Strategic Commodity Specialist

Caterpillar; San Diego, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 128,000 - 193,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision benefits

401(k) savings plans

Health Savings Account (HSA)

Paid time off (Vacation, Holidays)

Career development

Job summary

Caterpillar in San Diego seeks a Strategic Commodity Specialist to optimize supplier sourcing and drive alignment between procurement and facility teams. The role emphasizes developing supplier roadmaps, market intelligence, and risk mitigation in a global supply chain context.

Successful candidates will have a business or engineering degree and extensive experience in strategic sourcing, particularly in machining and forging, with a strong cross-functional orientation and a focus on continuous

Qualifications

• Experience in strategic sourcing for manufacturing or industrial contexts.
• Knowledge of global supplier markets and risk assessment practices.
• Ability to create and maintain supplier roadmaps that align with business goals.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration with engineering, operations, and finance.

Responsibilities

• Develop supplier roadmaps for assigned categories and align with global supply chain strategy.
• Maintain deep knowledge of supplier markets and identify new sourcing opportunities.
• Assess supplier capacity, scalability, and risk to support informed sourcing decisions.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate supply chain risks and develop contingency plans.
• Collaborate with engineering, operations, and finance to meet business objectives.
• Monitor supplier performance and drive continuous improvement to savings and resilience.

Skills

Strategic sourcing

Supply chain sourcing

Machining & forging experience

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business or Engineering

Job description

## Strategic Commodity SpecialistApply: San Diego, California: Full time: Posted Today: R0000360434**Career Area:**Supply Chain and Logistics**Job Description:****Your Work Shapes the World at Caterpillar Inc.**When you join Caterpillar, you're joining a global team who cares not just about the work we do – but also about each other. We are the makers, problem solvers, and future world builders who are creating stronger, more sustainable communities. We don't just talk about progress and innovation here – we make it happen, with our customers, where we work and live. Together, we are building a better world, so we can all enjoy living in it.**Role Definition** Support supply related activities for a facility to deliver excellence and integration between procurement and the team supporting facility. **Responsibilities**Develop Supplier Roadmaps* Create, maintain, and continuously improve roadmaps for assigned categories.* Ensure roadmaps align with organizational goals, future market trends, and global supply chain strategy.* Drive standardization, automation, and consistency of supplier planning tools and systems across the organization. Supplier Market Intelligence* Maintain deep knowledge of global supplier markets, emerging technologies, and alternative manufacturing methods.* Identify new sourcing opportunities, potential suppliers, and disruptive capabilities that enhance competitiveness and supply chain resilience. Supplier Capacity & Scalability Analysis* Assess and monitor supplier production capacity, scalability, and contingency capabilities to ensure alignment with demand forecasts and growth plans.* Support sourcing decisions with robust capacity and risk evaluations as sourcing strategies mature. Risk Assessment & Mitigation* Identify, assess, and mitigate supply chain risks, including capacity constraints, geopolitical exposure, and supply continuity threats.* Develop and maintain contingency and risk mitigation plans in collaboration with value‐stream and stakeholders. Cross‐Functional Collaboration* Work closely with Engineering, Operations, Finance, and other internal teams to align strategies with business needs, technical requirements, and financial objectives. Continuous Improvement* Monitor supplier performance metrics.* Implement best practices and continuous improvement initiatives to drive efficiency, resilience, and cost savings across the supply base. **Desired Qualifications**Business or Engineering degreeExtensive experience in a strategic sourcing roleExperience in supply chain sourcing, ideally in machining and forging. This Job Description is intended as a general guide to the job duties for this position and is intended for the purpose of establishing the specific salary grade. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as an exhaustive summary of all responsibilities, duties and effort required of employees assigned to this job. At the discretion of management, this description may be changed at any time to address the evolving needs of the organization. It is expressly not intended to be a comprehensive list of “essential job functions” as that term is defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act.### ### **Summary Pay Range:**$128,470.00 - $192,710.00Compensation and benefits offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, job level, market location, job-related knowledge, skills, individual performance and experience. Please note that salary is only one component of total compensation at Caterpillar.**Benefits:**Subject to plan eligibility, terms, and guidelines. This is a summary list of benefits.* Medical, dental, and vision benefits\\** Paid time off plan (Vacation, Holidays, Volunteer, etc.)\\** 401(k) savings plans\\** Health Savings Account (HSA)\\** Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)\\** Health Lifestyle Programs\\** Employee Assistance Program\\** Voluntary Benefits and Employee Discounts\\** Career Development\\** Incentive bonus\\** Disability benefits* Life Insurance* Parental leave* Adoption benefits* Tuition Reimbursement \\* These benefits also apply to part-time employees### ### This position requires working onsite five days a week.### Visa Sponsorship is not available for this position.**Posting Dates:**October 13, 2026 - November 10, 2026Any offer of employment is conditioned upon the successful completion of a drug screen.