Role Overview
Lead strategic technology and commodity sourcing initiatives for critical hardware components. In this role, you will spearhead high-impact supplier relationships, align technology roadmaps, and build supply chain resilience for our next-generation AI hardware systems. Your primary focus will encompass strategic commodities, including compute, storage, and memory products.
This is a rare opportunity to join one of the fastest-growing infrastructure companies in history, positioned directly at the epicenter of the artificial intelligence revolution.
About VAST Data
VAST Data is the data platform company for the AI era. We build the enterprise software infrastructure required to capture, catalog, refine, enrich, and protect massive datasets, making them seamlessly available for real-time analytics, AI training, and inference. Designed from the ground up to make AI effortless to deploy and manage, VAST eliminates the cost and complexity of enterprise AI infrastructure across data center, edge, and cloud environments.
Our momentum is driven by relentless innovation, a customer-first mindset, and a team of fearless VASTronauts who leverage their expertise to make a lasting market impact. Join us at a pivotal moment in our company’s growth—and at a defining nexus in computing history.
Key Responsibilities
- Strategic Sourcing & Roadmap: Develop and drive multi-year sourcing strategies. Lead cross-functional teams to drive technology, roadmap, qualification, and supplier strategies for key commodities
- Supplier Management: Cultivate strong relationships with core suppliers. Influence business models and technology roadmaps. Drive long-term technology collaboration.
- Negotiation & Commercials: Drive commodity RFP/RFQ processes. Lead complex contract negotiations and finalize pricing/business awards. Implement Master Supply Agreements and SOWs.
- Specification & Product Lifecycle Management: Create and maintain product specification requirements; Drive specification alignment with suppliers. Create and support optimal commodity strategies for NPI. Manage key product lifecycles end-to-end.
- Cost Optimization: Drive hardware cost optimizations and reductions through TCO analysis, should-cost modeling, and commodity strategies. Drive key supplier and product selection, qualification and multi-sourcing strategies to ensure competitive pricing, ongoing cost reduction path, and commercial resiliency
- RFI/RFP/RFQ & Contracts: Create and drive RFx process and associated contracts with key commodity suppliers for POC, NPI, new technologies/products, new suppliers, etc.
- Market Intelligence & Competitive Analysis: Maintain a pulse on emerging technologies and industry trends to conduct insightful competitive analyses
Core Requirements
- Experience: 10+ years in technical/strategic sourcing, commodity management, or component engineering (focusing on semiconductor, memory, or data center hardware).
- Technical Knowledge: Deep understanding of hardware architectures (memory/storage, semiconductors). Ability to evaluate technical trade-offs and vendor roadmaps; understand supplier/technology costs, industry trends, and perform cost modeling analysis.
- Commercial Acumen: Proven track record in large-scale complex contract negotiations and supplier management.
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, or Business (MBA or advanced degree preferred).
- Leadership: Demonstrated ability to lead global, cross-functional teams and influence executive-level stakeholders.
Skills Required
- 10+ years in technical or strategic sourcing, commodity management, or component engineering focused on semiconductors, memory, or data center hardware
- Deep understanding of hardware architectures for memory, storage, and semiconductors
- Proven experience in large-scale complex contract negotiations and supplier management
- Experience developing multi-year sourcing strategies, RFx processes, and supplier qualification for NPI
- Ability to perform cost modeling, TCO analysis, and should-cost modeling for hardware components
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, or Business
- MBA or advanced degree
- Demonstrated ability to lead global, cross-functional teams and influence executive stakeholders
VAST Data Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about VAST Data and has not been reviewed or approved by VAST Data.
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Healthcare Strength — Medical, dental, vision and life insurance are included, with several elements identified as employer-provided. Coverage aligns with what is commonly offered by high‑growth tech companies.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time off includes generous or unlimited PTO alongside paid sick days and paid holidays, coupled with remote or work‑from‑home flexibility. This breadth supports taking time away when needed.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Company equity is a standard part of offers with a typical four‑year vest, and professional development support is available. Equity is positioned as a meaningful component of total compensation at a growth‑stage company.
VAST Data Insights
What We Do
Meet the data platform company for the AI era. Accelerating time-to-insight for workload-intensive applications, the VAST Data Platform delivers scalable performance, radically simple data management and enhanced productivity for the AI-powered world. Launched in 2019, VAST is the fastest-selling data infrastructure startup in history.
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