Senior Category Sourcing Manager(AMER)

Nscale; Seattle (WA); Remote; USD 130,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Remote-first team

Flexible work schedule

Career progression plan

Job summary

Nscale is seeking an experienced Senior Category Sourcing Manager to lead strategic sourcing for data center infrastructure equipment and materials, with a CAPEX focus on power and cooling. You will own category strategy end-to-end, manage supplier relationships, and negotiate favorable terms to support rapid growth of GPU capacity across the Americas.

You will lead bids, evaluate proposals, and collaborate with Legal, finance, and operations to ensure value, quality, and risk controls.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of progressive experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, or category management.
• 2+ years of experience sourcing power and cooling equipment for data center construction or large-scale projects.
• Proven track record negotiating complex, high-value framework agreements.
• Strong understanding of RFx methodologies for construction and equipment procurement.
• Experience with supplier qualification, onboarding, and performance management for OEMs and equipment suppliers.
• Knowledge of electrical and mechanical systems in data center environments.

Responsibilities

• Identify, evaluate, and onboard new suppliers.
• Lead negotiations for master framework agreements and volume purchase agreements.
• Design and execute competitive bidding processes (RFx) for data center equipment and services.
• Develop category strategies aligned with data center roadmap and business objectives.
• Collaborate with data center operations, engineering, finance, and leadership to inform procurement decisions.

Skills

Strategic sourcing

Supplier management

Contract negotiation

RFx processes

Stakeholder collaboration

Analytics

Negotiation skills

Education

MBA or MS in Business or Supply Chain

Tools

E-sourcing platforms

Contract management systems

ERP

Job description

About Nscale Nscale is the vertically integrated AI cloud engineered for AI. We own and operate the full stack — energy, data centres, GPU superclusters, orchestration, and AI services — delivering high-performance infrastructure to AI-native companies, enterprises, and governments across Europe and the US. We are deploying GPU capacity at hyperscale, operating some of the densest, most advanced AI infrastructure in the world.

About Nscale Nscale is the vertically integrated AI cloud engineered for AI. We own and operate the full stack — energy, data centres, GPU superclusters, orchestration, and AI services — delivering high-performance infrastructure to AI-native companies, enterprises, and governments across Europe and the US. We are deploying GPU capacity at hyperscale, operating some of the densest, most advanced AI infrastructure in the world. At Nscale, our Supply Chain and Procurement team plays a critical role in shaping supply strategy, securing continuity of supply, and enabling the company's growth through data-led decision-making. We thrive on a culture of relentless innovation, ownership, and accountability, where every team member takes pride in their work and drives it with excellence and urgency. As an Nscaler, you'll build trust through openness and transparency, where everyone is inspired to do their best work. If you join our team, you'll be contributing to building the technology that powers the future.

About The Role

We are seeking an experienced Senior Category Sourcing Manager to lead strategic sourcing for data center infrastructure equipment and materials, with a focus on capital (CAPEX) categories such as power and cooling. This role is critical to building and managing supplier relationships, negotiating favorable commercial terms, and running competitive procurement processes that support our data center construction and growth objectives.

You will own category strategy end-to-end: using spend and market insights to identify opportunities, leading supplier selection and negotiations, and putting scalable agreements in place that improve cost, service levels, and risk posture as the business grows.

What You'll be Doing

Supplier Relationship Management

• Identify, evaluate, and onboard new suppliers.
• Develop and maintain strategic partnerships with key suppliers to ensure supply continuity, quality standards, and competitive pricing.
• Build a diverse and resilient supplier base to mitigate supply chain risk.

Contract Negotiation & Management

• Lead negotiations for master framework agreements and volume purchase agreements with suppliers.
• Structure commercial terms that optimize total cost of ownership while maintaining quality and service level requirements.
• Ensure contract compliance and manage amendments, renewals, and extensions.
• Collaborate with Legal and leadership to finalize contract terms and conditions.

Competitive Bid Process Management

• Design and execute competitive bidding processes (RFx) for data center infrastructure equipment and services.
• Develop comprehensive bid documents, evaluation criteria, and selection methodologies.
• Coordinate cross-functional evaluation teams to assess technical and commercial proposals.
• Present recommendations to stakeholders and leadership based on thorough analysis.

Strategic Sourcing & Category Management

• Develop and implement category strategies aligned with business objectives and the data center roadmap.
• Conduct market research and analysis to identify trends, pricing dynamics, and emerging technologies.
• Drive cost savings initiatives and value engineering opportunities.
• Establish and track key performance indicators (KPIs) for the category.

Stakeholder Collaboration

• Partner with data center operations, engineering, finance, and leadership to understand requirements and priorities.
• Provide market insights and supplier intelligence to inform procurement decisions.
• Support budget planning and forecasting activities.
• Communicate procurement strategies, timelines, and outcomes to stakeholders.

About You

• 6+ years of progressive experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, or category management.
• 2+ years of experience sourcing power and cooling equipment for data center construction, critical facilities, or large-scale industrial projects.
• Proven track record of successfully negotiating complex, high-value framework agreements.
• Strong understanding of competitive bidding processes and RFx methodologies for construction and equipment procurement.
• Experience with supplier qualification, onboarding, and performance management for OEMs and equipment suppliers.
• Knowledge of electrical and mechanical systems in data center environments.
• Understanding of data center construction timelines, equipment lead times, and project delivery requirements.
• Excellent analytical skills, with the ability to evaluate total cost of ownership.
• Strong negotiation and communication skills.
• Proficiency with procurement systems and tools (e-sourcing platforms, contract management systems, ERP).

Nice to Have

• Advanced degree (MBA, MS in Business or Supply Chain) or professional certifications (CPSM, CIPS, CPM).
• Experience in hyperscale data center construction or mission-critical facility builds.
• Deep technical knowledge of power distribution systems (medium voltage, low voltage, backup power) and cooling technologies (air-cooled, liquid-cooled, evaporative cooling).
• Experience with construction project procurement, including equipment sequencing and staged deliveries.
• Understanding of commissioning requirements and factory acceptance testing (FAT) for critical equipment.

Why this role matters

Power and cooling equipment are among the largest capital investments and longest-lead items in every data center we build. The agreements, supplier relationships, and category strategies you put in place will directly determine how quickly and cost-effectively Nscale can bring new GPU capacity online across the Americas.

What We Can Offer You

• Highly competitive package, including base salary and equity, with reviews every 12 months.
• Join one of the fastest-growing tech startups: your chance to push boundaries, collaborate with brilliant minds, and make your mark on cutting-edge AI.
• Expect a dynamic progression plan tailored to your ambitions. Grow by trying new things, leading, challenging the status quo, and owning your impact, always with our full support.
• Human-first flexibility. We treat you as humans first. Our flexible workplace trusts Nscalers to deliver, giving you the autonomy to shape your day around life's moments.
• Join our thriving remote-first team. Geography is no barrier to impact or connection. We build seamless virtual collaboration, empowering you wherever you work.

Equal Opportunities Statement

At Nscale, we are committed to fostering an inclusive, diverse, and equitable workplace. We believe that a variety of perspectives enrich our work environment, and we encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds, experiences, and abilities. We strongly encourage applications from people of colour, the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, neurodivergent people, parents, carers, and people from lower socio-economic backgrounds. If there's anything we can do to accommodate your specific situation, please let us know.

Salary Range

$130,000—$160,000 USD

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