Global Category Manager — Infrastructure & Construction

Applied Materials · Santa Clara · $141,000–$193,500 (stated in the posting)

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Applied Materials is a global leader in materials engineering solutions used to produce virtually every new chip and advanced display in the world. We design, build and service cutting-edge equipment that helps our customers manufacture display and semiconductor chips – the brains of devices we use every day. As the foundation of the global electronics industry, Applied enables the exciting technologies that literally connect our world – like AI and IoT. If you want to push the boundaries of materials science and engineering to create next generation technology, join us to deliver material innovation that changes the world. 

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Global Category Manager — Infrastructure & Construction
Global Sourcing & Procurement (GSP) | Global Category & Sourcing
Applied Materials — Internal Draft Job Description
Role Summary
The Global Category Manager, Infrastructure & Construction, is the strategic owner of Applied’s capital construction, real estate, and facilities spend, accountable for defining the global category strategy and delivering outcomes across value capture, stakeholder experience, and risk management. This role owns the sourcing and supplier strategy for the categories that build and sustain Applied’s fabs, labs, cleanrooms, offices, and site infrastructure — including general construction, engineering & design (A&E), construction management (CM/PM/QS), EPC/PMC delivery partners, MRO, and tool install.
The role sets direction (the “WHAT”) through category strategies, supplier portfolio and segmentation decisions, delivery-model selection, governance, and demand/value roadmaps, while enabling scaled execution (the “HOW”) through Strategic Sourcing Managers and the Sourcing Center of Excellence (SCoE). Operating in a center led ‘one house’ model, the Global Category Manager orchestrates cross functional alignment across Global Workplace & Infrastructure (GWI), project delivery teams, Legal, Risk, and Finance — ensuring consistent global standards with regional nuance across EMEA, APAC, and the Americas.
Role at a Glance
Job Title    Global Category Manager — Infrastructure & Construction
Organization    Global Sourcing & Procurement (GSP) — Global Category & Sourcing
Reports To    Category Leader / Portfolio Leader, Real Estate & Construction (per org design)
Primary Purpose    Own the category strategy, delivery-model approach, supplier portfolio, governance, and outcome delivery for infrastructure and construction spend across the enterprise.
Category Scope    General construction; engineering & design (A&E); construction/project/cost management (CM/PM/QS); EPC and PMC delivery partners; facilities CapEx and OpEx; MRO; tool install and fit-out.
Primary Interfaces    GWI / Real Estate & Facilities leaders, Project Delivery & Engineering teams, Strategic Sourcing Managers, SCoE Leaders, GC/EPC/PMC supplier executives, Finance (Value Capture), Risk/TPRM & Insurance, Contracting CoE/Legal.
Operating Model    Category defines strategy, delivery model, and guardrails; Sourcing executes and refines through data/insights; one unified global team.
Geographic Reach    Global — major capital programs across EMEA, APAC (India, Korea, Singapore), and the Americas; significant international travel expected.
Mission Alignment (GSP “Definition of Winning”)

• Value Capture: establish multi year value levers (savings, cost avoidance, value engineering, productivity, schedule certainty) across capital programs and deliver results through a governed pipeline and rate-card discipline.
• Client Journey: build proactive engagement models with project delivery, GWI, and business stakeholders through clear intake, delivery-model selection, and predictable governance from concept through close-out.
• Risk Management: embed construction, contractual, safety, and supply-market risk thinking into category strategies, delivery-model choices, insurance/indemnity structures, and contracting guardrails.
• Optimize Capability: enable the organization through playbooks, standard contract templates, rate-card databases, benchmarking, and a talent pipeline that improves execution quality over time.

Key Responsibilities
1) Global Category Strategy & Roadmap Ownership

• Define and maintain a multi year global category strategy for infrastructure and construction that aligns to Applied’s capital plan, GWI priorities, and GSP goals — including clear value levers, delivery-model direction, and execution waves.
• Establish category scope and taxonomy across construction, A&E, CM/PM/QS services, EPC/PMC, MRO, and tool install, with a clear demand/supply perspective (project pipeline, capacity, and construction-market dynamics by region).
• Develop and refresh a category roadmap that sequences initiatives by capital-program impact, urgency, risk, and market capacity, maintaining a forward looking pipeline tied to the project portfolio.

