling, make/buy studies, supplier scorecards, and RFQ/RFP execution.

Responsibilities

• Track global indices and cost drivers for base metals and copper; implement should-cost models and index-based pricing.
• Own the AVL across raw material suppliers; conduct shop-floor capability audits against specs.
• Apply category strategy frameworks to 12–24 month roadmaps linking enclosures to long-lead electrical equipment.
• Formulate forward-looking make/buy/toll strategies to optimize cost, schedule, and margins.
• Draft and negotiate MSAs, SLAs, and long-term agreements; redline buyer-adverse clauses.
• Maintain a risk register mapping single-sourcing, tariffs, and lead-time bottlenecks; qualify dual-sourcing paths.
• Collaborate with Eng, Production, and Supply Chain to evaluate substitutions to reduce unit cost without compromising performance.
• Develop pricing schedules, rebates, and lead-time matrices to enable smooth ERP release orders.

Skills

Strategic sourcing

Category management

Metals & materials

Contract negotiation

Risk management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Materials Science

Tools

Acumatica

NetSuite

SAP

Job description

Crusoe is on a mission to accelerate the abundance of energy and intelligence. As the only vertically integrated AI infrastructure company built from the ground up, we own and operate each layer of the stack - from electrons to tokens - to power the world's most ambitious AI workloads. When you join Crusoe, you join a team that is building the future, faster.

We're in the midst of the greatest industrial revolution of our time. The demand for AI compute is boundless, and power is a bottleneck. We're solving that - with an energy-first approach that makes AI infrastructure better for the world and faster for the people innovating with AI.

We're looking for problem-solving, opportunity-finding teammates with a sense of urgency, who believe in the scale of our ambition and thrive on a path not fully paved - people who want to grow their careers alongside a team of experts across energy, manufacturing, data center construction, and cloud services.

If you want to do the most meaningful work of your career, help our customers and partners advance their AI strategies, and be part of a high-performing team that believes in each other, come build with us at Crusoe.

About This Role:

The Senior Category Manager, Metals & Raw Materials owns Crusoe’s foundational spend categories end-to-end at the strategic layer. In this role, your primary focal point is establishing upstream control over raw material inputs and metal fabrication—including structural carbon and stainless steel, sheet metal, aluminum extrusion, copper busbars, and specialized modular enclosures - while integrating critical electrical balance-of-plant components (switchgear, Power Distribution Centers [PDCs], transformers, and cable/wire).

Operating across Crusoe’s key manufacturing and deployment hubs (including Arvada, Brighton, Tulsa, and Ponchatoula), you will bridge the gap between global commodity markets and finished sub-assemblies. Because these categories sit at the intersection of volatile commodity cycles, strategic custom fabrications, and bottleneck electrical components, you will combine financial hedging acumen and technical vetting (welding standards, metal forming, metallurgical certs, tolerances, and NEC/UL compliance) with commercial rigor.

This role will be onsite at our Arvada, Colorado location.

What You’ll Be Working On:

• Raw Material & Commodity Intelligence: Track global indices and cost drivers across base and refined metals (Hot-Rolled Coil/HRC, cold-rolled sheet, structural shapes, aluminum, and copper). Implement should-cost models, scrap-clawback clauses, and index-based pricing mechanisms to optimize mill and metal service center spend.

• Upstream Supply Chain & AVL Vetting: Own the Approved Vendor List (AVL) across raw material distributors, metal service centers, and custom contract fabricators. Conduct rigorous shop-floor capability audits - evaluating laser cutting, CNC forming, robotic welding (AWS compliance), stamping, powder coating, and dimensional tolerances against engineering specifications.

• Integrated Category Strategy (Metals & Balance of Plant): Apply framework methodologies (e.g., Kraljic Matrix) to govern a 12-24 month category roadmap that links structural enclosures and frames directly to long-lead electrical equipment (switchgear, breakers, busway, and industrial cable). Balance strategic supply resilience with aggressive commercial leverage.

