Senior Product Procurement Engineer

Caterpillar · Industrial · Desford, United Kingdom

Senior Product Procurement Engineer responsible for managing part sourcing, development, and quality performance across NPI, CPI, and NSI activities. Collaborates with engineering, procurement, and suppliers to ensure parts meet quality, cost, and timing targets. Drives VA/VE initiatives and owns quality feedback loops.

What you'd actually do

  1. Lead part development from concept to production, owning APQP and PPAP activities to ensure quality, cost, delivery, and capacity targets are achieved.
  2. Translate category strategy into action, collaborating with engineering, quality, supply chain, and procurement teams to implement global supply solutions.
  3. Develop and track category KPIs, clearly communicating performance, risks, and improvement opportunities to Category and Program Leadership.
  4. Drive VA/VE initiatives, using cost modelling, DFM/DFA principles, and supplier capability to improve value without compromising quality.
  5. Own quality feedback loops, ensuring lessons learned from defects and issues are captured and consistently applied across suppliers.

Skills

Required

  • Strategic Sourcing
  • Supplier Management
  • Analytical Thinking
  • Effective Communication
  • APQP
  • PPAP
  • VA/VE
  • cost modelling
  • DFM/DFA

Nice to have

  • balancing cost, contractual terms, risk, and long‑term value
  • cost–benefit analysis
  • governmental, environmental, political, and geographic factors into sourcing decisions
  • supply resilience and mitigate risk

What the JD emphasized

  • Lead part development
  • owning APQP and PPAP activities
  • quality, cost, delivery, and capacity targets
  • Translate category strategy into action
  • global supply solutions
  • Develop and track category KPIs
  • communicating performance, risks, and improvement opportunities
  • Drive VA/VE initiatives
  • cost modelling
  • DFM/DFA principles
  • supplier capability
  • improve value without compromising quality
  • Own quality feedback loops
  • lessons learned from defects and issues
  • consistently applied across suppliers
  • Represent the Category at NPI and APQP gateways
  • working directly with suppliers to resolve quality, cost, and delivery challenges
  • Strategic Sourcing
  • selecting and contracting suppliers
  • negotiating commercial terms
  • governing performance
  • cost, quality, and supply continuity targets
  • Supplier Management
  • Builds and manages supplier relationships
  • setting quality expectations
  • monitoring performance
  • resolving issues
  • driving continuous improvement or exits
  • Analytical Thinking
  • Analyses complex data and problems
  • identify root causes
  • assess risks and options
  • recommend solutions that protect quality, cost, and delivery outcomes
  • Effective Communication
  • Influences cross‑functional teams and suppliers
  • clear, credible communication
  • constructively managing conflict
  • sustaining strong working relationships
  • Makes informed sourcing and supplier decisions
  • balancing cost, contractual terms, risk, and long‑term value
  • protect quality, delivery, and commercial outcomes
  • Applies cost–benefit analysis
  • sourcing, part development, and VA/VE decisions
  • evaluating options to achieve optimal cost, quality, and delivery
  • Uses quantified outcomes to inform category decisions
  • align supplier strategies with program goals
  • Anticipates and incorporates governmental, environmental, political, and geographic factors into sourcing decisions
  • strengthen supply resilience and mitigate risk