2) Delivery-Model Strategy (EPC / PMC / Design-Bid-Build)

• Own the framework for selecting the right delivery model per project — EPC, PMC, design-build, design-bid-build, or hybrid — balancing cost certainty, schedule, risk transfer, and Applied’s control requirements.
• Provide guidance on lump-sum vs. reimbursable vs. GMP commercial structures, and align delivery-model decisions with the appropriate risk allocation and price-adjustment mechanisms.
• Partner with project delivery and engineering to bridge the ROM-to-BOM gap — ensuring estimating maturity, scope definition, and contracting approach are aligned before commitment.

3) Supplier Portfolio Strategy, Segmentation & SRM

• Own supplier portfolio design and segmentation across GCs, EPCs, PMCs, A&E firms, and specialty trades (strategic, preferred, transactional) and define the engagement model for each segment.
• Lead strategic supplier relationship management (SRM) for priority partners (e.g., major GCs, EPC/PMC firms, CM providers): performance, innovation, commercial governance, and executive alignment.
• Drive supplier rationalization, prequalification standards, and consolidation opportunities that improve leverage, ensure delivery capacity, and reduce total installed cost.

4) Business Partnership & Stakeholder Governance

• Serve as a trusted advisor to GWI, Real Estate, and project delivery leadership; translate capital-program objectives into category strategies and sourcing priorities.
• Lead category councils and governance forums (value/risk reviews, supplier performance reviews, delivery-model reviews) to drive decisions, alignment, and accountability across regions.
• Set stakeholder engagement rhythms and communication standards so the construction sourcing experience is consistent and predictable across EMEA, APAC, and the Americas.

5) Value Capture, Rate Cards & Financial Stewardship

• Define and govern the category value pipeline (initiatives, baselines, assumptions, milestones) and partner with Finance for validation and reporting.
• Establish and maintain rate-card databases and benchmarking for PM/CM/QS and construction services across Asia, Europe, and the Americas to enable transparent, defensible negotiations.
• Drive value engineering, should-cost modeling, and total-installed-cost analysis; establish outcome metrics beyond savings (schedule certainty, quality, safety, compliance, risk reduction).

6) Risk, Insurance & Compliance Integration

• Integrate construction and supplier risk considerations into category plans — including third party risk (TPRM), financial stability, safety/EHS performance, and capacity constraints.
• Partner with Legal, Risk/GIRM, and Insurance on indemnity, limitation of liability, insurance requirements, and price-adjustment mechanisms; ensure alignment between the contract and the project risk matrix.
• Proactively monitor construction-market risks (labor, materials, permitting, weather exposure) and translate signals into actions such as contract protections, contingency, and alternative sourcing.

7) Execution Orchestration Through Sourcing (One House Model)

• Translate strategy into sourcing wave plans and clearly defined playbooks/guardrails for Strategic Sourcing Managers and SCoE teams executing RFPs, prequalification, and negotiations.
• Oversee implementation progress and remove barriers; ensure efficient, predictable handoffs between Category, Sourcing, project delivery, and Contracting/Legal.
• Continuously refine strategy based on project outcomes, market feedback, and data insights (strategy ↔ execution feedback loop).

8) Capability Building & Change Leadership

• Champion standard contract templates, prequalification standards, rate cards, and governance that reduce variability and improve speed and quality across the category.
• Support the talent pipeline by coaching and developing Strategic Sourcing Managers and SCoE practitioners; enable role clarity and clear governance boundaries.
• Lead change initiatives (process standardization, supplier operating models, digital procurement tools) and drive adoption across a globally distributed team.

Qualifications
Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Engineering, Construction Management, Finance, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
• Demonstrated category management leadership in construction, capital projects, real estate, or facilities — building and executing category strategies, supplier segmentation, and governance models.
• Strong commercial expertise in construction contracting: negotiations, delivery-model selection (EPC/PMC/design-build), indemnity and LOL, insurance, and total installed cost/value analysis.
• Proven ability to lead in a global, matrixed organization — driving alignment across regions, project delivery, functions, and senior stakeholders.
• Experience integrating construction, contractual, safety, and supply-market risk into supplier and category decisions.

