Senior Procurement Manager - Photonics & Optical Materials

About the role

Applied Materials is seeking a Senior Procurement Manager to support its Photonics Platform Business, which drives growth in waveguide technologies and augmented reality (AR) initiatives. The role covers sourcing, qualification, supplier development and quality management for advanced optical materials such as precision glass and crystalline substrates. It works closely with global suppliers and cross-functional teams across R&D, Product Engineering and Operations, and is accountable for cost, cash and contract KPIs.

Key responsibilities

• Supplier lifecycle management: assess, audit and qualify suppliers, run business reviews, maintain scorecards and set up supplier governance and segmentation.
• Quality engineering: support APQP, PPAP, SPC, control plans and quality systems; drive root cause analysis and CAPA/SCAR resolution using 8D and FMEA; partner with R&D and manufacturing to improve yields and upstream capability.
• Strategic sourcing: lead a specialized procurement and supplier strategy function, set category strategies for optical glass, crystalline substrates, coatings and enabling materials, and run sourcing events, RFx, supplier selection and TCO analysis.
• Negotiate MSAs, SOWs, NDAs and commercial frameworks, and deliver KPIs on cost, cash and contracts.
• Supplier development: build supplier capability, foster innovation aligned to waveguide and AR/VR roadmaps, and qualify new and alternate suppliers for NPI.
• Risk management: assess supply chain risks and implement mitigation plans and dual-sourcing strategies, and support supplier due diligence for acquisitions and partnerships.

Required profile

• Deep hands-on experience with optical glass and crystalline materials and strong knowledge of upstream manufacturing processes.
• Proven ability to build and manage a high-performance supply base.
• Ability to lead supplier assessments, define category strategies and implement quality frameworks.