The Opportunity
The Sourcing Manager – Energy Infrastructure manages supplier relationships that support the full after-sales service lifecycle for Energy Storage Systems (ESS). The role manages a broad portfolio that may include field service providers, warranty and repair services, spare parts and consumables, service logistics, warehousing, technical support, training, digital service tools, decommissioning, recycling, and other customer-support requirements. This position serves as a commercial advisor to cross-functional leadership, helping ensure that service solutions are scalable, cost-effective, compliant, and aligned with customer commitments and long-term business needs.
The ideal candidate will connect technical, operational, customer, and commercial requirements to build dependable after-sales supply networks for utility-scale, commercial, and industrial energy storage products.
Key Responsibilities
1. Category Strategy & Sourcing Execution
• Category Strategy: Develop and maintain sourcing strategies for after-sales categories such as field service, warranty administration and repair, spare parts, consumables, logistics, technical support, training, digital service tools, decommissioning, recycling, and specialized equipment.
• Market Intelligence and RFx: Assess supplier markets, identify and qualify capable partners, and lead RFIs, RFPs, and RFQs from requirements definition through evaluation and award.
• Supplier Selection: Partner with After-Sales Services, Engineering, Quality, Operations, Finance, Legal, and EHS to evaluate technical capability, service coverage, capacity, safety, quality, cost, and commercial risk.
• Supply Network Development: Build scalable regional and national supply solutions that support installation, commissioning, preventive and corrective maintenance, warranty response, upgrades, and end-of-life requirements.
2. Contract Negotiation & Commercial Management
• Commercial Agreements: Lead negotiation and execution of Master Service Agreements, Statements of Work, Service Level Agreements, purchase agreements, rate cards, and other category-specific commercial documents in partnership with Legal and business stakeholders.
• Risk Allocation: Negotiate pricing, warranty obligations, service levels, response times, liability, indemnification, intellectual property, data protection, business continuity, and other terms appropriate to each after-sales category.
• Cost Management: Develop cost models and total-cost-of-ownership analyses; use competition, demand aggregation, should-cost insights, and structured pricing mechanisms to improve value.
• Purchase-to-Pay Support: Establish clear scopes, pricing controls, purchase-order requirements, invoice validation processes, and change-management mechanisms.
3. Supplier Performance, Risk & Continuous Improvement
• Performance Management: Establish and monitor category-appropriate KPIs, which may include service response, mean time to repair, first-time fix rate, parts availability, fill rate, logistics performance, quality, cost, and SLA compliance.
• Supplier Reviews: Lead periodic business reviews, recovery plans, cost-improvement initiatives, capacity reviews, and continuous-improvement activities with strategic suppliers.
• Issue Resolution: Act as the commercial escalation point for service failures, supply interruptions, warranty disputes, billing discrepancies, and contract-performance issues.
• Business Continuity: Identify single-source, capacity, geographic, financial, cybersecurity, and operational risks; develop mitigation and contingency plans with cross-functional partners.
4. Cross-Functional Collaboration & Compliance
• Requirements Alignment: Work with After-Sales Services, Engineering, Quality, Operations, Logistics, IT, and Product teams to translate customer and technical needs into clear sourcing requirements and supplier deliverables.
• Safety and Compliance: Ensure suppliers meet applicable environmental, health, safety, quality, cybersecurity, regulatory, and customer requirements.
• Program Support: Align sourcing milestones, supplier readiness, budgets, and contracts with product launches, customer commitments, warranty plans, and service-capacity requirements.
• Governance and Reporting: Maintain sourcing documentation, approvals, forecasts, savings and cost-avoidance tracking, supplier risk reporting, and executive updates.
Position Qualifications and Key Capabilities
Required
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Engineering, or a related technical/commercial field.
• Experience: 5+ years of procurement, category management, or strategic sourcing experience, preferably supporting energy storage, renewable energy, utilities, industrial services, logistics, aftermarket, or another technically complex industry.
• Category Experience: Demonstrated ability to source one or more after-sales categories, including technical field services, maintenance and repair, warranty support, spare parts, logistics, training, software or data services, recycling, or industrial service contracts.
Technical & Professional Skills
• Contracting Expertise: Strong understanding of commercial and legal terms, with experience negotiating service, supply, logistics, warranty, software, or other technically complex agreements.
• Industry Knowledge: Familiarity with energy storage products, after-sales operating models, warranty processes, service-parts planning, field operations, and related technology is highly desirable.
• Analytical Skills: Proficient in financial analysis, cost modeling, and TCO evaluations.
• Negotiation: Proven ability to influence stakeholders and negotiate win-win outcomes with sophisticated global and regional service providers.
• Tools: Experience using enterprise procurement software (e.g., SAP, Ariba, Coupa) and advanced MS Excel.
Leadership Attributes
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to translate technical needs into commercial agreements.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple sourcing initiatives concurrently.
• High ethical standards and commitment to supplier diversity and sustainable sourcing practices.
Location & Travel
• Location: Dearborn, MI/Hybrid
• Company: As Ford establishes a wholly owned subsidiary focused on Battery Energy Storage Systems, this role will initially be employed by Ford and is expected to transition to the subsidiary within one year.
Why Ford Energy?
At Ford Energy, you have the backing of an industrial manufacturing powerhouse with the agility of a dedicated energy startup offering industry leading technology. We offer a competitive compensation package including performance-based bonuses, Ford vehicle discounts, and the opportunity to shape the energy strategy of one of the world's most iconic brands.