Manager, Supplier Relationships

Your Job

As a Supplier Relationships Manager, you will lead both strategic and tactical sourcing initiatives, acting as the primary liaison for all direct category suppliers including outsourcing and raw materials. Your role will be pivotal in driving cost savings, ensuring supply continuity, and managing supplier performance across key categories. You will collaborate closely with manufacturing plants, operations, new product development (NPD) sourcing, business units, and global and regional stakeholders to develop a robust supplier base aligned with evolving business and technology needs.

Our Team

You will be part of the Advanced Development Sourcing (ADS) team that partners across manufacturing plants and business units to optimize supplier relationships and sourcing strategies. The team thrives on cross-functional collaboration and continuous innovation to support Koch Inc.'s operational excellence and growth objectives.

What You Will Do

• Serve as the primary procurement and sourcing contact for multiple ADS manufacturing locations, addressing supplier and strategic sourcing issues.
• Analyze spending, conduct RFQs, and lead price negotiations regularly, aggressively pursuing cost savings through various tactics including supplier changes and value engineering.
• Manage supplier base for mass production products ensuring production ramp-up and delivery readiness, while promptly addressing plant escalations related to supply, quality, and delivery.
• Build and sustain long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships with key suppliers, managing contracts and conducting annual business reviews.
• Develop a dynamic supplier portfolio for outsourcing and raw materials categories, supporting evolving technology requirements and plant needs.
• Support the transformation of the divisional manufacturing footprint through strategic sourcing initiatives.
• Align closely with global and divisional category managers across commodities such as metals, plastics, electronics, and outsourcing.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with engineering, product management, operations, quality, finance, and legal teams as needed.
• Act as a trusted business partner for manufacturing plants and ADS teams with expertise in costing and supplier networking.
• Perform should-cost analyses and make vs. buy evaluations to guide sourcing decisions.
• Foster a virtuous cycle of mutual benefit between Molex business and external partners.
• Lead team development and succession planning by applying Principle Based Management (PBM), cultivating key talent, and strengthening leadership pipelines.

Who You Are (Basic Qualifications)

• Bachelor's degree in Procurement, Engineering, or a related discipline from an accredited four-year college or university.
• Minimum of 10 years of relevant experience and/or training, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Proven experience in procurement of mechanical components and raw materials, preferably within the connector industry.
• Demonstrated leadership and management capabilities with a track record of motivating teams and driving accountability.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, capable of interacting effectively at all organizational levels and delivering presentations on moderately complex topics.
• Strong experience driving cross-functional collaboration across diverse business units.

What Will Put You Ahead

• Experience working with global sourcing and supplier management teams.
• Familiarity with advanced sourcing tools and spend analytics software.
• Background in managing supplier risk and continuity planning.
• Knowledge of Principle Based Management (PBM) or similar leadership development frameworks.
• Prior involvement in manufacturing footprint transformations and strategic cost reduction programs.

At Koch companies, we are entrepreneurs. This means we openly challenge the status quo, find new ways to create value and get rewarded for our individual contributions. Any compensation range provided for a role is an estimate determined by available market data. The actual amount may be higher or lower than the range provided considering each candidate's knowledge, skills, abilities, and geographic location. If you have questions, please speak to your recruiter about the flexibility and detail of our compensation philosophy.

Hiring Philosophy

All Koch companies value diversity of thought, perspectives, aptitudes, experiences, and backgrounds. We are Military Ready and Second Chance employers. Learn more about our hiring philosophy here.

Who We Are

As a leader in aerospace and defense electronics, AirBorn, a Molex company, is a leader committed to engineering and

manufacturing excellence.

With a legacy of over six decades, we take pride in our team of passionate and skilled professionals who play a pivotal role in

developing and manufacturing mission-critical products. Our cutting-edge solutions are not only found on Mars, in fighter jets,

submarines, and in the far reaches of space. We understand the mission critical environments in which our products operate, and

our commitment to excellence drives us to ensure their unwavering reliability. Whether you are a seasoned industry expert or

have fresh talent seeking to soar in your career, we invite you to embark on a journey of creativity, growth, and achievement with

us.

Discover how your talents can take flight and make an impactful contribution to our mission-critical endeavors at AirBorn!

At Koch, employees are empowered to do what they do best to make life better. Learn how our business philosophy helps employees unleash their potential while creating value for themselves and the company.

Our Benefits

Our goal is for each employee, and their families, to live fulfilling and healthy lives. We provide essential resources and support to build and maintain physical, financial, and emotional strength - focusing on overall wellbeing so you can focus on what matters most. Our benefits plan includes - medical, dental, vision, flexible spending and health savings accounts, life insurance, ADD, disability, retirement, paid vacation/time off, educational assistance, and may also include infertility assistance, paid parental leave and adoption assistance. Specific eligibility criteria is set by the applicable Summary Plan Description, policy or guideline and benefits may vary by geographic region. If you have questions on what benefits apply to you, please speak to your recruiter.

Additionally, everyone has individual work and personal needs. We seek to enable the best work environment that helps you and the business work together to produce superior results.

Equal Opportunities

Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and protected veteran status. Except where prohibited by state law, some offers of employment are conditioned upon successfully passing a drug test. This employer uses E-Verify. Please click here for additional information. (For Illinois E-Verify information click here, aqui, or tu).