Senior Strategic Sourcing Manager

Job Description

Job Description

Job Type: Full-Time, Exempt

Number of Positions: 1

Reporting to: Global Procurement Director – Liquid Cooling

Location: Columbia, MD / Austin, TX

About Us

At Tate we are passionate about everything we do. As an independent brand operating within Kingspan Group, a global plc group of companies, Tate has been recognized worldwide as an industry leader in the development and manufacture of data center infrastructure solutions and commercial office raised access floors, for over 60 years. With revenues of over $600m and growing, Tate plays a pivotal role in offering expertise in cutting edge design engineering to craft solutions, by working collaboratively with clients as a trusted partner.

Tate continues to grow and expand, operating multiple manufacturing and commercial sites across the US, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. We are excited about our fresh, dynamic, and inclusive team of experts working on new innovations and forward-thinking designs, as we remain a market leading player within our industry. We continue to invest heavily in the best available manufacturing tools and equipment needed to adhere to Tate’s world class standards and in keeping with our Planet Passionate sustainability strategy, our focus is on having minimal climate impact.

We are excited to potentially welcome you as part of our team as we continue to grow on a worldwide scale.

About the Role

The Senior Strategic Sourcing Manager is the highest-level individual contributor on Tate’s liquid cooling procurement team. This person is most responsible for shaping how Tate’s global supply chain develops over the next two to four years. This Senior SSM owns Tate’s most complex programs, leads the development of the global supplier ecosystem, drives procurement strategy across all programs, and mentors the SSMs. This role carries broad organizational influence as you will represent procurement in cross-functional forums and set the standard for how strategic sourcing is practiced across the team.

Tate’s liquid cooling business is scaling globally and our supply chain has to keep pace with both growing volumes and evolved product configurations. The Senior SSM will be the person who builds the supplier infrastructure that makes that scale possible including identifying the right global partners, negotiating the agreements that provide supply security, and anticipating risks after they reach the factory floor.

This is a role for someone who has done this after at a high level and who has managed complex global programs, built supplier relationships from the ground up, and delivered supply chain outcomes that had measurable impact on a business.

You will help shape the procurement strategy reporting to the Global Director of Procurement of Liquid Cooling. The right person for this role sees around corners and acts accordingly with a sense of urgency.

What You’ll Do

• Own the end-to-end sourcing strategy for Tate’s highest-complexity and highest-value customer programs, managing BOMs that span liquid cooling manifold assemblies, custom stainless steel infrastructure, etc..
• Develop 2-3 year program sourcing roadmaps that anticipate product evolution, customer configuration changes, and supplier market shifts ensuring Tate’s supply chain is positioned ahead of demand.
• Identify strategic spend categories within each program and develop long term category plans that address costs, supply security, and supplier capability development.
• Own the program-level cost target from a procurement perspective setting should-cost expectations for major assemblies and holding the supply base to them.
• Lead the identification, evaluation, and development of Tate’s global strategic supplier base for liquid cooling components.
• Negotiate and execute multi-year supply agreements with strategic suppliers structuring commercial teams that balance competitive pricing, supply security, volume flexibility, and long-term partnerships.
• Coordinating with the Global Commodity Managers to develop dual-source and multi-region sourcing strategies for critical components, reducing single-source risks and dependencies across the liquid cooling portfolio and building supply chain resilience as Tate scales.
• Maintain and continuously improve Tate’s global material source database tracking supplier capabilities, certifications, capacity, and pricing across all liquid cooling spend categories.
• Provide overall strategic procurement strategy and long term planning to support Tate’s growth and expansion working with the Global Director to align sourcing decisions with the company’s multi-year business strategy.
• Integrate relevant technologies such as supplier portals, ERP enhancements, supply chain visibility platforms to improve traceability, lead time transparency, and overall sourcing efficiency.
• Work with regional operations to ensure production facilities are aligned with the strategic direction and supplier commitments developed at the program level.
• Establish and own the KPI framework for measuring sourcing performance across the team tracking cost savings, supplier on-time delivery, qualification cycle time, and supply continuity metrics.
• Own the supply risk register for Tate’s most critical programs, identifying and quantifying single-source exposure, geopolitical risk, tariff impact, supplier financial risk, and lead time vulnerability.
• Develop and present supply risk mitigation plans to the Global Director and senior leadership with recommended actions, timelines, and investment requirements.
• Lead supply chain disruption response for major events coordinating across procurement, operations, and customer program teams to execute recovery plans that protect customer delivery commitments.
• The ability to mentor and develop Strategic Sourcing Managers reviewing program sourcing strategies, coaching on supplier negotiations, and raising the overall quality of procurement practices across the team.
• Establish sourcing process standards, templates, and decision frameworks for the SSM function improving consistency, speed, and auditability of sourcing decisions across the team.
• Create and maintain a framework for managing strategic supplier relationships setting performance standards, review cadences, and corrective action processes that apply across all programs.
• Represent procurement in senior program reviews, customer technical discussions, and cross-functional governance forums.

