Director of Procurement – Full Time – Fort Worth or Houston, TX

JOB SUMMARY:

The Director of Procurement leads category management, supplier partnerships, and purchasing for the Engineered Structures business unit. With steel as the primary category, this leader works in partnership with the Race Rock VP of Strategic Sourcing to develop supply agreements and reliable supply solutions across critical direct and indirect categories, including hardware, contract manufacturing, maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO), and other materials and services. The role translates multi-site demand into sourcing strategies, building supplier capability, and driving continuous supplier performance improvement to support profitable growth.

Key Responsibilities

1. Sourcing and Category Management

• Lead multi-category sourcing strategy, with steel plate and structural steel as primary priorities, alongside hardware, contract manufacturing and outsourced capacity, MRO, and other critical materials and services for the Engineered Structures business unit
  • Own category management plans with assigned category leadership, supplier segmentation, market intelligence, sourcing objectives, supply assurance strategies, and measurable performance targets
  • Aggregate demand across Engineered Structures facilities/sites, identify specification standardization opportunities
  • Lead supplier selection, qualification, and competitive sourcing activities in collaboration with Engineering, Quality, and Operations

2. Steel Mill Partnerships and Commercial Agreements

• Foster and support relationships with steel mills, service centers, contract manufacturers, and other strategic supply partners across direct and indirect categories
  • Manage category-wide supply agreements covering pricing mechanisms, long-term contracts, volume and capacity commitments, lead times, freight terms, service levels, and supply protections
  • Develop scheduled mill rolling, capacity reservations, consignment, alternative supply, and outsourced manufacturing arrangements, including scalable contract manufacturing capacity to support demand surges
  • Optimize mill-direct versus service-center sourcing based on total delivered cost, supplier performance, and working capital management
  • Monitor relevant category markets, supplier capacity, material availability, and contractual performance; establish alternatives and contingency plans for critical supply risks

3. Demand Translation and Supply Alignment

• Partner with S&OP, Planning, Operations, and Engineering to convert forecasts, project demand, specifications, and production schedules into category-level sourcing requirements
  • Align purchasing commitments and supplier capacity with business growth plans, production priorities, and inventory objectives
  • Identify long-lead material exposure and proactively resolve constraints before they affect manufacturing or customer commitments

4. Centralized Purchasing Leadership and Operating Model

• Lead, coach, and develop centralized purchasing personnel, including category buyers responsible for purchasing across multiple sites, regardless of their physical work location
  • Establish common purchasing policies, processes, analytics, approval controls, and performance expectations

• Provide functional sourcing direction and standards to site buyers who report to their local site leadership; partner with those managers to align execution with category agreements
  • Clarify decision rights, handoffs, and escalation pathways between centralized category buyers, site purchasing, and planning teams
  • Build organizational capabilities and support the transition to the future-state hybrid purchasing model

5. Supplier Performance and Business Results

• Establish an ongoing supplier performance management system with regularly updated scorecards and reporting on on-time delivery, quality, cost, responsiveness, capacity, and contract compliance
  • Lead structured supplier performance reviews at defined intervals, communicate results to internal stakeholders, assign corrective actions, and track resolution and sustained improvement
  • Escalate chronic supplier performance issues, drive cross-functional recovery plans, and deliver measurable savings, cost avoidance, supply assurance, and inventory improvements
  • Report supplier performance trends, category initiatives, sourcing results, market developments, and significant risks to the COO and business leadership on a consistent cadence

Required Qualifications of Every Candidate (Education, Experience, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities):

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Engineering, or a related discipline.
  • 10+ years of progressive procurement, strategic sourcing, or supply chain experience, including people leadership
  • Demonstrated success developing direct steel mill relationships, negotiating supply agreements, and managing steel sourcing economics
  • Experience leading multi-category sourcing, supplier performance management, and purchasing activities across multiple manufacturing locations
  • Ability to translate complex demand and production requirements into sourcing strategies and supplier commitments
  • Strong commercial, financial, analytical, negotiation, communication, and cross-functional leadership skills

Highly Qualified Candidates Will Also Possess These Qualifications:

• Experience in engineered-to-order, structural steel fabrication, or heavy industrial manufacturing
  • Knowledge of steel grades, specifications, rolling practices, plate dimensions, and mill production programs
  • Experience building or transforming a centralized or hybrid strategic sourcing and purchasing organization
  • Experience with outsourced manufacturing agreements, consignment, supplier-managed inventory, ERP systems, and procurement analytics

This position requires regular travel to manufacturing sites, steel mills and strategic suppliers. Employment is contingent on successful completion of a pre-employment physical examination/medical history check. A valid Texas driver’s license is required.

Equal Opportunity Statement: We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and make employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic.