Job Description

The Strategic Sourcing Manager – Indirect Materials (Engineering) will lead category strategy and execution for high-impact engineering-related spend, including engineering lab equipment, Engineering PCBA builds and prototypes, engineering services, software licensing, intellectual property (IP), EDA tools, and capital equipment. This role owns end-to-end sourcing, supplier relationship management, commercial negotiations, and contracting to deliver measurable outcomes in cost, quality, delivery, risk, and innovation. The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced engineering setting and partners effectively across engineering, finance, legal, quality, and operations to enable product development and business growth.

You’ll join a global Engineering Sourcing organization supporting advanced product development and engineering operations. The team partners closely with R&D; and engineering functions to enable innovation while delivering best-in-class commercial outcomes and supplier ecosystems.

Key Responsibilities

Category Strategy & Sourcing Leadership

- Develop and execute multi-year category strategies aligned to engineering roadmaps, product development milestones, and budget targets.
- Lead end-to-end sourcing activities across:
- Engineering lab equipment (test/measurement, validation, lab infrastructure)
- Engineering PCBA builds (prototype, NPI, quick-turn builds, debug re-spins)
- Engineering services (ASIC/FPGA design, validation, firmware/software, system design)
- Software licensing / EDA (tools, platforms, compute, and license models)
- Intellectual property (controller/PHY/NPU/SerDes IP, verification IP, licensing)
- Capital equipment (engineering/test capex and lab expansion requirements)

- Drive disciplined RFx (RFI/RFQ/RFP) execution, competitive bidding, supplier selection, and award recommendations.

Supplier Relationship Management & Performance

- Identify, qualify, and develop suppliers to meet business needs for cost, quality,



delivery, and technology capability.
- Establish governance cadence and accountability through SPR/QBR/HBR, including performance scorecards and corrective actions.
- Lead supplier development initiatives to improve:
- Lead time and delivery reliability
- Quality and yield/defect reduction (as applicable to builds/services)
- Responsiveness and engineering change agility

Commercial Negotiation & Contracting Management

- Lead commercial negotiations for complex engineering categories, including:
- Pricing models, volume breaks, and rate cards
- NRE structures (milestone-based payments, acceptance criteria)
- Software/EDA licensing constructs (subscription, term, tokens, usage-based, enterprise)
- IP licensing structures (upfront, milestone, royalty, maintenance/support)

- Partner with Legal to draft/review and close contracts, including:

- NDAs, MSAs, SOWs, Statements of Work, change orders
- License agreements, support agreements, SLAs

- Ensure contracts include appropriate deliverables, acceptance criteria, audit/usage rights (as applicable), confidentiality, IP ownership, indemnity, and termination protections.
- Partner with legal to ensure IP protection and compliance

Cost Optimization & Financial Analysis

- Deliver annual cost reduction and cost avoidance targets
- Conduct:
- Cost modeling and benchmarking
- Market and supplier analysis
- Business case development for sourcing decisions

- Track and report savings, spending, and budget adherence

Cross-Functional Collaboration

- Partner closely with:
- Engineering (design, validation, architecture)




- Legal (contracts, IP, compliance)
- Finance (budgeting, ROI analysis)
- Quality & operations teams

- Align sourcing decisions with program timelines and technical requirements

Risk Management, Compliance & Supply Continuity

- Identify and mitigate supplier and category risks, including:
- Single-source dependencies and technology lock-in
- Capacity constraints and long lead-time equipment
- Contract compliance, license compliance, and entitlement usage

- Support compliance with internal policies and external requirements (as relevant), such as:

- Supplier onboarding, security, and confidentiality controls
- Regulatory / trade considerations for cross-border procurement (when applicable)

Reporting, Analytics & Executive Communication

- Maintain and communicate key performance indicators:
- Spend, savings, supplier performance, contract coverage, cycle times, open POs

- Prepare executive-ready materials summarizing:

- Opportunities, decisions, risks, negotiation status, and recommended actions

Core Competencies

- Strategic thinking + execution rigor (category strategy to measurable outcomes)
- Commercial excellence (negotiation, contracting, risk/terms management)
- Stakeholder influence (engineering partnership, executive communication)
- Supplier management (governance, performance improvement, escalation)
- Data-driven decision-making (analytics, TCO, benchmarking)
- Adaptability in fast-moving engineering priorities and ambiguous environments

Key Deliverables / Success Metrics

- Achieve annual savings and cost avoidance targets with auditable tracking.
- Improve supplier performance: OTD, quality, responsiveness, innovation contributions.
- Increase contract coverage and compliance for engineering categories.
- Reduce sourcing cycle times while improving stakeholder satisfaction.
- Strengthen supply continuity and reduce category risk exposure.

📌 Senior Category Manager (Bengaluru)
🏢 Sandisk
📍 Bengaluru