Head of Lab Procurement

Posted Yesterday
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Chicago, IL, USA
Hybrid
130K-180K Annually
Expert/Leader
Artificial Intelligence • Big Data • Healthtech • Machine Learning • Analytics • Biotech • Generative AI
Tempus is a technology company leading the adoption of AI to advance precision medicine and patient care.
The Role
Leads strategic procurement for laboratory categories, including sequencing equipment, consumables, and service contracts. Develops category strategies, negotiates high-value agreements, mitigates supply-chain risk, establishes procurement best practices, and partners with lab, legal, finance, and executive stakeholders. Drives cost savings, cost avoidance, budget alignment, and total cost of ownership reduction while implementing AI-enabled procurement improvements.
Summary Generated by Built In

Passionate about precision medicine and advancing the healthcare industry?

Recent advancements in underlying technology have finally made it possible for AI to impact clinical care in a meaningful way. Tempus' proprietary platform connects an entire ecosystem of real-world evidence to deliver real-time, actionable insights to physicians, providing critical information about the right treatments for the right patients, at the right time.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic Category Management

  • Develop and execute comprehensive strategies for critical lab spend (e.g., sequencing equipment pacing, consumables, service contracts).

  • Establish best practices for lab procurement, setting the standard for purchasing behaviors across lab managers and technicians across multiple sites, while also directly leading major RFx and/or negotiations  for high-value contracts.

  • Negotiate complex commercial terms to secure favorable pricing, mitigate supply chain risk, and ensure service level agreements (SLAs) meet business needs.

  • Champion the integration of AI-driven tools to automate routine tasks, enhance spend visibility, and predict market trends.

2. Stakeholder Partnership

  • Act as a strategic advisor to functional leaders, understanding their roadmaps and budget constraints to align new possibilities in related external markets with internal business goals.

  • Build trust and collaboration across lab sites to ensure procurement is viewed as an enabler rather than a blocker.

  • Facilitate cross-functional teams for major sourcing initiatives (lab leaders, legal, finance).

3. Financial Impact

  • Define and achieve targets for cost savings and cost avoidance.

  • Partner with Finance to track savings validation and ensure budget alignment.

  • Drive total cost of ownership (TCO) reduction while maintaining quality and service levels.

Qualifications
  • Experience: 8-10+ years of procurement experience with a focus on lab categories; prior experience in a procurement function for a high-growth tech or healthcare environment is strongly preferred.

  • Education: Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Finance, or related field, including applicable life science fields.

  • Tech Savvy: Familiarity with modern ERPs (e.g., NetSuite) and procurement platforms (e.g., Coupa, Zip). Experience implementing or utilizing AI tools in a professional setting is a plus.

  • Soft Skills: Exceptional negotiation capabilities, executive presence, and the ability to influence without authority.

CHI: $130,000-$180,000

The expected salary range may vary for other locations. Actual salary may vary based on qualifications and experience. Tempus offers a full range of benefits, which may include incentive compensation, restricted stock units, medical and other benefits depending on the position.

We are an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. 

Skills Required

  • 8-10+ years of procurement experience focused on laboratory categories
  • Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Finance, or a related field, including applicable life science fields
  • Familiarity with modern ERP systems such as NetSuite and procurement platforms such as Coupa or Zip
  • Exceptional negotiation capabilities
  • Executive presence
  • Ability to influence without authority
  • Procurement experience in a high-growth technology or healthcare environment
  • Experience implementing or using AI tools in a professional setting

What the Team is Saying

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Tempus AI Compensation & Benefits Highlights

  • Healthcare Strength Health coverage is described as comprehensive, including medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, plus mental‑health resources and HSA/FSA options, with core items employer‑verified in mid‑2026.
  • Leave & Time Off Breadth Paid time off and parental leave are consistently part of the package, with parental leave commonly cited around three months and related pages noted as recently employer‑verified.
  • Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits Everyday perks such as commuter benefits, on‑site meals and coffee programs, gym discounts, charitable matching, ERGs, pet insurance, and team events are widely highlighted, with some amenities available in select offices.

Tempus AI Insights

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The Company
HQ: Chicago, IL
3,775 Employees
Year Founded: 2015

What We Do

We bring together one of the world’s largest libraries of multimodal clinical and molecular data with a robust suite of AI tools to help physicians personalize care in real time, connect patients with therapies and clinical trials, and enable partners to accelerate discovery and development of new treatments. With ~8 million de-identified research records and 350+ petabytes of data, Tempus partners with more than half of U.S. oncologists and the majority of the top 20 global pharma companies. Our teams are pioneering work across oncology, neurology, psychiatry, cardiology, and beyond—transforming how care is delivered and therapies are developed. At Tempus, every role contributes to our mission: to help each patient benefit from the experiences of those who came before. For more information, visit tempus.com.

Why Work With Us

We’re looking for people who can change the world. People who question the status quo and refuse to shy away from tough problems. For builders who are never done building, and the learners who are never done learning. Passionate individuals with undying curiosity who want to take on one of the greatest challenges humanity has ever faced—head on.

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Tempus AI Offices

Hybrid Workspace

Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.

Most of the team follows a hybrid policy, with some roles allowing for a fully remote arrangement and some roles being onsite only.

Typical time on-site: 3 days a week
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