Senior Supplier Account Manager - Rare Earths

Applied Materials, Inc.; Austin (TX); Hybrid; USD 116,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Applied Materials, Inc. is seeking a high-impact Supplier Account Manager IV for Rare Earths in a multi-site setup. You will develop category strategies, assess global markets, identify strategic suppliers, and lead large-scale commercial negotiations across mining to finished components.

You will partner with engineering and supply chain leaders to align product roadmaps with market dynamics. The role emphasizes total-cost-of-ownership analysis, supplier development, and risk mitigation to

Qualifications

• Typically requires a bachelor’s degree in materials science, metallurgy, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, supply chain, business, or a related field; an advanced degree is preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in strategic sourcing, supplier management, commodity management, engineering, operations, or commercial contracting.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute near-term and long-range category strategies for rare-earth materials, magnets, motors, coatings, and related technologies.
• Assess global supply markets, capacity, cost drivers, geopolitical exposure, trade constraints, and supply-chain vulnerabilities; translate findings into sourcing and risk-mitigation plans.
• Identify, qualify, develop, and manage strategic suppliers across mining, separation, refining, alloying, magnet production, component manufacturing, and recycling value chains.
• Lead complex commercial negotiations and contracts including pricing frameworks, supply commitments, capacity reservations, IP, quality, liability, continuity, and performance provisions.
• Build should-cost, total-cost-of-ownership, scenario, and business-case analyses to support supplier selection and executive decisions.
• Partner with technical teams to define specifications, qualification requirements, product road maps, and supplier-development priorities.
• Establish supplier performance metrics and lead business reviews, corrective actions, capacity planning, and continuous-improvement initiatives.
• Develop dual-source, localization, inventory, recycling, and alternative-material strategies to improve resilience and reduce concentration risk.
• Coordinate cross-functional sourcing decisions and provide clear recommendations, risks, trade-offs, and approval requests to senior leadership.
• Maintain market intelligence on technology, pricing, regulation, sustainability, and emerging suppliers within the rare-earth ecosystem.

Skills

Strategic sourcing

Negotiations

Contracting

Supplier management

Financial analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Job description

Applied Materials, Inc. is seeking a high-impact Supplier Account Manager IV for Rare Earths in a multi-site setup. You will develop category strategies, assess global markets, identify strategic suppliers, and lead large-scale commercial negotiations across mining to finished components.

You will partner with engineering and supply chain leaders to align product roadmaps with market dynamics. The role emphasizes total-cost-of-ownership analysis, supplier development, and risk mitigation to