Preferred

• Experience sourcing for semiconductor, high-tech, or advanced-manufacturing facilities — fabs, labs, cleanrooms, and complex tool-install/fit-out environments.
• Experience with major GC/EPC/PMC and A&E firms (e.g., Jacobs, JLL, Linesight, and equivalent) and global construction supplier ecosystems.
• Experience developing rate-card databases, benchmarking, and value-engineering programs across multiple regions.
• Professional certifications (e.g., CPSM, CIPS, RICS, PMP) and/or MBA/MS in a relevant discipline.

Core Competencies (What “Great” Looks Like)

• Strategic thinking & roadmap design: turns the capital plan and construction-market dynamics into a clear category plan and sequence of work.
• Business partnership: earns trust with GWI, project delivery, and executives; frames decisions, trade offs, and value in business language.
• Commercial & contractual acumen: structures delivery models, risk allocation, and commercial terms that protect Applied while enabling delivery.
• Analytical leadership: uses rate cards, should-cost, and benchmarking to prioritize, challenge assumptions, and quantify cost and non-cost value.
• Governance discipline: establishes predictable cadences, decision forums, and clear role & responsibility boundaries across Category, Sourcing, and delivery.
• Change leadership: drives adoption of standard ways of working and reinforces clarity of roles and handoffs.

Success Measures (Sample)

• Category outcomes: delivered and validated value aligned to targets (savings, cost avoidance, value engineering, and/or risk reduction) across capital programs.
• Delivery certainty: improved schedule and cost predictability on major projects through the right delivery models and contracting approach.
• Supplier performance: improved GC/EPC/PMC and A&E performance (quality, safety, service, cost, innovation, relationship) and reduced critical risk exposure.
• Pipeline health: forward-looking, prioritized pipeline aligned to the capital plan, with clear owners, milestones, and predictable execution cadence.
• Operating model effectiveness: consistent strategy-to-execution flow and reduced rework/hand-off delays across Category, Sourcing, Contracting, and project delivery.

About Applied Materials
Applied Materials is a global leader in materials engineering solutions used to produce virtually every new chip and advanced display in the world. Our expertise in modifying materials at atomic levels and on an industrial scale enables customers to transform possibilities into reality. At Applied Materials, our innovations make possible the technology shaping the future.
About Global Sourcing & Procurement (GSP)
Global Sourcing & Procurement (GSP) is Applied Materials’ indirect procurement and extended workforce support function. We procure the goods, services, and extended workforce required for Applied to run and grow the company. GSP partners with stakeholders globally through sourcing, contracting, category and supplier management, analytics, and transactional procurement.
Standard Posting Notes (HR Alignment Needed)

• This document is a functional job description draft; confirm grade/level, location, and exact HR/Legal posting language (EEO, benefits, travel expectations) prior to publication.
• Apply the appropriate leveling rubric (career band/level) based on scope, autonomy, enterprise impact, and people management expectations. Note significant international travel tied to global capital programs.

Appendix A — Role Boundaries (Category vs. Sourcing vs. SCoE)

• Global Category Manager: Defines WHAT to do — category strategy, delivery-model direction, supplier portfolio & governance, demand/value roadmap, and outcome ownership.
• Strategic Sourcing Manager: Defines HOW to implement plans — sourcing wave plans, prequalification, negotiation approach, and coaching/QA of execution.
• Sourcing Center of Excellence (SCoE): Executes the strategy at scale — repeatable sourcing delivery, standards, and consistent stakeholder experience

Additional Information

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The salary offered to a selected candidate will be based on multiple factors including location, hire grade, job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and with consideration of internal equity of our current team members. In addition to a comprehensive benefits package, candidates may be eligible for other forms of compensation such as participation in a bonus and a stock award program, as applicable.

For all sales roles, the posted salary range is the Target Total Cash (TTC) range for the role, which is the sum of base salary and target bonus amount at 100% goal achievement.

Applied Materials is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, citizenship, ancestry, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law.

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