Sourcing Commodity Manager

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in California, +2 more states.

📋 Description

• Take ownership of technical decisions and cost implications associated with memory and storage commodities.

• Collaborate with hardware engineering, manufacturing, component engineering, and supplier engineering teams.

• Ensure supplier technologies align with Cisco’s product architecture and strategic roadmap.

• Engage in technical design reviews assessing feasibility, manufacturability, and performance trade-offs.

• Initiate early technical engagement with suppliers for new designs and architectures.

• Lead discussions regarding supplier technology roadmaps, focusing on design methodologies, materials, processes, and manufacturing capabilities.

• Act as the primary technical escalation contact for supplier-related design, yield, reliability, and manufacturability challenges.

• Hold suppliers accountable for meeting development milestones, ensuring technical readiness, and adhering to qualification schedules.

• Oversee supplier technical readiness from prototype stages through to mass production.

• Promote collaboration between supplier engineering teams and Cisco engineers to address design and manufacturing issues.

• Assist with ramp readiness, yield improvement, and the transition from New Product Introduction (NPI) to sustained production.

• Lead value engineering initiatives that enhance cost efficiency without sacrificing technical performance or reliability.

• Identify and cultivate second-source strategies.

• Support geographic diversification and strategies for non-China manufacturing.

• Recognize technical and manufacturing risks and formulate mitigation plans.

• Conduct supplier reviews focusing on technology readiness, NPI execution, yield, capacity, and risk assessment.

• Provide technical status updates to cross-functional leadership.

• Collaborate with Component Engineering on quality investigations and corrective actions.

• Drive continuous improvement through various methodologies.

• Establish technical KPIs and facilitate data-driven execution across suppliers.

• Undertake additional responsibilities as business needs evolve.

⛳️ Requirements

• Over 7 years of technical experience in memory and storage technologies, particularly with NAND solutions such as SSD, eMMC, UFS, and uSD, including design support and manufacturing involvement.

• More than 10 years of direct experience with hardware design engineering teams on New Product Introductions (NPI).

• At least 10 years of experience interacting with suppliers on technical development, qualification, manufacturing readiness, cost negotiations, should-cost modeling, contract management, and securing supplier quotes through RFQ/RFI processes.

• A Master’s degree in mechanical engineering or a related field is preferred.

• Preferred experience with memory technology or memory suppliers.

• Familiarity with AI system architectures and high-performance computing platforms is preferred.

• Strong technical communication, problem-solving, and stakeholder engagement abilities.

• This is a remote position available anywhere in the U.S., with a preference for candidates located in San Jose, CA; Austin, TX; or Raleigh/Durham, NC.

🏝️ Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.

• 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution.

• Paid parental leave.

• Coverage for short- and long-term disability.

• Basic life insurance.

• Cisco restricted stock unit grants may be available, contingent on continued employment and vesting periods.

• Ten paid holidays each full calendar year.

• One floating holiday for non-exempt employees.

• One paid day off for the employee’s birthday.

• Paid year-end holiday shutdown.

• Four paid days off for personal wellness.

• Sixteen days of paid vacation per full calendar year for non-exempt full-time employees.

• Flexible vacation time off program with no defined limit for eligible exempt employees.

• Eighty hours of sick time off provided at hire and each January 1st thereafter.

• Up to 80 hours of unused sick time carried forward annually.

• Additional paid time off for critical or emergency family matters.

• Optional ten paid volunteer days per full calendar year.

• Annual bonuses may be available for non-sales roles.

• Performance-based incentive pay for employees on sales plans.