Category Manager

Job Description

Job Description

The Director of Category Management owns the strategy, profitability, and growth of our company's drone and complementary product portfolio — and personally runs the work that makes it happen. This is a hands-on, in-the-weeds commercial role. The person in this seat decides what we sell, sources it from the right OEMs and suppliers, negotiates terms, sets pricing to win the deal while protecting margin, and curates an assortment that keeps ahead of the market — and does the bulk of that work themselves, day to day.

This role also absorbs the purchasing function. The director owns supplier negotiations, purchase-order and inventory decisions, and vendor performance, with a purchasing support hire helping execute. Category strategy and procurement live together in this seat by design — the person who decides what to carry also owns how it’s bought.

Leadership grows into the role rather than defining it on day one. At the outset the only likely direct report is a Lead Buyer; as the function scales, the director is responsible for hiring, developing, and managing the category and purchasing team. We are looking for a player-coach who stays close to the work, not someone who delegates it away — the standard is set by doing, then by building a team that meets it.

The director is also our internal authority on the drone industry and adjacent markets, translating where the market is heading into a portfolio that is competitive, high-value, and profitable.

What Success Looks Like:

• A clearly defined category strategy with a healthy, growing margin profile and a deliberate assortment — not a catalog that simply accumulates.
• Strong, commercially favorable relationships with the OEMs and suppliers that matter most, including early access and exclusives where it counts.
• A purchasing function that runs cleanly — the right inventory, on the right terms, with reliable vendor performance — owned directly by this role.
• New products onboarded quickly and cleanly, sold well by Sales, and supported well after launch.
• Over time, a capable Lead Buyer and small team this director has hired, developed, and set up to operate to a consistent standard — while the director stays close to the work.

Key Responsibilities:

Category strategy & margin ownership

• Own the overall drone and geospatial category strategy — the assortment, the gaps, and the expansion priorities — tied to market demand and company growth goals.
• Own the commercial performance of the portfolio: set and protect category margin, manage product mix, and make the call on what to add, keep, and discontinue.
• Conduct market, competitive, and ROI analysis to assess product viability and pricing position before onboarding new items, and price new lines to be competitive while protecting margin in a dealer model.

OEM & supplier relationships

• Build and maintain strong commercial relationships with key OEMs, manufacturers, and suppliers in the drone and geospatial space — securing favorable terms, early access to new products, and exclusive opportunities.
• Personally lead supplier negotiations on price, terms, volume commitments, and exclusivity — this is hands-on, not delegated.

Purchasing & procurement

• Own the purchasing function: supplier negotiations, purchase-order decisions, inventory planning, and vendor performance for new and existing products.
• Balance inventory investment against demand and margin — buy the right products, in the right quantities, at the right terms.
• Direct and develop a purchasing support hire who helps execute day-to-day procurement under this role.

Product onboarding & go-to-market

• Lead the full onboarding process for new products — technical evaluation, pricing strategy, compliance review, catalog setup, training, and go-to-market coordination with Sales and Marketing.
• Evaluate and onboard complementary products (LiDAR, thermal solutions, two-way radios, site-management tools, accessories) that strengthen the core drone offering and create bundled solutions for customers.
• Work closely with Sales, Marketing, and Technical Support to ensure new products are properly positioned, trained on, and supported after launch.

Hands-on execution & team building

• Do the work directly: most category and purchasing execution sits with this role day to day — sourcing, evaluating, negotiating, onboarding, and buying. This is an in-the-weeds role, not an oversight role.
• Manage and develop the Lead Buyer (the likely first direct report) and the purchasing support hire, setting a clear standard of work by example.
• As the function grows, own the hiring, development, and management of the category and purchasing team — building it deliberately rather than delegating the work away.
• Collaborate closely as a peer with Sales, Marketing, and Technical Support to align the portfolio with how the company sells and grows.

Market intelligence & compliance

• Continuously monitor the drone industry and adjacent markets (public safety, construction, energy, surveying, etc.) to identify emerging technologies, trends, and product opportunities.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of regulatory changes (FAA, NDAA / Blue UAS, export compliance) and ensure all onboarded products meet required standards.
• Provide regular portfolio updates and strategic recommendations to leadership on product mix, gaps, margin, and future opportunities.

Required Qualifications:

• 8+ years in category management, merchandising, product portfolio, vendor/supplier management, purchasing/procurement, or commercial buying — ideally within a distributor, reseller, or dealer environment.
• Demonstrated, hands-on ownership of a category or portfolio’s commercial performance: margin, pricing, assortment, and supplier terms (not solely product definition or roadmap).
• Direct purchasing/procurement experience — supplier negotiation, PO and inventory decisions, and vendor management.
• Proven track record of identifying, evaluating, negotiating, and onboarding new products and product lines.
• Comfortable being in the weeds and doing the work directly, with the ability to manage and grow a small team over time (a player-coach, not a pure people-manager).
• Strong supplier/OEM negotiation skills and a working understanding of dealer/distribution economics.
• Excellent market research, analytical, and strategic-thinking skills, with the ability to translate trends into actionable, profitable product decisions.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Direct experience in the drone, geospatial, or adjacent industrial-technology space, with familiarity across major OEMs.
• Existing relationships with drone or geospatial manufacturers, distributors, or technology partners.
• Hands-on knowledge of enterprise drones, payloads, and geospatial technologies (LiDAR, thermal, photogrammetry).