Product Procurement Engineer

Caterpillar Caterpillar · Industrial · Desford, United Kingdom +1

Product Procurement Engineer at Caterpillar, managing sourcing, development, and quality feedback for Electrical, Electronics, and Drivetrain categories across NPI, CPI, and NSI. Collaborates with Engineering, Procurement, and Supply Chain, and engages with suppliers to ensure parts meet quality, cost, and timing requirements.

What you'd actually do

  1. Develop, implement and maintain category-specific KPIs, providing clear reporting and insights to Category and Programme Leadership.
  2. Collaborate with Design Control Engineering, Value Chain Engineering, Procurement, Quality and Supply Chain to define and execute global product supply strategies aligned to category objectives.
  3. Drive Value Analysis / Value Engineering (VA/VE) through cost modelling, Design for Manufacturability (DFM), and effective utilisation of supplier capability.
  4. Contribute within a global team to develop and implement standardised processes across sourcing, quality improvement, cost management and capacity planning.
  5. Manage quality feedback loops, ensuring lessons learned are captured, shared and consistently applied to improve supplier performance.

Skills

Required

  • Product Procurement
  • Electrical, Electronics and Drivetrain categories
  • New Product Introduction (NPI)
  • Continuous Product Improvement (CPI)
  • New Source Introduction (NSI)
  • KPI development and reporting
  • Global product supply strategies
  • Value Analysis / Value Engineering (VA/VE)
  • Cost modelling
  • Design for Manufacturability (DFM)
  • Supplier capability utilization
  • Standardized process development
  • Quality improvement methods
  • Cost management
  • Capacity planning
  • Quality feedback loops
  • Lessons learned capture and application
  • Supplier performance management
  • APQP gateways
  • Effective Communications
  • Strategic Sourcing
  • Cost Benefit Analysis
  • Data Driven Decision Making

Nice to have

  • Works directly with suppliers to support part development, resolve quality and delivery issues, and ensure products meet specification, escalating higher-risk concerns where required.
  • Makes informed sourcing decisions by balancing cost, contractual terms, risk exposure and long-term value to protect quality, delivery and commercial outcomes.
  • Applies quality standards, governance and continuous improvement methods to drive consistent product quality and supplier performance.
  • Anticipates and incorporates external factors (regulatory, environmental, geopolitical) into sourcing decisions to enhance resilience and mitigate supply risk.

What the JD emphasized

  • Effective Communications: Communicates clearly and confidently with suppliers and cross-functional stakeholders, influencing technical and commercial decisions to achieve alignment on quality, cost and delivery outcomes.
  • Strategic Sourcing: Develops and executes category and sourcing strategies, managing supplier agreements, sourcing pipelines and procurement programmes to deliver competitive and sustainable outcomes.
  • Cost Benefit Analysis: Identifies and delivers cost, quality and efficiency improvements through structured analysis, supporting DFM/DFA and maximising the use of supplier capability.
  • Data Driven Decision Making: Evaluates business proposals using data, cost analysis and risk assessment, ensuring decisions are robust and escalating risks appropriately to Category Leadership.