Regional Category Manager - Global Procurement

Job Title: Regional Category Manager - Global Procurement

Business Unit: Industrial Solutions Business Unit

Location: Pinellas Park, FL (Onsite)

Travel: Less than 10% (Minimal Travel)

Own critical supplier relationships and drive sourcing decisions that directly impact plant performance, cost, and supply continuity.
This is a hands-on, high-impact role where you'll operate at the center of manufacturing, suppliers, and global strategy, solving real-time challenges while shaping long-term value.

As a Regional Category Manager supporting Molex's Industrial Solutions Business Unit (ISBU), you will serve as the primary plant-facing sourcing leader responsible for supplier performance, commercial execution, and supply continuity in a dynamic manufacturing environment.

This role sits at the intersection of global procurement strategy and day-to-day plant execution. You will act as the key conduit between suppliers and operations, owning sourcing activities across a complex direct materials procurement portfolio that includes metal components, stamped parts, assemblies, and plating processes. With responsibility for a significant annual spend across a global supplier base, you'll drive value through commercial negotiations, supplier partnerships, and proactive problem solving across the full product lifecycle, with visibility across plant leadership and global sourcing teams.

You'll join the Industrial Solutions Business Unit (ISBU), a collaborative, highly integrated manufacturing organization that partners closely across engineering, sourcing, quality, operations, and suppliers to deliver reliable, highquality solutions to customers.

Our team operates with a shared commitment to Principle Based Management (PBM), the philosophy that guides how we create long-term value. We empower individuals to apply critical thinking, economic insight, and principled judgment to solve problems and improve outcomes. You'll be part of a team that values ownership, continuous improvement, and knowledge sharing, where diverse perspectives are leveraged to navigate complexity and drive meaningful impact.

• Own and optimize the direct materials supply base supporting the Tampa Bay manufacturing operations, ensuring alignment with global category strategies and plant needs
• Serve as the primary point of contact between suppliers and the plant, leading day-to-day issue resolution related to pricing changes, quality events, capacity constraints, and supply disruptions
• Lead commercial negotiations including pricing, payment terms, long-term agreements, and cost recovery discussions, driving measurable cost improvements while ensuring supply continuity and risk mitigation
• Drive sourcing strategy across the full product lifecycle, from new product development and validation through production ramp-up, steady-state manufacturing, and end-of-life
• Take ownership of supplier commercialization as programs transition from NPD into full production, ensuring launch readiness, on-time execution, and sustained performance
• Partner cross-functionally with Engineering, NPD Sourcing, Product Management, Quality, Operations, and Material Planning to influence sourcing decisions early and improve outcomes
• Apply Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and economic thinking to guide supplier selection, sourcing strategies, and trade-off decisions
• Manage and develop both local and global supplier relationships, including suppliers supporting international manufacturing and logistics networks
• Collaborate with global category teams to align on pricing strategies, capacity planning, logistics considerations, and inventory agreements
• Lead proactive supplier engagement, including recurring cadence calls, managing demand volatility, lead-time challenges, and supply gaps
• Support supplier quality initiatives and continuous improvement efforts in partnership with plant and quality teams
• Act with sound judgment to resolve issues at the appropriate level, balancing independent problem solving with timely escalation when needed
• Contribute to and model a culture grounded in PBM, promoting principled decision-making, an ownership mindset, and long-term value creation

• 3-5 years or more of progressively responsible experience in procurement, sourcing, or supply chain within a manufacturing environment

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, or a related field
• Experience developing and executing sourcing strategies across the full product lifecycle, from new product launch through end-of-life
• Strong commercial acumen, including cost modeling, fact-based negotiations, and contract strategy
• Ability to evaluate and influence sourcing decisions using Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) principles
• Experience supporting manufacturing environments with metal components, stamping, assembly, or plating processes
• Proven success managing and developing global supplier relationships
• Experience working with ERP systems (SAP preferred)
• Strong cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder influence skills
• Experience coordinating with material planning, suppliers, and internal teams to close supply gaps and ensure continuity
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities in fast-paced, execution-focused environments
• Naturally curious problem solver who asks questions, listens well, and applies sound judgment to navigate ambiguity

As a Koch company, Molex is a leading supplier of connectors and interconnect components, driving innovation in electronics and supporting industries from automotive to health care and consumer to data communications. The thousands of innovators who work for Molex have made us a global electronics leader. Our experienced people, groundbreaking products and leading-edge technologies help us deliver a wider array of solutions to more markets than ever before.