Sr. Category Manager - Sterilization & Specialty Materials
At Medtronic you can begin a life-long career of exploration and innovation, while helping champion healthcare access and equity for all. You’ll lead with purpose, breaking down barriers to innovation in a more connected, compassionate world.
A Day in the Life
Join our Global Supply Management team as a Sr. Category Manager – Sterilization & Specialty Materials, where you will utilize your strong track record of delivering results in a matrixed organization, where collaboration with diverse individuals, teams, and skill sets is essential for success.As the Sr. Category Manager – Sterilization & Specialty Materials, you will take charge of developing and executing global category strategies for Medtronic’s sterilization spend, with primary focus on EO, Gamma, and Radiation (e-beam) sterilization modalities, while also owning assigned specialty material subcategories.
In this role, you’ll dive deep into managing a highly regulated, capacity-constrained, and strategically critical category that directly impacts product availability, patient safety, regulatory compliance, and business continuity. The Sr. Category Manager will lead commercial strategy, supplier engagement, and cross-functional alignment across all sterilization technologies used within Medtronic’s global manufacturing network, and will help advance category management performance by driving KPIs across specialty materials.
You will look beyond immediate suppliers, assessing multiple tiers of the supply chain to maximize leverage, ensure compliance, and safeguard supply continuity, while also playing a key role in Make vs Buy decision-making by partnering with Operations, Quality, Regulatory, Engineering, and Supply Network teams.
At Medtronic, we bring bold ideas forward with speed and decisiveness to put patients first in everything we do. In-person exchanges are invaluable to our work. We’re working a minimum of 4 days a week onsite as part of our commitment to fostering a culture of professional growth and cross-functional collaboration as we work together to engineer the extraordinary.
As a Sr. Category Manager – Sterilization & Specialty Materials, you will play a pivotal role in shaping our supply management strategy for our sterilization spend. This is a high-impact position where you’ll drive innovation, optimize costs, and ensure best-in-class supplier relationships. You will also be responsible for specialty material subcategories and for driving category management KPIs across specialty materials. You will:
Own and execute category strategies: Develop and execute global category strategies across Sterilization Services (EO, Gamma, and Radiation sterilization) and assigned specialty material subcategories, aligned with business growth, network strategy, regulatory requirements, and KPI targets.
Negotiate & optimize contracts: Lead commercial negotiations, contract renewals, pricing actions, and capacity commitments across sterilization modalities and applicable specialty material subcategories to deliver cost optimization (savings), improve contract coverage, and protect service levels.
Drive KPI performance management: Monitor supplier cost drivers (e.g., regulatory burden, energy inputs, utilization, demand volatility) and lead corrective actions across sterilization and specialty materials to improve supplier performance, reduce risk, and strengthen business continuity for high-revenue and high-risk product portfolios.
Lead market, capacity & supply analysis: Leverage demand, utilization, and capacity insights (and relevant market intelligence) across sterilization and specialty materials to inform sourcing decisions, anticipate constraints, and maintain KPI operating cadence (forecast accuracy, capacity assurance, and risk posture).
Support quality, compliance & change initiatives: Partner with Manufacturing, SQE, Regulatory, Network Strategy, Logistics, and Operating Units to support product launches, validations/qualifications, and ongoing compliance for sterilization services and applicable specialty material subcategories.
Must Have: Minimum Requirements
Bachelor's degree required
Minimum of 7 years of experience in Category Management, Strategic Sourcing, or Supply Management, or an advanced degree with a minimum of 5 years of relevant category management experience
Nice to Have
Experience with EO, Gamma, or Radiation sterilization, medical device manufacturing, or regulated industries.
Familiarity with sterilization validations, capacity planning, and supplier risk management.
Strong negotiation, analytical, problem-solving, and strategic thinking skills.
Experience partnering with Quality, Regulatory, and Manufacturing organizations.
Excellent communication, collaboration, organization, and project management skills; strong presentation abilities.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office, Excel, analytics tools, and SAP.
Willingness and ability to travel domestically and internationally to vendor sites.
For Baccalaureate degrees earned outside of the United States, a degree that satisfies the requirements of 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A) is required.
Physical Job Requirements
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees assigned to this position, but they are not an exhaustive list of all the required responsibilities and skills of this position.
The physical demands described within the Responsibilities section of this job description are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. For Office Roles: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to be independently mobile. The employee is also required to interact with a computer, and communicate with peers and co-workers. Contact your manager or local HR to understand the Work Conditions and Physical requirements that may be specific to each role.
U.S. Work Authorization & Sponsorship
At Medtronic, we are committed to fostering an environment where employees can thrive and make a meaningful impact. In alignment with our enterprise-wide workforce planning approach, U.S. work authorization sponsorship (H-1B, TN, J, etc.) is offered exclusively for Principal-level roles and above, where specialized expertise aligns with long-term business needs. Roles below the Principal level require candidates to possess unrestricted U.S. work authorization at the time of hire and for the duration of employment.
Join us in our mission to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life—where your unique background and perspective are valued.
Benefits & Compensation
Medtronic offers a competitive Salary and flexible Benefits Package
A commitment to our employees lives at the core of our values. We recognize their contributions. They share in the success they help to create. We offer a wide range of benefits, resources, and competitive compensation plans designed to support you at every career and life stage.
This position is eligible for a short-term incentive called the Medtronic Incentive Plan (MIP).The base salary range is applicable across the United States, excluding Puerto Rico and specific locations in California. The offered rate complies with federal and local regulations and may vary based on factors such as experience, certification/education, market conditions, and location. Compensation and benefits information pertains solely to candidates hired within the United States (local market compensation and benefits will apply for others).
The following benefits and additional compensation are available to those regular employees who work 20+ hours per week: Health, Dental and vision insurance, Health Savings Account, Healthcare Flexible Spending Account, Life insurance, Long-term disability leave, Dependent daycare spending account, Tuition assistance/reimbursement, and Simple Steps (global well-being program).
The following benefits and additional compensation are available to all regular employees: Incentive plans, 401(k) plan plus employer contribution and match, Short-term disability, Paid time off, Paid holidays, Employee Stock Purchase Plan, Employee Assistance Program, Non-qualified Retirement Plan Supplement (subject to IRS earning minimums), and Capital Accumulation Plan (available to Vice Presidents and above, or subject to IRS earning minimums).
Regular employees are those who are not temporary, such as interns. Temporary employees are eligible for paid sick time, as required under applicable state law, and the Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Please note some of the above benefits may not apply to workers in Puerto Rico.
Further details are available at the link below:
Medtronic benefits and compensation plans
About Medtronic
We lead global healthcare technology and boldly attack the most challenging health problems facing humanity by searching out and finding solutions.
Our Mission — to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life — unites a global team of 95,000+ passionate people.
We are engineers at heart— putting ambitious ideas to work to generate real solutions for real people. From the R&D lab, to the factory floor, to the conference room, every one of us experiments, creates, builds, improves and solves. We have the talent, diverse perspectives, and guts to engineer the extraordinary.
Learn more about our business, mission, and our commitment to diversity here.
It is the policy of Medtronic to provide equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. In addition, Medtronic will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.
If you are applying to perform work for Medtronic, Inc. (“Medtronic”) in any position which will involve performing at least two (2) hours of work on average each week within the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, you can find here a list of all material job duties of the specific job position which Medtronic reasonably believes that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment. Medtronic will consider for employment qualified job applicants with arrest or conviction records in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.
