Director of Global Category Management: Workplace, Infrastructure & Lab Operations Portfolio - (M6)

Who We Are

Applied Materials is the global leader in materials science and engineering solutions that are at the foundation of virtually every new semiconductor chip and advanced display in the world. The equipment that we create and service is essential to advancing AI and accelerating the commercialization of next-generation semiconductor chips. Join us and push the boundaries of materials science and engineering in a company at the foundation of the electronics industry. The work we do together advances the world’s technology.

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Position Summary

Applied Materials is seeking an experienced executive leader to serve as the Director, Global Category Management – Workplace, Infrastructure & Lab Operations Portfolio Leader.

This role is accountable for one of Applied Materials' largest and most strategic global indirect spend portfolios and serves as the executive-level business partner supporting Global Workplace & Infrastructure (GWI).

The Director is responsible for defining portfolio strategy, building organizational capability, establishing governance, developing talent, leading supplier relationship management programs, driving business partnership excellence, and delivering measurable value across Workplace, Infrastructure, Real Estate, Construction, Laboratory Operations, Technical Facilities, Engineering Services, Energy, Security, Facilities Services, MRO, and related categories.

Operating within Applied Materials' center-led category management model, the Director owns portfolio outcomes while leading a global organization of category leaders, category managers, and supporting sourcing organizations to deliver value, improve stakeholder experience, reduce risk, and enable enterprise growth.

Portfolio Responsibility

The Director provides leadership across three global category towers.

Workplace

• Integrated Facilities Management (IFM)
• Facilities Services
• Workplace Experience
• Food Services
• Employee Experience Programs
• Security Services
• Energy Programs
• Workplace Operations

Infrastructure

• Capital Construction
• Construction Management
• Architecture & Engineering
• Project Controls
• Real Estate
• Technical Facilities
• Plant Infrastructure
• Gas & Chemicals
• Maintenance & Repair

Lab Operations

• Laboratory Equipment
• Tool Installation
• Laboratory Services
• Wafer Programs
• Engineering Services
• OEM Strategy
• Technical Operations
• Lab CapEx & OpEx

This category architecture aligns directly with the future-state Workplace & Infrastructure operating model.

Leadership Responsibilities

Portfolio Leadership

• Own the global Workplace, Infrastructure, and Lab Operations portfolio strategy.
• Align category strategies to Applied Materials growth objectives, business priorities, capital planning, and operational needs.
• Develop multi-year roadmaps supporting growth, readiness, scalability, resilience, and value realization.
• Govern portfolio performance across value creation, stakeholder experience, supplier performance, operational excellence, and risk management.
• Ensure portfolio priorities remain aligned with business strategy, forecasted demand, and long-term investment plans.

Organizational Leadership & Capability Development

Build and lead a world-class Category Management organization.

Responsibilities include:

• Lead Category Leaders, Category Managers, and matrixed sourcing teams.
• Finalize and scale the Workplace & Infrastructure organizational model.
• Recruit and develop category leadership talent globally.
• Build succession plans and leadership pipelines.
• Define capability models aligned to the future GSP operating model.
• Establish talent development, coaching, certification, and capability-building programs.
• Drive workforce planning and organizational readiness.
• Build a culture focused on business partnership, accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement.

This leader will complete the organizational build-out currently underway and develop the next generation of category leadership talent.

Business Relationship Management

Serve as the primary executive relationship leader supporting Global Workplace & Infrastructure.

Key responsibilities:

• Act as the strategic interface between GSP and GWI leadership.
• Lead annual planning and demand alignment activities.
• Ensure early engagement in business planning, investment planning, and capital planning cycles.
• Create governance forums that improve transparency and decision-making.
• Drive alignment around category priorities, supplier strategies, sourcing roadmaps, and business outcomes.
• Champion proactive engagement models that move procurement upstream into business planning.

A critical component of this role is ensuring GSP becomes an early, strategic partner rather than a downstream sourcing organization.

Category Management Excellence

Lead deployment of enterprise category management disciplines.

Responsibilities include:

• Category strategy development
• Demand management
• Supplier segmentation
• Market intelligence
• Opportunity pipeline development
• Category governance
• Preferred supplier programs
• Category performance management
• Analytics and reporting

Establish consistent frameworks, standards, and governance across all categories globally.

Supplier Relationship Management & Governance

Lead strategic supplier governance across the portfolio.

Responsibilities include:

• Executive sponsorship for strategic suppliers.
• Develop and drive SRM programs.
• Sponsor executive business reviews.
• Establish supplier performance governance.
• Drive supplier innovation programs.
• Build supplier segmentation frameworks.
• Strengthen supplier resiliency and risk management programs.
• Align suppliers to Applied's long-term growth strategy.

The role is expected to elevate supplier relationships from transactional management to strategic partnerships.

Operating Model Transformation

Lead deployment of the future-state GSP Category Management operating model.

Responsibilities include:

• Establish governance and decision frameworks.
• Scale category management best practices globally.
• Drive preferred supplier programs.
• Standardize sourcing and category management playbooks.
• Build category performance scorecard frameworks.
• Improve stakeholder engagement models.
• Expand adoption of business relationship management practices.
• Institutionalize scalable category management capabilities.

This leader is expected to be a key architect of the future Category Management organization.

AI, Digital Transformation & Procurement Innovation

Lead adoption of AI-enabled category management capabilities.

Responsibilities include:

• Deploy AI-enabled market intelligence capabilities.
• Improve forecasting and demand visibility.
• Leverage automation to reduce administrative effort.
• Improve sourcing, contracting, and supplier governance efficiency.
• Develop AI-enabled category planning tools.
• Build digital dashboards supporting portfolio decisions.
• Drive innovative ways of working that improve productivity and decision quality.

The expectation is not simply to use AI for efficiency, but to enable category teams to operate at a significantly higher level of effectiveness.

Required Qualifications

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Supply Chain, Construction Management, Finance, Architecture, Real Estate, Operations, or related discipline.

Experience

• 15+ years of progressive leadership experience.
• 10+ years leading global teams and managers.
• Experience leading category management organizations.
• Experience managing large global spend portfolios.
• Background in Workplace, Infrastructure, Facilities, Construction, Real Estate, Engineering Services, Laboratory Operations, or similar environments.
• Demonstrated experience with organizational design and transformation.
• Proven executive stakeholder management capability.
• Experience leading supplier governance and SRM programs.
• Experience operating within complex global and matrixed organizations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Semiconductor industry experience.
• Advanced manufacturing experience.
• Capital construction and infrastructure experience.
• Workplace and IFM category expertise.
• Laboratory operations and equipment category expertise.
• Experience building category management organizations from the ground up.
• Global SRM leadership experience.
• MBA, CPSM, CIPS, CPM, PMP, or equivalent.

Success Profile

The successful candidate will:

• Think like a business executive, not a procurement leader.
• Build organizations, not categories.
• Develop leaders, not individual contributors.
• Operate as a trusted advisor to senior executives.
• Translate strategy into scalable execution.
• Drive value well beyond cost savings.
• Create global consistency with regional flexibility.
• Build strong supplier ecosystems that enable Applied's future growth.
• Lead transformational change while delivering results.

Additional Information

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Travel:

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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.

In addition, Applied endeavors to make our careers site accessible to all users. If you would like to contact us regarding accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please contact us via e-mail at [email protected], or by calling our HR Direct Help Line at 877-612-7547, option 1, and following the prompts to speak to an HR Advisor. This contact is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.