Director Data Center Equipment Category Manager
LambdaVisit Lambda website
Lambda is an AI infrastructure company providing GPU supercomputers and cloud capacity for AI training and inference.
Series ERecently funded
San Francisco, United States
About Lambda
Lambda, Inc. builds and operates AI-focused compute infrastructure, including single-tenant Superclusters, deployable 1-Click Clusters, and on-demand GPU Instances for researchers, enterprises, and hyperscalers.
Skills
Candidate Availability
Required and preferred rules are kept separate and reflect the wording in the original posting.
About the Role
You will lead category managers and own sourcing strategy for critical data center equipment. You will negotiate supply agreements, secure capacity, manage supplier performance and risk, align awards with construction schedules, and brief executives on strategy, market conditions, risks, and savings.
Requirements
- 10+ years of strategic sourcing, procurement, or category-management experience
- At least 5 years focused on data center, mission-critical, energy, or heavy-industrial electrical and mechanical equipment
- Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Engineering, Business, Finance, a related field, or equivalent experience
- 5+ years of people leadership managing category managers or sourcing professionals
- Experience owning multi-year strategies for high-spend, supply-constrained equipment categories
- Knowledge of data center equipment OEMs, integrators, manufacturing capacity, lead times, and pricing dynamics
- Experience negotiating major supply agreements and capacity commitments
- Experience sequencing long-lead equipment against live construction schedules
- Experience establishing organizational process, policy, or governance standards
- Executive communication and persuasion skills
Responsibilities
- Lead and develop category managers across electrical, mechanical, and modular equipment
- Own category strategy for data center infrastructure equipment
- Secure manufacturing capacity and negotiate framework agreements
- Lead RFI, RFP, and RFQ sourcing events through contract execution
- Negotiate master supply agreements, pricing, lead times, warranties, and performance guarantees
- Standardize equipment specifications with design, engineering, construction, and development partners
- Sequence equipment awards and deliveries against construction schedules
- Manage equipment strategy, installation, warranty, and commissioning interfaces
- Deliver cost reductions through should-cost, total-cost-of-ownership, and value-engineering models
- Build strategic supplier partnerships and qualify alternate suppliers
- Manage supplier quality, delivery, and safety performance
- Mitigate supply-chain risks and maintain contingency plans
- Set category governance, contract, spend, and supplier-data standards
- Deliver executive briefings on strategy, markets, risks, and savings
Benefits
- Cash and equity compensation
- Health, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents
- Wellness and commuter stipends for select roles
- 401k plan with 2% company match for USA employees
- Flexible paid time off