Global Category Manager — Infrastructure & Construction

Who We Are

Applied Materials is a global leader in materials engineering solutions used to produce virtually every new chip and advanced display in the world. We design, build and service cutting-edge equipment that helps our customers manufacture display and semiconductor chips – the brains of devices we use every day. As the foundation of the global electronics industry, Applied enables the exciting technologies that literally connect our world – like AI and IoT. If you want to push the boundaries of materials science and engineering to create next generation technology, join us to deliver material innovation that changes the world. 

What We Offer

Salary:

Location:

You’ll benefit from a supportive work culture that encourages you to learn, develop, and grow your career as you take on challenges and drive innovative solutions for our customers. We empower our team to push the boundaries of what is possible—while learning every day in a supportive leading global company. Visit our Careers website to learn more. 

At Applied Materials, we care about the health and wellbeing of our employees. We’re committed to providing programs and support that encourage personal and professional growth and care for you at work, at home, or wherever you may go. Learn more about our benefits. 

Global Category Manager — Infrastructure & Construction
Global Sourcing & Procurement (GSP) | Global Category & Sourcing
Applied Materials — Internal Draft Job Description
Role Summary
The Global Category Manager, Infrastructure & Construction, is the strategic owner of Applied’s capital construction, real estate, and facilities spend, accountable for defining the global category strategy and delivering outcomes across value capture, stakeholder experience, and risk management. This role owns the sourcing and supplier strategy for the categories that build and sustain Applied’s fabs, labs, cleanrooms, offices, and site infrastructure — including general construction, engineering & design (A&E), construction management (CM/PM/QS), EPC/PMC delivery partners, MRO, and tool install.
The role sets direction (the “WHAT”) through category strategies, supplier portfolio and segmentation decisions, delivery-model selection, governance, and demand/value roadmaps, while enabling scaled execution (the “HOW”) through Strategic Sourcing Managers and the Sourcing Center of Excellence (SCoE). Operating in a center led ‘one house’ model, the Global Category Manager orchestrates cross functional alignment across Global Workplace & Infrastructure (GWI), project delivery teams, Legal, Risk, and Finance — ensuring consistent global standards with regional nuance across EMEA, APAC, and the Americas.
Role at a Glance
Job Title    Global Category Manager — Infrastructure & Construction
Organization    Global Sourcing & Procurement (GSP) — Global Category & Sourcing
Reports To    Category Leader / Portfolio Leader, Real Estate & Construction (per org design)
Primary Purpose    Own the category strategy, delivery-model approach, supplier portfolio, governance, and outcome delivery for infrastructure and construction spend across the enterprise.
Category Scope    General construction; engineering & design (A&E); construction/project/cost management (CM/PM/QS); EPC and PMC delivery partners; facilities CapEx and OpEx; MRO; tool install and fit-out.
Primary Interfaces    GWI / Real Estate & Facilities leaders, Project Delivery & Engineering teams, Strategic Sourcing Managers, SCoE Leaders, GC/EPC/PMC supplier executives, Finance (Value Capture), Risk/TPRM & Insurance, Contracting CoE/Legal.
Operating Model    Category defines strategy, delivery model, and guardrails; Sourcing executes and refines through data/insights; one unified global team.
Geographic Reach    Global — major capital programs across EMEA, APAC (India, Korea, Singapore), and the Americas; significant international travel expected.
Mission Alignment (GSP “Definition of Winning”)
•    Value Capture: establish multi year value levers (savings, cost avoidance, value engineering, productivity, schedule certainty) across capital programs and deliver results through a governed pipeline and rate-card discipline.
•    Client Journey: build proactive engagement models with project delivery, GWI, and business stakeholders through clear intake, delivery-model selection, and predictable governance from concept through close-out.
•    Risk Management: embed construction, contractual, safety, and supply-market risk thinking into category strategies, delivery-model choices, insurance/indemnity structures, and contracting guardrails.
