Senior Manager, Strategic Sourcing

CesiumAstro, Inc.; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Health, dental, vision benefits

HSA and FSA

Retirement plans

Job summary

CesiumAstro in Austin, TX seeks a Senior Manager of Strategic Sourcing to lead category strategies, supplier selection, and long‑term agreements across programs. You will partner with Planning, Procurement, Engineering, and Finance to align sourcing with commitments.

The role requires expert strategic sourcing, supplier economics, and negotiations, plus experience building and guiding a high‑performing team in a fast‑paced, space‑tech environment.

Qualifications

• Experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, and category management.
• Ability to develop supply strategies and negotiation plans.
• Strong analytical and decision‑making skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead category management across business areas.
• Establish priorities, resources, and performance expectations.
• Develop sourcing professionals through workforce planning and coaching.
• Develop strategies for critical commodities and supplier categories.
• Direct RFQ/RFP processes, evaluations, and negotiations.
• Guide make/buy analyses and sourcing decisions.
• Evaluate supplier capabilities and supply risks.
• Establish long-term sourcing agreements and pricing.
• Develop dual-source and localization strategies.
• Establish governance, metrics, and reporting for sourcing.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Sourcing strategy

Vendor negotiation

Cross-functional collaboration

MS Office proficiency

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Master's degree in related field

PhD in related field

Tools

SAP

Oracle

Microsoft Dynamics

NetSuite

Acumatica

SAP Ariba

Coupa

JAGGAER

Power BI

Tableau

Microsoft Project

Smartsheet

Jira

Job description

Please Note: To conform with the United States Government Space Technology Export Regulations, the applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., conditional resident, asylee or refugee (protected individuals as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

At CesiumAstro, we are developers and pioneers of out-of-the-box communication systems for satellites, UAVs, launch vehicles, and other space and airborne platforms. We take pride in our dynamic and cross-functional work environment, which allows us to learn, develop, and engage across our organization. If you are looking for hands‑on, interactive, and autonomous work, CesiumAstro is the place for you. We are actively seeking passionate, collaborative, energetic, and forward‑thinking individuals to join our team.

We are looking to add a Senior Manager, Strategic Sourcing to our team. In this role you will lead the strategic sourcing function responsible for category and commodity strategies, supplier selection, commercial negotiations, and long‑term supply agreements across development and production programs. This role establishes sourcing priorities, manages resources, develops sourcing professionals, and oversees complex sourcing activities that support cost competitiveness, supplier capacity, and supply continuity. The Senior Manager evaluates enterprise demand, supplier capabilities, market conditions, and sourcing risks to develop supply strategies that strengthen operational performance and support business objectives.

This position requires an experienced supply chain leader with extensive knowledge of strategic sourcing, category management, supplier economics, and commercial negotiations. The Senior Manager partners cross‑functionally with Planning, Procurement, Subcontracts, Supplier Management, Engineering, Program Management, Finance, Supplier Quality, and executive leadership to address complex sourcing challenges, strengthen supplier relationships, and align sourcing strategies with program commitments and organizational priorities.

JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead strategic sourcing teams responsible for category management, commodity strategies, supplier evaluations, and commercial sourcing activities across business areas.
• Establish functional priorities, operating plans, resource requirements, and performance expectations that support consistent sourcing execution and organizational objectives.
• Develop sourcing professionals through workforce planning, coaching, performance management, succession planning, and professional development.
• Develop sourcing strategies for critical commodities, technologies, and supplier categories based on enterprise demand, spend, market conditions, supplier capacity, and business requirements.
• Direct competitive sourcing activities involving requests for quotation/proposal (RFQ/RFP), supplier evaluations, source‑selection recommendations, commercial negotiations, and long‑term agreements.
• Guide make/buy analyses and sourcing decisions involving internal capabilities, supplier economics, cost, schedule, quality, capital investment, intellectual property, and scalability.
• Evaluate supplier capabilities, production capacity, quality performance, market conditions, and supply risks to determine sourcing priorities and mitigation approaches.
• Establish long‑term sourcing arrangements, volume pricing, capacity reservations, and supply agreements that support demand forecasts, material availability, and business growth.
• Develop dual‑source, second‑source, localization, and alternative sourcing strategies to mitigate supply disruptions and reduce dependence on constrained or high‑risk suppliers.
• Establish sourcing governance practices, category management standards, performance metrics, and reporting processes that support consistent sourcing decisions and execution.
• Partner with Procurement, Subcontracts, Supplier Management, Supplier Quality, and other functions to align sourcing strategies with supplier performance, purchase agreements, and operational requirements.
• Advance sourcing capabilities through process standardization, spend analysis, system enhancements, supplier market intelligence, and continuous improvement initiatives.

JOB REQUIREMENTS AND MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in supply chain management, business administration, engineering, finance, operations management, or a related field with 9–11 years of related experience, Master's degree in a related field with 7–9 years of related experience, or PhD in a related field with 5–7 years of related experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, category management, commodity management, supplier management, or a related supply chain discipline.
• 2–5 years of leadership or management experience leading strategic sourcing, procurement, category management, or related supply chain professionals.
• Advanced knowledge of strategic sourcing, category management, and procurement, with deep expertise in commodity strategies, supplier negotiations, and commercial sourcing practices.
• Comprehensive understanding of supplier economics, cost drivers, market analysis, total cost of ownership, capacity planning, and commercial sourcing requirements.
• Applied expertise in competitive sourcing, supplier evaluations, complex negotiations, long‑term agreements, and source‑selection methodologies.
• Extensive experience developing sourcing strategies, evaluating supplier capabilities, and addressing complex supply chain risks across multiple commodities and business functions.
• Proficiency in make/buy analysis, dual‑source strategies, supplier capacity management, international sourcing, and supply continuity practices.
• Exercises sound judgment when evaluating sourcing alternatives, supplier risks, commercial terms, capacity constraints, resource requirements, and competing organizational priorities.
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams.
• Enterprise resource planning (ERP) and material requirements planning (MRP) applications, e.g. SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, NetSuite, Acumatica, or equivalent platforms.
• Strategic sourcing, spend analytics, supplier management, and procurement applications, e.g. SAP Ariba, Coupa, JAGGAER, or equivalent platforms.
• Program and project management applications, e.g. Microsoft Project, Smartsheet, Jira, or equivalent platforms.
• Supply chain reporting, business intelligence, and data analysis applications, e.g. Power BI, Tableau, or equivalent platforms.

CesiumAstro considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the role and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, education/training, and key skills. Full‑time employment offers include company stock options and a generous benefits package including health, dental, vision, HSA, FSA, life, disability and retirement plans.

CesiumAstro is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard torace, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected Veteran Status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Please note: CesiumAstro does not accept unsolicited resumes from contract agencies or search firms. Any unsolicited resumes submitted to our website or to CesiumAstro team members will be considered property of CesiumAstro, and we will not be obligated to pay any referral fees.