NPI Innovation Sourcing Partner (m/f/d)

Job Description

About the Role:

This newly designed role aims at connecting between our business groups (BGs) and procurement to understand key technical requirements as well as streamline sourcing activities and enable a speedy time to market.

You will be the key go-to person for our R&D colleagues across any of our 4 BGs globally and will work closely with our global category teams, incumbent and potentially new suppliers – depending on the material request by our R&D colleagues. You will engage in technical discussions with our R&D teams and ensure a speedy trial phase, up until the material is released for mass production. From there it is handed over to our global sourcing teams

What You Will Do:

• Partner cross-functionally with our BG R&D teams, engineering, operations, controlling and quality teams to enable new product development
• Own end-to-end sourcing responsibility for all BG required materials and outsourced technical services during the product development stage, incl. achieving agreed objectives and key results (OKRs)
• Scout the supplier market for innovative supply partners
• Lead technical partner dialogues to ensure streamlined sourcing for market standards or trends
• Align Sourcing Strategies of Global Procurement Key Category Teams with BG R&D Teams
• build and maintain strategic supplier relationships and manage their performance
• Drive value creation initiatives and product innovation, considering long-term commercial leverage
• Lead commercial negotiations and close (long-term) supply contracts, apply pricing models and securing supply
• Define, execute and adapt global NPI strategies to our corporate and the landing category strategy, and ensure technology roadmap alignment
• Ensure stable and timely supply of sample batches ensuring supplier readiness and timely industrialization (Time to Market)
• attend industry conferences, visit and audit (new) supply partners, and prepare market intelligence and strategic insights into supply trends, cost, and technology developments for internal stakeholders
• Support procurement transformation and sustainability requirements and drive improvement initiatives

What You Will Need:

• University degree in Physics, Electrical Engineering or another technical domain
• Minimum 7 years of sourcing experience in an international manufacturing industry
• Proven negotiation and analytical skills, and a good understanding of current ESG requirements
• Strong teamwork and collaboration skills on an international level
• Excellent English speaking and communication skills amongst various groups of stakeholders, also across borders (Tier 1+2 sites), nice to have: Mandarin, Japanese, or German language skills
• Capability to think out of the box while continuously challenging the status quo
• Work independently with a solution-oriented and proactive mindset
• Proactively identify and monitor emerging technical trends and developments
• Willingness to travel internationally