Procurement Principal

BAE Systems is an organization anchored by its purpose. We’re dedicated to defending national security while pushing the limits of technology. Here, your connection to our shared mission will propel you, and our future forward. Our operations team is the best at what they do, and their work is part of why our clients trust our business. Service members rely on our products and services and it’s this team that gets everything out as efficiently as possible

This role will be responsible for developing, implementing, and managing strategic sourcing strategies across key indirect spend categories, with a focus on Maintenance, Repair & Operations (MRO), Facilities Services, and related site services.

This role will partner closely with Operations, Facilities, Engineering, Finance, and other internal stakeholders to identify sourcing opportunities, develop category strategies, optimize supplier relationships, negotiate commercial agreements, and deliver measurable cost savings, cost avoidance, process improvements, and supply continuity.

The ideal candidate is a strategic procurement professional with demonstrated experience transforming transactional purchasing into a structured, data-driven strategic sourcing process. The position requires strong knowledge of competitive sourcing, supplier negotiations, contract management, spend analysis, market intelligence, and supplier performance management. This role provides a hybrid work structure along with a flexible 9/80 work schedule.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Sourcing & Category Management

• Develop and execute comprehensive sourcing strategies for assigned indirect categories, with emphasis on MRO, facilities services, production maintenance, operations consumables, and related services.
• Analyze spend, supplier performance, market conditions, specifications, and business requirements to identify strategic sourcing opportunities.
• Develop category strategies that address cost, quality, service, supplier risk, standardization, and long-term business requirements.
• Lead sourcing initiatives including RFIs, RFPs, RFQs, competitive bidding, supplier negotiations, and contract awards.
• Develop sourcing recommendations and present business cases to leadership and key stakeholders.
• Identify opportunities for supplier consolidation, rationalization, competitive bidding, standardization, and demand management.
• Establish and maintain category-specific sourcing roadmaps and annual strategic sourcing plans.

Supplier Management & Negotiations

• Develop and maintain strategic supplier relationships while ensuring competitive commercial terms.
• Lead complex supplier negotiations involving pricing, labor rates, payment terms, warranties, service levels, escalation provisions, and other contractual requirements.
• Develop negotiation strategies based on market intelligence, cost analysis, supplier economics, and internal spend data.
• Conduct supplier evaluations and risk assessments to ensure continuity of supply and services.
• Establish supplier performance metrics and participate in regular business reviews with strategic suppliers.
• Identify and execute supplier improvement and corrective-action initiatives when performance does not meet expectations.

Spend Analysis & Cost Management

• Analyze procurement spend to identify savings opportunities, supplier concentration, pricing trends, and category-level opportunities.
• Develop should-cost, benchmark, and total-cost-of-ownership analyses where appropriate.
• Track and report realized savings, cost avoidance, productivity improvements, and other sourcing benefits.
• Establish sourcing targets and measure results against approved business cases.
• Leverage procurement data and market intelligence to support fact-based sourcing decisions.

Stakeholder & Cross-Functional Leadership

• Build strong relationships with Operations, Facilities, Engineering, Finance, Legal, Quality, and other internal stakeholders.
• Serve as a strategic procurement advisor rather than solely a transactional purchasing resource.
• Lead cross-functional sourcing teams and drive stakeholder alignment throughout the sourcing process.
• Translate business requirements into effective sourcing strategies, supplier requirements, and commercial agreements.
• Support the development and implementation of procurement policies, processes, and best practices.

Contract & Procurement Management

• Lead the development, negotiation, and implementation of strategic supplier agreements.
• Partner with Legal and internal stakeholders to ensure appropriate contractual protections and commercial terms.
• Monitor contract compliance, pricing, renewals, escalation provisions, and supplier obligations.
• Identify opportunities to transition recurring spot purchases into negotiated agreements and preferred supplier arrangements.

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Finance, Engineering, or a related field.
• 5+ years of strategic sourcing, procurement, category management, or supply chain experience, preferably within an industrial, manufacturing, aerospace, defense, or similar environment.
• Demonstrated experience developing and executing sourcing strategies for indirect spend categories.
• Proven experience leading competitive sourcing events, RFPs/RFQs, supplier negotiations, and contract awards.
• Strong analytical and financial skills, including spend analysis and savings calculations.
• Demonstrated ability to negotiate complex commercial agreements and supplier contracts.
• Strong project management and cross-functional leadership skills.
• Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and negotiation skills.
• Proficiency with ERP and procurement systems and Microsoft Excel.

• Experience managing sourcing strategies across multiple manufacturing or operational sites.
• Experience with facilities management and outsourced facility service providers.
• Experience developing category strategies and multi-year sourcing roadmaps.
• Experience with supplier consolidation and strategic supplier rationalization.
• Experience developing pricing models, labor-rate analyses, and should-cost models.
• CPSM, C.P.M., CSCP, or similar professional certification.
• Experience with Oracle, SAP, Coupa, or other procurement/ERP platforms.
• Experience within a regulated, aerospace, defense, or government-contracting environment.