Lambda

Commodity Sourcing Manager - AI Infrastructure

Lambda$120K — $145K *
Enterprise Technology
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 8+ years of experience in Commodity Management, Strategic Sourcing, Procurement, or Supply Chain roles with hardware related to data center infrastructure.
  • Demonstrated experience negotiating and managing supply agreements with component manufacturers.
  • Ability to quickly build technical fluency across diverse commodity areas.
  • Proven track record of leading complex commercial negotiations with measurable results.
  • Strong analytical skills and financial acumen, with experience in constrained, high-growth supply environments.

Responsibilities

  • Own and execute the sourcing strategy for assigned commodities within AI infrastructure.
  • Develop category strategies aligned with capacity forecasts and long-term growth.
  • Drive supply diversification and risk mitigation plans for fast-scaling categories.
  • Manage day-to-day relationships and performance with strategic suppliers.
  • Lead supplier performance reviews and improvement plans.

Benefits

  • Four-day work week with a designated work-from-home day on Tuesday.
  • Collaboration opportunities with cross-functional teams including Engineering and Operations.
  • Exposure to cutting-edge technology in the AI compute ecosystem.
  • Fast-paced and dynamic work environment focused on growth and innovation.
  • Engagement in high-stakes commercial negotiations and supplier management.
Full Job Description
*Note: This position requires presence in our San Jose, San Francisco or Bellevue office location 4 days per week; Lambda's designated work from home day is currently Tuesday.

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Commodity Sourcing Manager to own sourcing strategy, supplier negotiations, and supply assurance for critical commodities across our rapidly growing AI Data Center Supply Chain.

This individual contributor role owns the end-to-end commercial and sourcing relationship for a defined commodity or set of commodities within the AI compute ecosystem - spanning categories such as custom silicon, GPUs/CPUs, network hardware, power and cooling infrastructure (CDUs, PDUs, racks), and memory/storage. Commodity assignments will flex based on business need, and the ideal candidate is a versatile sourcing professional capable of ramping quickly across the full range of hardware that goes into a GPU rack, rather than a specialist in a single technology domain.

You will drive negotiations, manage supplier performance, and build sourcing strategies that ensure supply continuity, cost competitiveness, and scalability as our infrastructure grows. The ideal candidate combines strong general technical fluency across hardware and infrastructure components with sharp commercial instincts - equally comfortable running a multi-million to multi-billion-dollar negotiation as they are digging into component-level technical detail with engineering partners, regardless of the underlying technology.

You will work closely with Engineering, Hardware, Data Center Infrastructure, Supply Chain Planning, Finance, Legal, and Operations to secure supply, optimize commercial terms, and manage risk across your assigned commodities.

What You'll Do

Commodity Sourcing Strategy
  • Own and execute sourcing strategy for assigned commodities within the AI infrastructure stack, which may include custom silicon, GPUs/CPUs, network hardware, power/cooling infrastructure, memory/storage, or other hardware categories that go into a GPU rack.
  • Develop category strategies aligned to roadmap requirements, capacity forecasts, and long-term infrastructure growth, regardless of the specific technology domain.
  • Identify and drive supply diversification, second-source development, and risk mitigation plans for constrained or fast-scaling categories.
  • Build and maintain market intelligence across assigned commodities, including supply/demand dynamics, capacity constraints, technology roadmaps, and competitive landscape.
  • Quickly ramp technical and market fluency in new commodity areas as business needs and assignments evolve.

Commercial Negotiation & Contracting
  • Lead commercial negotiations with hardware and component suppliers, including:
    • Master supply and purchase agreements
    • Capacity commitments and allocation frameworks
    • Pricing, cost-downs, and cost structures
    • Non-recurring engineering (NRE) and design/tooling agreements
    • Service, quality, and performance terms
  • Build and execute negotiation strategies that balance cost, supply security, and flexibility, applying consistent commercial rigor across different commodity types.
  • Partner with Legal and Finance to structure and finalize contracts and commercial terms.

Supplier Management
  • Manage day-to-day and executive-level relationships with strategic suppliers across assigned commodities.
  • Lead supplier business reviews, scorecards, escalation management, and performance improvement plans.
  • Partner with suppliers on capacity planning, allocation, roadmap alignment, and supply readiness.
  • Serve as the primary point of contact and escalation owner for assigned commodities.
Cross-Functional Partnership
  • Partner with Engineering and Hardware teams to translate technical and roadmap requirements into sourcing and commercial strategies, regardless of the underlying technology.
  • Work with Supply Chain Planning to align supplier capacity and lead times with demand forecasts.
  • Support new product introductions, qualification timelines, and capacity ramps across GPU rack-level hardware.
  • Provide commodity market insight and recommendations to leadership on sourcing risk, cost trends, and supply strategy.

Risk, Cost & Supply Resilience
  • Develop and maintain supply continuity plans that address:
    • Cost optimization
    • Capacity availability and allocation risk
    • Lead-time and component-level constraints
    • Geographic and geopolitical risk
    • Supplier financial and operational risk
  • Proactively identify and mitigate supply risk across assigned commodities, adapting risk frameworks to the specific dynamics of each category.

You
  • 8+ years of experience in Commodity Management, Strategic Sourcing, Procurement, or Supply Chain roles, with experience across one or more hardware or component categories relevant to data center or compute infrastructure (e.g., semiconductors, networking, power/cooling, memory/storage, mechanical/electrical systems).
  • Demonstrated experience negotiating and managing supply agreements with hardware component manufacturers, OEMs, or ODMs.
  • Ability to quickly build technical fluency in new commodity or technology areas.
  • Proven track record leading complex commercial negotiations and delivering measurable cost and supply outcomes.
  • Strong analytical, financial, and business acumen.
  • Experience operating in constrained, long-lead-time, high-growth supply environments.
  • Ability to build effective relationships with senior supplier stakeholders and internal cross-functional partners.

Nice To Have
  • Experience sourcing across multiple commodity types within AI/ML or hyperscale data center infrastructure (e.g., silicon, networking, power/cooling, memory/storage).
  • Demonstrated versatility moving between commodity domains over the course of a career, rather than deep specialization in a single technology.
  • Experience supporting hyperscale data center or AI infrastructure programs.
  • Background partnering with hardware/systems engineering teams on NRE, qualification, or co-development agreements.
  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Business, or related field; advanced degree a plus.

We Are Looking for Someone Who Is:
  • A generalist sourcing professional who can ramp quickly across different hardware technologies and commodity types
  • Technically curious and commercially sharp - able to move fluidly between technical detail and high-stakes negotiation, regardless of domain
  • Data-driven, decisive, and execution-oriented
  • A strong relationship builder with suppliers and internal stakeholders
  • Comfortable operating with a high degree of ownership in a fast-growth, ambiguity-rich environment
  • Willing to personally drive negotiations, supplier escalations, and problem-solving day to day

Salary Range Information

The annual salary range for this position has been set based on market data and other factors. However, a salary higher or lower than this range may be appropriate for a candidate whose qualifications differ meaningfully from those listed in the job description.

About Lambda

Lambda is an online education company that offers courses in computer science and software engineering. The company was founded in 2017 by Austen Allred and Ben Nelson. Lambda's courses are designed to be accessible to anyone, regardless of their background or prior experience. The company's mission is to provide high-quality education that leads to well-paying jobs in the tech industry. Lambda has partnerships with a number of companies, including Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, and has helped thousands of students launch careers in tech.
Learn more about Lambda
Size
1,000 employees
Industry
Net Income
-$5 million
Founded
2017
5 Year Trend
+100%
Revenue
$100 million
NASDAQ

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