Associate Director Category Manager

The Strategic Alliances Group at Leidos has an opening for an Associate Director Category Manager. This is an exciting opportunity to leverage your expertise in category management, supplier management, and supply chain leadership in support of Leidos’ mission-critical programs.

In this position, you will lead a team of Category Managers responsible for managing supplier relationships and strategic spend across the enterprise, while also directly managing a subset of categories. You will serve as the Leidos market expert for assigned categories, influence contract renewals, drive supply chain efficiencies, and develop strategies to ensure compliance, security, and resilience across the supply base. The goal of this role is to help Leidos operate leaner, faster, and more effectively while ensuring compliance with U.S. Government and industry requirements.

Primary Responsibilities

• Lead, develop, and mentor a team of senior Category Managers, fostering collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Establish, track, and report KPIs across the category management function.
• Oversee category management activities, including market research, supplier selection, contract negotiation, and risk mitigation.
• Identify and manage strategic relationships with Leidos’ key partners and internal stakeholders.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with procurement, engineering, production planning, contracts, and program teams to align supply chain strategies with business objectives.
• Develop and implement strategies for supply chain security, counterfeit parts prevention, and compliance with applicable standards (e.g., AS6500, Buy American Act, Trade Agreements Act).
• Function as a subject matter expert on market dynamics, supplier trends, and potential solutions using industry-standard practices and modeling tools.
• Publish whitepapers, briefings, and executive-level reports on key categories and industry trends.
• Regularly deliver presentations to senior executives and participate in new business proposal activities.
• Support supply chain risk management, obsolescence mitigation strategies, and continuous process improvement initiatives.
• Manage specialized categories, including Human Resource Talent Acquisition (temporary labor), ensuring compliance and alignment with organizational goals.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with 8+ years of relevant experience or Master’s degree with 6+ years of relevant experience (Supply Chain Management, Business, Engineering, or related field).
• Minimum 4 years of experience supervising, leading teams, or managing projects.
• Proven experience in category management, procurement, or supply chain management, preferably in a global or federal contracting environment.
• Strong knowledge of supplier management, sourcing strategies, and contract negotiation.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze data, make recommendations, and communicate findings effectively to diverse audiences.
• Must be able to travel occasionally.

Preferred Qualifications

• Proven ability to lead and develop high-performing teams of senior professionals.
• At least 8 years of experience in supply chain engineering, subcontracts, category management, or supplier quality management.
• Experience conducting supplier competitions (RFI, RFP, selection, and performance management), including under U.S. Federal Government programs.
• Familiarity with defense/aerospace manufacturing and standards (AS6500, BAA, TAA, DOE/FAA environments).
• Advanced degree or professional certification (e.g., CPSM, CSCP, PMP).
• Advanced skills in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint, with ability to create executive-level presentations.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills and experience presenting to executive leadership.

If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo — because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 — and moving faster than anyone else dares.

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.