Senior Capital Procurement Manager

SunPower Corporation, a leader in the solar industry and provider of the world’s highest efficiency solar panel, is searching for an experienced Capital Procurement Manager for its San Jose Office. The position reports to the Vice President of Capital Procurement and will be the primary liaison between the Capital Procurement and Equipment R&D organizations. The Capital Procurement Manager will work closely with the San Jose-based Equipment R&D team to assess and select new solar cell manufacturing equipment suppliers, to enhance equipment from the current supplier base, and to manage the operational aspects of the company’s Equipment R&D programs.

In addition to the R&D responsibilities, the Capital Procurement Manager will have primary responsibility for managing SunPower’s California based equipment suppliers and will work with the Vice President of Capital to develop and rollout enhanced business processes to the Capital Procurement organization.

The Capital Procurement organization is responsible for assessing, sourcing, and managing SunPower’s capital equipment suppliers, supporting SunPower’s solar cell and module manufacturing operations located primarily in the Philippines and soon Malaysia.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Work collaboratively with Equipment R&D engineers and capital procurement managers to develop and execute SunPower’s cell manufacturing equipment strategy
• Assess and select potential new equipment suppliers
• Project manage the introduction of new toolsets including spec development, manufacturing monitoring, tool delivery, and installation
• Supplier management for SunPower’s California based equipment suppliers
• Execute SunPower’s Supplier Management System
• Achieve cost, quality, and delivery goals and objectives for solar cell and module equipment
• Work with equipment suppliers to develop value engineering roadmaps
• Strive to achieve competitive sourcing among multiple qualified suppliers through development and execution of commodity strategies
• Develop and negotiate supply contracts
• Develop and maintain productive business relationships with key executives at suppliers
• Design and execute enhanced new product introduction business processes
• Manage supplier performance and capability development
• Travel requirements are relatively limited

Experience

• 10+ years experience in a procurement, manufacturing operations, or sales environment
• 5+ years supplier / supply chain management
• Experience with highly technical capital equipment a must, preferably semiconductor equipment
• Experience assessing and rating the financial and operational capability of companies

Education

• BS/BA degree required; Engineering degree preferred
• MBA degree or MS in Operations Engineering or Industrial Engineering a plus

Qualifications

• Experience sourcing/selling high-tech, complex capital equipment, preferably semiconductor manufacturing equipment
• Demonstrated ability to work successfully in a highly matrixed environment
• Ability to successfully interact and positively influence at all levels within organizations, included executive levels
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills. Fluent in English.
• Ability to assess the financial condition and operational capability of suppliers
• Strong business acumen
• Experience with Asia-based capital equipment suppliers
• Outsourcing experience a plus
• Extensive contract negotiation experience
• Strong analytical skills (i.e. cost modeling, quotation analysis, supplier selection)

Please send resume to David.Sneed@sunpowercorp.com.