Technical Category Manager

Abbott (abbottcareers2 board); Illinois; On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Abbott is a global healthcare leader seeking a Technical Category Manager, Plastics & Tooling to develop and execute the worldwide plastics category strategy. You will bridge Engineering, R&D, Operations, and Procurement to translate requirements into scalable sourcing and manufacturing plans.

This role leads tooling strategy, supports NPI, and drives supplier-enabled innovation across plastics categories. The position requires deep plastics engineering expertise, cross-functional collaboration,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Plastics Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Engineering, Polymer Science, or a related technic

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute Abbott's global category strategy for plastic components, injection molding, tooling, resin technologies, and related manufacturing processes, managing approximately $800MM in spend.
• Serve as Abbott's technical subject matter expert in plastics engineering, polymer materials, tooling, injection molding, and component manufacturing technologies.
• Lead supplier strategy including market assessments, supplier selection, commercial negotiations, contracting, performance management, and long-term partnership development.
• Develop and implement an enterprise-wide tooling strategy and roadmap focused on standardization, governance, asset lifecycle management, capacity planning, supply resiliency, and supplier capability development.
• Partner closely with Procurement, Engineering, R&D, Operations, Manufacturing, Supplier Quality, and strategic suppliers to align technical requirements with business objectives.
• Drive supplier innovation, Design for Manufacturability (DFM), early supplier engagement, and best-in-class manufacturing practices to support product commercialization and operational excellence.
• Support new product introduction (NPI) and product lifecycle initiatives by ensuring supplier readiness, tooling scalability, manufacturing capability, and supply continuity.
• Drive total cost of ownership improvements through resin optimization, component standardization, tooling efficiency, process enhancements, manufacturing productivity, and supply chain optimization.
• Conduct supplier capability assessments, manufacturing reviews, and benchmarking activities to inform sourcing, investment, and business decisions.
• Monitor and communicate emerging industry trends, materials, technologies, and supplier capabilities to identify opportunities for innovation, competitive advantage, and improved manufacturing performance.
• Lead cross-functional global initiatives and communities of practice that promote technical excellence, knowledge sharing, standardization, and best practices across Abbott divisions.
• Mentor procurement and engineering professionals and represent Abbott with industry associations, suppliers, technical conferences, and external forums to strengthen market leadership and manufacturing capabilities.

Skills

Category management

Plastics engineering

Supplier negotiations

NPI coordination

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Plastics Engineering or related field

Tools

Injection molding

Tooling

Polymer materials

Job description

Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 122,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.

Working at Abbott

At Abbott, you can do work that matters, grow, and learn, care for yourself and family, be your true self and live a full life. You'll also have access to:

• Career development with an international company where you can grow the career you dream of .
• Free medical coverage for employees* via the Health Investment Plan (HIP) PPO
• An excellent retirement savings plan with high employer contribution
• Tuition reimbursement, the Freedom 2 Save student debt program and FreeU education benefit - an affordable and convenient path to getting a bachelor's degree.
• A company recognized as a great place to work in dozens of countries around the world and named one of the most admired companies in the world by Fortune.
• A company that is recognized as one of the best big companies to work for as well as a best place to work for diversity, working mothers, female executives, and scientists.

The Opportunity

The Technical Category Manager, Plastics & Tooling is responsible for developing and executing global category strategies across plastic components, injection molding, tooling, and related manufacturing technologies. This role combines deep technical expertise in plastics engineering with strategic category management to deliver innovation, supply chain resiliency, quality, and total cost of ownership improvements across Abbott's businesses.

Serving as the primary link between Engineering, R&D, Operations, Supplier Quality, and Procurement, the Technical Category Manager translates technical requirements into scalable sourcing and manufacturing strategies. The role leads enterprise-wide tooling strategy implementation, supports new product introduction (NPI), assist in implementation of sustainability strategies and drives supplier-enabled innovation across plastic component categories.

As a recognized subject matter expert in plastics manufacturing and tooling technologies, this individual leads the Plastics Engineering Community of Practice from a Procurement lens and the Plastics Procurement team Community of Practice, fostering collaboration, capability development, and alignment between technical and commercial teams across Abbott.

What You'll Work On

• Develop and execute Abbott's global category strategy for plastic components, injection molding, tooling, resin technologies, and related manufacturing processes, managing approximately $800MM in spend
• Serve as Abbott's technical subject matter expert in plastics engineering, polymer materials, tooling, injection molding, and component manufacturing technologies.
• Lead supplier strategy including market assessments, supplier selection, commercial negotiations, contracting, performance management, and long-term partnership development.
• Develop and implement an enterprise-wide tooling strategy and roadmap focused on standardization, governance, asset lifecycle management, capacity planning, supply resiliency, and supplier capability development.
• Partner closely with Procurement, Engineering, R&D, Operations, Manufacturing, Supplier Quality, and strategic suppliers to align technical requirements with business objectives.
• Drive supplier innovation, Design for Manufacturability (DFM), early supplier engagement, and best-in-class manufacturing practices to support product commercialization and operational excellence.
• Support new product introduction (NPI) and product lifecycle initiatives by ensuring supplier readiness, tooling scalability, manufacturing capability, and supply continuity.
• Drive total cost of ownership improvements through resin optimization, component standardization, tooling efficiency, process enhancements, manufacturing productivity, and supply chain optimization.
• Conduct supplier capability assessments, manufacturing reviews, and benchmarking activities to inform sourcing, investment, and business decisions.
• Monitor and communicate emerging industry trends, materials, technologies, and supplier capabilities to identify opportunities for innovation, competitive advantage, and improved manufacturing performance.
• Lead cross-functional global initiatives and communities of practice that promote technical excellence, knowledge sharing, standardization, and best practices across Abbott divisions.
• Mentor procurement and engineering professionals and represent Abbott with industry associations, suppliers, technical conferences, and external forums to strengthen market leadership and manufacturing capabilities.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Plastics Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Engineering, Polymer Science, or a related technic