The Global Category Manager role at Applied Materials is a senior-level position within the Global Sourcing & Procurement team, responsible for defining and executing global category strategies to drive value capture, stakeholder experience enhancement, and risk management. This individual will develop multi-year strategic plans, manage supplier portfolios, and ensure consistent governance across regions while collaborating closely with business unit leaders and cross-functional teams. Key responsibilities include setting global category roadmaps, leading supplier relationship management, and integrating risk considerations into procurement strategies. The ideal candidate possesses a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, along with extensive experience in strategic sourcing and category management within complex environments. Preferred qualifications include expertise in the semiconductor or high-tech sectors and familiarity with digital procurement tools. This role demands strong analytical skills, change leadership capabilities, and the ability to drive alignment across global teams.
Skills
Global Category Strategy
Supplier Portfolio Management
SRM
Business Partnership
Value Capture
Financial Stewardship
Risk Management
Compliance Integration
Execution Orchestration
Capability Building
Change Leadership
Category Councils
Procurement Governance
Supply Chain Risk Management
TPRM
Negotiations
Contract Strategy
Total Cost Analysis
Global Matrix Organization Leadership
Semiconductor Industry Experience
Indirect Categories Expertise
Analytics-Enabled Decision Making
Digital Procurement Tools
CPSM
CIPS
CPM
MBA
MS
What you'll do
Define and maintain a multi-year global category strategy aligned with company priorities.
Own supplier portfolio design, segmentation, and strategic relationship management for priority suppliers.
Lead governance forums to drive decisions, alignment, and accountability across stakeholders.
Govern the category value pipeline and establish outcome metrics beyond traditional savings.
Integrate risk considerations into category plans and ensure compliance in supplier selections.
What we're looking for
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Engineering, Finance, or a related field.
Proven experience building and executing global category strategies and governance models.
Strong commercial expertise in negotiations, contract strategy, and total cost/value analysis.
Demonstrated ability to lead in a matrixed organization with cross-functional alignment.
Experience integrating risk and compliance into supplier and category decisions.
Preferred: Experience in semiconductor or high-tech indirect categories globally.
Market check
Salary context
Competitive pay
How this pay compares to similar roles
Similar $187k
This role $167k
$131k
most similar roles pay here
$235k
This role pays less than
63%
of similar roles. Most pay
$155,491–$219,425
— the shaded band above.
At the midpoint, this role pays about
$167k
versus about
$187k
for comparable roles.
Based on 239 similar postings.
Employer
About Applied Materials
Applied Materials is the world''s largest supplier of equipment, services, and software for the semiconductor and display industries, enabling the production of chips and advanced displays. Industry: Semiconductor Equipment
Applied Materials currently has
73 open roles
on FindRole.
Listed pay typically runs
$141,000–$193,500
across 73 roles with salary data.