Category Lead

At Intuitive, we are united behind our mission: we believe that minimally invasive care is life-enhancing care. Through ingenuity and intelligent technology, we expand the potential of physicians to heal without constraints.
As a pioneer and market leader in robotic-assisted surgery, we strive to foster an inclusive and diverse team, committed to making a difference. For more than 25 years, we have worked with hospitals and care teams around the world to help solve some of healthcare's hardest challenges and advance what is possible.
Intuitive has been built by the efforts of great people from diverse backgrounds. We believe great ideas can come from anywhere. We strive to foster an inclusive culture built around diversity of thought and mutual respect. We lead with inclusion and empower our team members to do their best work as their most authentic selves.
Passionate people who want to make a difference drive our culture. Our team members are grounded in integrity, have a strong capacity to learn, the energy to get things done, and bring diverse, real world experiences to help us think in new ways. We actively invest in our team members to support their long-term growth so they can continue to advance our mission and achieve their highest potential.
Join a team committed to taking big leaps forward for a global community of healthcare professionals and their patients. Together, let's advance the world of minimally invasive care.

Primary Function of Position

• Manage strategic procurement activities related to Metal Components Including commodity strategy, strategic sourcing, supplier performance management, risk and capacity management, contract and cost management, and operational management. Negotiating contracts, reviewing spend, creating inventory management strategies, gathering commodity intelligence, and managing supplier performance; may include limited management of purchase orders.
• May drive cross-functional commodity team.
• Identifies and drives key procurement initiatives.

Essential Job Duties

• Category Management: provides cross-functional team leadership within assigned category(ies):
• Supports creation of long-term supplier strategies and roadmaps
• Co-leads direct procurement supplier selection process with collaboration from Supplier Engineering and guidance from manager. Leverages strategic sourcing practices to identify a core supply base able to offer lowest total cost of ownership and high-quality product while identifying value improvement opportunities.
• Engages with internal stakeholders to develop and influence commodity strategy that aligns with long term business goals
• Supports alignment of production supplier requirements and sourcing strategies with those of new product development (NPI) for designated suppliers/commodities to ensure uninterrupted material availability, alignment of risk, and cost goals with long term vision for the commodity / business
• Prioritizes commodity team projects
• Ensures defined commodity team goals and targets are achieved
• Leverages knowledge of commodity trends to propose strategies
• Develops and may drive quarterly commodity or sub-commodity strategy reviews
• Supplier Performance Management
• Drives supplier scorecarding and supplier business reviews for assigned suppliers
• Proactively collaborates with supply base and tactical purchasing to manage quarterly forecast demand updates to minimize excess inventory or material shortages.
• Drives continuous improvement efforts needed with suppliers
• Risk and Capacity Management
• Develops mitigation plans and programs for assigned suppliers and critical sub-tier suppliers.
• Drives capacity assessments for assigned suppliers and critical sub-tier suppliers
• May serve as project manager for key supplier capacity or risk mitigation initiatives.
• Leverages problem solving skills and develops counter-measures to implement long-term solutions to identified problems.
• Contract and Cost Management
• Establishes contractual agreements for new partners and revises existing agreements to align with changes to Intuitive’s contract strategy
• Establishes long term volume pricing, risk mitigation, and capacity agreements with key suppliers to support Intuitive’s volume growth
• Reviews, administers, and manages long-term purchase order and delivery commitments to designated suppliers as necessary to support production and/or sales requirements within the business.
• Drives identification and implementation of cost reduction ideas to achieve year-over-year cost goals within assigned category(ies)
• Operational Management
• Supports plant purchasing by leading negotiations with suppliers to adopt and implement lean sourcing principles (e.g. kanban) to enable 100% material availability and optimization of on-hand inventory levels.
• Grasps continuous improvement techniques to drive toward attainment of key purchasing metrics (supplier on-time delivery, quality, risk management, inventory velocity, and cost reduction).
• May drive change management/change order implementation for complex projects
• Supports master data integrity for suppliers and parts
• Mentors colleagues within the supply chain organization. Identifies process and training improvement opportunities and drives closure of identified gaps.

Required Skills and Experience

• Significant computer experience including MS Office products and ERP systems. Proven Excel skills.
• Proven track record of effective project management in a fast-paced manufacturing company.
• Thorough knowledge of and experience working with kanban systems and other lean principles.
• Working knowledge of buying, material planning, master scheduling, and forecasting.
• Demonstrates concern for precision and thoroughness.
• Proven ability to consistently achieve stretch goals and objectives.
• Ability to handle multiple tasks and projects successfully and adapt to changing priorities.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Exceptional negotiation skills and experience with proven track record of savings.

Required Education and Training

• BS degree or equivalent and 10+ years of purchasing experience in a regulated industry manufacturing environment (medical device preferred). Master’s degree preferred.

Working Conditions

• 25% travel to both domestic and international suppliers

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Experience in the medical device industry preferred.
• SAP and Agile experience preferred.
• Experience managing metals spend/suppliers and/or technical expertise in this category preferred.
• Certifications: CPSM, CPIM, and/or PMP preferred.

Due to the nature of our business and the role, please note that Intuitive and/or your customer(s) may require that you show current proof of vaccination against certain diseases including COVID-19.  Details can vary by role.

Intuitive is an Equal Employment Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer. We provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants and employees, and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type, without regard to race, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, color, age, religion, protected veteran or disability status, genetic information or any other status protected under federal, state, or local applicable laws.

EEO and AA Policy

We will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records in accordance with fair chance laws.

Preference will be given to qualified candidates who do not reside, or plan to reside, in Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, or Tennessee.

We provide market-competitive compensation packages, inclusive of base pay, incentives, benefits, and equity. It would not be typical for someone to be hired at the top end of range for the role, as actual pay will be determined based on several factors, including experience, skills, and qualifications. The target salary ranges are listed.