Senior Sourcing Lead - Hardware

Optiver; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 180,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary bonus

Comprehensive benefits package

Job summary

Optiver is seeking a Senior Sourcing Lead - Hardware to join our Global Procurement team in Chicago, IL. This strategic role focuses on driving hardware sourcing initiatives, optimizing third-party hardware costs, and managing supply chain risk. Candidates should have over 10 years of procurement experience, particularly in technology hardware sourcing.

The position offers a competitive salary range of $180,000–$250,000 USD and a discretionary bonus, alongside Optiver's comprehensive benefits package.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of sourcing/procurement experience, particularly in technology hardware sourcing.
• Demonstrated success in leading large-scale hardware negotiations to deliver multimillion-dollar savings.
• Proven ability to influence and collaborate with senior technology executives.

Responsibilities

• Own and execute hardware category strategy across the organization.
• Lead negotiations for high-value OEM agreements.
• Drive cost optimization initiatives across third-party hardware spend.
• Influence stakeholders to align on hardware sourcing strategies.
• Oversee sourcing managers and ensure best practices.

Skills

Negotiation

Analytical skills

Financial acumen

Leadership presence

Strategic thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Finance, Engineering, or related field

Job description

We are seeking a Senior Sourcing Lead - Hardware to join our Global Procurement team. This role will serve as a strategic leader in driving hardware sourcing initiatives both across the US and globally, with a primary focus on optimizing third‑party hardware costs, managing supply chain risk, and enabling scalable growth of our compute, networking, storage, and enterprise hardware footprint. As a senior member of the team, you will not only lead complex sourcing strategies, but also provide coaching and guidance to sourcing managers and buyers across the global hardware category team.

This role requires deep domain expertise in technology hardware procurement, spanning servers and compute, networking, storage, and enterprise equipment.

You will partner directly with senior stakeholders, infrastructure engineering leaders, and finance teams to ensure we are extracting maximum value from our OEM and supplier relationships, managing global supply chain dynamics, and driving measurable business impact across one of our most complex spend categories.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and execute the hardware category strategy across our organization.
• Lead negotiations for high‑value and complex OEM agreements, ensuring best‑in‑class commercial outcomes and risk mitigation.
• Drive measurable cost optimization initiatives across third‑party hardware spend while balancing supply chain resilience, lead time risk, and refresh cycle planning.
• Influence senior stakeholders and executive leadership to align on hardware sourcing strategies, refresh cycles, and commercial business cases.
• Oversee and mentor sourcing managers and buyers across multiple geographies (US, EU, & APAC), ensuring consistency, professional development, and delivery of best practices.
• Establish and strengthen key vendor relationships to maximize long‑term value and innovation.
• Monitor hardware market trends, component supply dynamics, allocation risks, and supplier performance to proactively identify opportunities for savings and improvement.
• Represent Procurement as a trusted advisor to infrastructure engineering and business leadership on all hardware investment decisions.

Required Experience

• 10+ years of sourcing/procurement experience, with significant depth in technology hardware sourcing.
• Demonstrated success leading large‑scale hardware negotiations and delivering multimillion‑dollar savings.
• Experience building and executing hardware category strategies at an enterprise level, including supply chain risk management.
• Proven ability to influence and collaborate with senior technology executives, including Infrastructure Engineering and CTO‑level stakeholders.
• Track record of developing and mentoring high‑performing procurement professionals across multiple geographies.

Required Skills

• Excellent negotiation, analytical, and financial acumen, with deep understanding of hardware commercial models.
• Strong leadership presence with ability to communicate complex hardware sourcing strategies clearly to stakeholders at all levels.
• Strategic thinker with demonstrated ability to balance cost optimization, supply chain resilience, and infrastructure innovation.
• Expertise in leveraging supplier data, market intelligence, and TCO models to drive sourcing strategy creation.
• Ability to thrive in a fast‑paced, high‑impact environment with competing priorities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Finance, Engineering, or related field.
• Experience within financial services, trading, or other complex tech‑focused industries.
• Experience leading hardware tech spend transformation in a fast‑paced environment.

Below is the expected base salary for this position. This is a good‑faith estimate of the base pay scale for this position and offers will ultimately be determined based on experience, education, skill set, and performance in the interview process. This position will also be eligible for a discretionary bonus (if determined by Optiver) and Optiver’s benefits package with the benefits listed above.

Base Salary Range

$180,000—$250,000 USD