Director, Electrical Category Management, NA

Vantage Data Centers powers, cools, protects and connects the technology of the world's well-known hyperscalers, cloud providers and large enterprises. Developing and operating across North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific, Vantage has evolved data center design in innovative ways to deliver dramatic gains in reliability, efficiency and sustainability in flexible environments that can scale as quickly as the market demands.

Procurement Department

The Procurement team is responsible for securing the equipment Vantage's data centers require to function. The team leads these efforts from conception through commissioning, working with Sales, Operations, New Site Development, and Engineering along the way. Procurement also works closely with vendor partners to come up with a vertically integrated design, and we manage these partners to deliver the projects on schedule and budget. Vantage is unique in that our technical staff is given the responsibility and authority to directly drive the process. Our internal team can align long-term operational sustainability with value engineering and cost metrics to deliver products aligned with corporate goals. This approach empowers each member of the team to drive high- impact decisions and even more impactful results.

Position Overview

This role can be remote or based in any of our US locations: Denver, CO; Phoenix, AZ; Santa Clara, CA; or Ashburn, VA.

This role leads the global electrical category strategy, supplier portfolio, and governance model for mission-critical power distribution infrastructure supporting data center and large-scale technical builds. This includes high voltage to medium- and low-voltage equipment such as switchgear, transformers, UPS systems, busway, PDUs, and associated controls and monitoring systems. The role sets the enterprise sourcing direction, drives executive alignment across Engineering, Construction, Operations, and Finance, and is accountable for long-term capacity planning, supply resilience, and lifecycle value across global regions.

The Director partners deeply with internal stakeholders including Electrical Engineering, Energy and Utility interface teams, Product, Construction, Commissioning, Reliability, and Operations, as well as external OEMs and suppliers, to ensure sourcing strategies align with technical standards, regional deployment models, and accelerating capacity requirements. This role also drives standardization, supplier performance governance, and total cost of ownership improvements while proactively managing risks such as supply constraints, obsolescence, and geopolitical exposure to support scalable and reliable infrastructure delivery.

Essential Job Functions

• Define and lead the global category vision and multi-year strategy for electrical infrastructure, aligned with enterprise growth, uptime requirements, regional expansion, and power distribution standards.

• Establish and execute supplier portfolio strategy, including preferred supplier frameworks, segmentation, regional allocation models, and executive governance structures.

• Own executive-level supplier relationships and negotiations, including long-term agreements, capacity reservations, risk-sharing mechanisms, warranty structures, and performance accountability.

• Develop and implement enterprise contracting strategies for switchgear, transformers, UPS systems, busway, PDUs, and associated services, including commercial levers, indexed pricing, and escalation frameworks.

• Partner with Engineering, Product, Construction, Operations, and Finance to align category decisions with network growth, capital planning, and technical roadmaps.

• Drive alignment to enterprise electrical standards, preferred platforms, interface requirements, Product Design Libraries (PDLs), and approved deviation frameworks while enabling scalable deployment and reduced customization.

• Lead supply chain risk management strategies, including mitigation of capacity shortfalls, utility constraints, component obsolescence, grid interface challenges, and geopolitical risks.

• Sponsor and deliver total cost of ownership improvements through standardization, modularization, reduction of conversion losses, optimized service strategies, and lifecycle maintenance planning.

• Lead supplier performance management through scorecards, executive business reviews, corrective action programs, and closed-loop resolution of field performance and reliability issues.

• Ensure alignment of sourcing strategies with commissioning, quality, and operational requirements, including support for quality control, field performance feedback, and continuous improvement.

• Provide executive-level reporting on supply market conditions, supplier performance, cost outlook, and category risks, with clear recommendations for mitigation and strategic actions.

• Lead and develop category management team capabilities, operating cadence, governance, and performance expectations to scale with business demand.

• Drive adoption of standardized electrical configurations across regions, reducing non-standard variants and improving repeatability, deployment efficiency, and scalability.

• Ensure delivery performance for long-lead equipment, including alignment with project schedules, energization milestones, and critical path dependencies.

• Support closed-loop reliability improvements by translating field performance, quality issues, and commissioning learnings into supplier strategy, sourcing decisions, and future infrastructure standards.

• Additional duties as assigned by Management

Job Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Supply Chain, Construction Management, or a related field; advanced degree preferred.

• 10+ years of experience in category management, strategic sourcing, engineering procurement, or supplier leadership within electrical infrastructure, utilities, or large-scale capital projects.

• Deep technical knowledge of electrical distribution systems, including high-voltage and medium/low-voltage switchgear, transformers, UPS systems, busway, PDUs, and controls.

• Proven experience leading complex global supplier strategies, executive negotiations, and long-term contractual agreements for critical engineered equipment.

• Strong understanding of lifecycle cost drivers, including capital efficiency, reliability, maintenance strategies, and total cost of ownership optimization.

• Experience managing supplier performance through scorecards, KPIs, and executive-level governance frameworks.

• Demonstrated ability to identify and mitigate supply chain risks, including capacity constraints, sourcing concentration, and technology obsolescence.

• Strong cross-functional leadership skills, with the ability to influence senior stakeholders across Engineering, Construction, Operations, and Finance.

• Experience driving standardization, modularization, and scalable infrastructure deployment across multiple regions.

• Excellent executive communication and stakeholder management skills, including experience presenting category strategies, risks, and recommendations to leadership.

• Travel required is expected to be up to 20% but may increase over time as the business evolves

Physical Demands and Special Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to handle, or feel objects; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop or kneel; talk and hear. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

Additional Details

• Salary Range: $190,000-200,000 Base + Bonus (this range is based on Colorado market data and may vary in other locations)

• This position is eligible for company benefits including but not limited to medical, dental, and vision coverage, life and AD&D, short and long-term disability coverage, paid time off, employee assistance, participation in a 401k program that includes company match, and many other additional voluntary benefits.

• Compensation for the role will depend on a number of factors, including your qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience and may fall outside of the range shown.

#LI-RS1 #LI-Remote

We operate with No Ego and No Arrogance. We work to build each other up and support one another, appreciating each other's strengths and respecting each other's weaknesses. We find joy in our work and each other, actively seeking opportunities to inject fun into what we do. Our hard and efficient work is rewarded with an above market total compensation package. We offer a comprehensive suite of health and welfare, retirement, and paid leave benefits exceeding local expectations.

Throughout the year, the advantage of being part of the Vantage team is evident with an array of benefits, recognition, training and development, and the knowledge that your contribution adds value to the company and our community.

Don't meet all the requirements? Please still apply if you think you are the right person for the position. We are always keen to speak to people who connect with our mission and values.

Vantage Data Centers is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Vantage Data Centers does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firm agencies. Fees will not be paid in the event a candidate submitted by a recruiter without an agreement in place is hired; such resumes will be deemed the sole property of Vantage Data Centers.

We'll be accepting applications for at least one week from the date this role is posted. If you're interested, we encourage you to apply soon-we're excited to find the right person and will keep the role open until we do!