• Make vs. Buy & Tolling Strategies: Formulate forward-looking make/buy/toll strategies. Evaluate the commercial feasibility of purchasing mill-direct steel and copper for consigned \"toll\" processing by external fabricators vs. buying turnkey assemblies, maximizing margin capture and schedule predictability.

• Commercial Negotiations & Buyer-Favorable Contracting: Draft, structure, and negotiate Master Supply Agreements (MSAs), Service Level Agreements (SLAs), and long-term reservation agreements. Redline buyer-adverse clauses around raw material surcharges, delivery milestones, liquidated damages, liability caps, and force majeure.

• Proactive Risk Mitigation & Multi-Sourcing: Maintain an active Category Risk Register mapping single-source exposures, geopolitical/tariff risks, mill outage liabilities, and extended lead-time bottlenecks (particularly on high-grade electrical steels and long-lead switchgear). Execute qualifying dual-sourcing roadmaps across domestic and nearshore suppliers.

• Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) & Value Engineering: Partner closely with Mechanical, Electrical, and Systems Engineering & Production to evaluate material substitutions (e.g., aluminum vs. copper, structural tube vs. open channel, alternative sheet gauges) to reduce unit cost and scrap rates without compromising structural integrity or thermal/electrical performance.

• Cross-Functional Execution Frameworks: Develop clean standing commercial pricing schedules, rebate tiers, and lead-time matrices that empower Material Planners and Tactical Buyers to execute release orders smoothly in the ERP.

What You’ll Bring to the Team:

• Experience: 5-8+ years of dedicated strategic sourcing, supply chain, or category management experience with a primary emphasis on raw metals, structural steel, sheet metal fabrication, or heavy mechanical equipment, accompanied by exposure to industrial electrical systems.

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Supply Chain Management, Business, or equivalent practical experience.

• Commodity & Metallurgical Knowledge: Working understanding of metal alloy specifications, mill test reports (MTRs), metal forming processes, welding/finishing standards, and the cost breakdown of raw material vs. conversion cost vs. logistics.

• Technical Breadth: Ability to interpret engineering drawings, geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T), structural weld symbols, and electrical balance-of-plant schematics (including baseline familiarity with NEC and UL standards).

• Contract Structuring & Redlining: Proven hands-on experience structuring comprehensive MSAs, raw material indexation agreements (e.g., CRU, LME, Fastmarkets), and redlining complex commercial terms.

• Strategic Methodologies: Advanced proficiency in total cost of ownership (TCO) modeling, make/buy trade studies, supplier scorecarding, and formal RFP/RFQ execution.

Bonus Points:

• Direct experience managing raw metal service center agreements, mill-direct reservation programs, or toll-processing arrangements.

• Background auditing metal fabrication shops, CNC machining cells, or switchgear manufacturing plants.

• Hands‑on ERP/MRP experience (Acumatica, NetSuite, SAP) and expertise structuring complex multi-level Bills of Materials (BOMs).

• Direct domain background in data center infrastructure, modular enclosures, energy generation, or high-power industrial assets.

Benefits:

• Competitive compensation and equity packages

• Restricted Stock Units

• Paid time off, paid holidays & leave of absence programs

• Comprehensive health, dental & vision insurance

• Employer contributions to HSA account

• Paid parental leave

• Paid life insurance, short-term and long-term disability

• Professional development & tuition reimbursement

• Mental health & wellness support

• Commuter benefits (parking & transit)

• Cell phone stipend

• 401(k) Retirement plan with company match up to 4% of salary

• Volunteer time off

• Global travel insurance & emergency assistance

• Daily meals allowance

• Additional perks & programs specific to location

Compensation:

Compensation will be paid in the range of $120,000 - $145,000 + Bonus + Restricted Stock Units included in all offers. Compensation to be determined by the applicant’s education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.

Crusoe is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, citizenship, marital status, sex/gender, sexual preference/ orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, national origin, or any other status protected by law or regulation.