Director of Compute Infrastructure Procurement

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, which manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Director of Compute Infrastructure Procurement based in the United States. The Director of Compute Infrastructure Procurement will lead the sourcing and procurement strategy for the physical infrastructure that powers a global cloud computing platform. This includes servers, GPUs and other accelerators, networking equipment, storage, and rack-level components. Combining strategic leadership with hands-on commercial expertise, you will personally negotiate major supplier agreements, establish procurement standards, and oversee the full purchasing lifecycle. You will lead a multidisciplinary team spanning category management, sourcing, procurement execution, vendor management, and program management. Working closely with executive leadership and teams across engineering, finance, legal, capacity planning, and data center operations, you will ensure that procurement decisions align with business demand and infrastructure capacity. This is a high-impact leadership opportunity for an experienced deal-maker who can manage complex supplier relationships, control costs, and strengthen supply resilience in a rapidly evolving technology market. Accountabilities - Own the end-to-end IT hardware procurement funnel, from sourcing strategy and supplier selection through purchase order execution, across compute, GPU and accelerator, networking, and storage categories. - Personally lead negotiations for the largest and most strategic supplier agreements, establish negotiation strategies, and develop playbooks for the sourcing team. - Manage procurement approval processes through evidence-based sourcing packages and present purchase recommendations and capital requests to executive leadership and the board. - Direct Category and Sourcing Managers in developing diversified, proposal-ready supplier portfolios and defining category strategies and coverage priorities. - Oversee Procurement Managers responsible for efficient quote-to-purchase-order execution across standard hardware orders.

- Lead Vendor Management activities, including contract renewals, pricing reviews, supplier performance discussions, and escalations. - Direct Program Management to maintain a consolidated and accurate view of hardware orders, lead times, and delivery commitments across the procurement pipeline. - Maintain clear separation between commercial negotiations and technical or quality assessments, acting on adverse findings even when they affect deal timelines. - Build and maintain senior-level relationships with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), original design manufacturers (ODMs), distributors, and component manufacturers. - Own and deliver an individual cost-savings target while improving procurement efficiency and commercial outcomes. - Enforce procurement sequencing discipline, ensuring that hardware commitments are not made before capacity and demand have been confirmed. - Partner with Infrastructure Engineering, Capacity Planning, Finance, Legal, and Data Center Operations leadership to align purchasing decisions with infrastructure requirements. - Monitor market intelligence, including component pricing, GPU allocation, supplier lead times, and vendor financial health, to inform negotiations and sourcing strategies. - Assess supplier concentration and supply-chain risks across vendors, components, and geographies, escalating material exposures to executive leadership. - Build and scale the IT hardware procurement organization, hiring, developing, and holding managers accountable for team performance and results. Requirements: - 10+ years of experience in IT hardware procurement, strategic sourcing, or supply chain management. - Demonstrated personal success negotiating large, complex hardware agreements and delivering measurable commercial outcomes.