Additional Expectations

• Remain compliant with the Code of Conduct and Policies which includes the Kingspan Group Compliance Policy.
• Ensure that all duties related to product compliance are adhered to in accordance with the Product Compliance Policy, Laws, Regulations, and market demands.
• Responsible for all tasks to achieve compliance goals and demands of the Compliance Management System.
• Must raise concerns related to the Compliance Management System to their supervisor, manager, or any member of the Leadership Team, or through the confidential whistle blower service.

What You’ll Bring

• A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering, Supply Chain Management, Strategic Procurement, Logistics, General Business Management or a related field. Additional certification such as APICS, CSCP, etc. are a plus.
• 7-12+ years of experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, or supply chain management, preferably within data center infrastructure, HVAC, fluid systems, precision manufacturing, or a related technical industry.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and execute program-level sourcing strategies, managing multiple spend categories simultaneously against a project timeline.
• Deep experience managing strategic supplier relationships at a senior level, negotiating multi-year agreements, driving supplier development, and resolving supply chain escalation in a timely manner.
• Strong strategic thinking and planning skills with a track record of driving efficiency and innovation in supply chain processes.
• In-depth understanding of data center infrastructure, liquid cooling systems, or thermal management supply chains is a signification differentiator.
• Excellent cross-functional communication and influence skills that is able to engage credibly with engineering, operations, finance, and executive leadership without direct authority.
• Strong commercial acumen that is proficient in TCO analysis, should-cost modeling, commodity price risk management, and contract structuring.
• Proficiency in procurement tools, ERP systems, and supply chain management software.
• Strong analytical skills: comfortable with BOM costing, TCO analysis, and supplier performance data.
• Familiarity with liquid cooling infrastructure, data center supply chains, or thermal management components is an advantage.
• Ability to travel globally as required.

What You'll Get

• Pay range: $190,000 USD to $210,000 USD per year. This role is eligible for a discretionary bonus.
• Career Scope and Advancement: As we grow, new positions and career opportunities arise, offering accelerated paths for the right candidates, locally and globally.
• World of Wellness Philosophy: We empower you to take charge of your health and well-being. You’ll have access to a wide range of medical, dental, and vision benefits, along with personalized guidance from a “Health Advocate.” We also offer other supplemental options, including 401k, legal, disability, and theft insurance, to ensure your financial wellness.
• Corporate Social Responsibility: Through Planet Passionate we are determined to reduce our manufacturing carbon (CO2e) emissions to as close to zero as technically possible, together with halving carbon intensity in our primary supply chain. We are very involved in our community, and you will have ample opportunities to support us, in creating a better world.
• Skills Development: Given the dynamic pace of our business and a strong collaborative environment, your new role will be diverse and multifaceted – allowing you to be more versatile and develop a broader skill set.
• Mentorship and development: At Tate, we don’t believe in hierarchy, we work together as one team for one common goal. You will have access and exposure to our senior leaders and experts for learning in your role, and additionally mentorship for the future.
• Culture: We have a great team culture, highly collaborative, supportive and social. Together we innovate, collaborate, take ownership and strive for excellence.

Stay connected with us on LinkedIn for insights into life at Tate. Join us in our mission to make a difference through exceptional solutions.

Tate Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. Employment may be contingent upon completion of post-offer requirements in accordance with applicable law.