•    Optimize Capability: enable the organization through playbooks, standard contract templates, rate-card databases, benchmarking, and a talent pipeline that improves execution quality over time.
Key Responsibilities
1) Global Category Strategy & Roadmap Ownership
•    Define and maintain a multi year global category strategy for infrastructure and construction that aligns to Applied’s capital plan, GWI priorities, and GSP goals — including clear value levers, delivery-model direction, and execution waves.
•    Establish category scope and taxonomy across construction, A&E, CM/PM/QS services, EPC/PMC, MRO, and tool install, with a clear demand/supply perspective (project pipeline, capacity, and construction-market dynamics by region).
•    Develop and refresh a category roadmap that sequences initiatives by capital-program impact, urgency, risk, and market capacity, maintaining a forward looking pipeline tied to the project portfolio.
2) Delivery-Model Strategy (EPC / PMC / Design-Bid-Build)
•    Own the framework for selecting the right delivery model per project — EPC, PMC, design-build, design-bid-build, or hybrid — balancing cost certainty, schedule, risk transfer, and Applied’s control requirements.
•    Provide guidance on lump-sum vs. reimbursable vs. GMP commercial structures, and align delivery-model decisions with the appropriate risk allocation and price-adjustment mechanisms.
•    Partner with project delivery and engineering to bridge the ROM-to-BOM gap — ensuring estimating maturity, scope definition, and contracting approach are aligned before commitment.
3) Supplier Portfolio Strategy, Segmentation & SRM
•    Own supplier portfolio design and segmentation across GCs, EPCs, PMCs, A&E firms, and specialty trades (strategic, preferred, transactional) and define the engagement model for each segment.
•    Lead strategic supplier relationship management (SRM) for priority partners (e.g., major GCs, EPC/PMC firms, CM providers): performance, innovation, commercial governance, and executive alignment.
•    Drive supplier rationalization, prequalification standards, and consolidation opportunities that improve leverage, ensure delivery capacity, and reduce total installed cost.
4) Business Partnership & Stakeholder Governance
•    Serve as a trusted advisor to GWI, Real Estate, and project delivery leadership; translate capital-program objectives into category strategies and sourcing priorities.
•    Lead category councils and governance forums (value/risk reviews, supplier performance reviews, delivery-model reviews) to drive decisions, alignment, and accountability across regions.
•    Set stakeholder engagement rhythms and communication standards so the construction sourcing experience is consistent and predictable across EMEA, APAC, and the Americas.
5) Value Capture, Rate Cards & Financial Stewardship
•    Define and govern the category value pipeline (initiatives, baselines, assumptions, milestones) and partner with Finance for validation and reporting.
•    Establish and maintain rate-card databases and benchmarking for PM/CM/QS and construction services across Asia, Europe, and the Americas to enable transparent, defensible negotiations.
•    Drive value engineering, should-cost modeling, and total-installed-cost analysis; establish outcome metrics beyond savings (schedule certainty, quality, safety, compliance, risk reduction).
6) Risk, Insurance & Compliance Integration
•    Integrate construction and supplier risk considerations into category plans — including third party risk (TPRM), financial stability, safety/EHS performance, and capacity constraints.
•    Partner with Legal, Risk/GIRM, and Insurance on indemnity, limitation of liability, insurance requirements, and price-adjustment mechanisms; ensure alignment between the contract and the project risk matrix.
•    Proactively monitor construction-market risks (labor, materials, permitting, weather exposure) and translate signals into actions such as contract protections, contingency, and alternative sourcing.
7) Execution Orchestration Through Sourcing (One House Model)
•    Translate strategy into sourcing wave plans and clearly defined playbooks/guardrails for Strategic Sourcing Managers and SCoE teams executing RFPs, prequalification, and negotiations.
•    Oversee implementation progress and remove barriers; ensure efficient, predictable handoffs between Category, Sourcing, project delivery, and Contracting/Legal.
•    Continuously refine strategy based on project outcomes, market feedback, and data insights (strategy ↔ execution feedback loop).
8) Capability Building & Change Leadership
•    Champion standard contract templates, prequalification standards, rate cards, and governance that red