Associate Category Management Specialist-Packaging & Specialty Materials

Medtronic is a global leader in healthcare technology with a Mission to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life. Our 95,000 employees work across more than 150 countries to put patients first — developing innovative medical technologies that improve the lives of 72+ million patients each year. Your unique talents will help shape the future of healthcare while building a career grounded in purpose, growth, and impact.

A Day in the Life At Medtronic, we not only get the opportunity to manage categories for the largest medical device company in the world, but we also get to experience the immense sense of purpose that comes from knowing that the money we save is reinvested into technology that helps alleviate pain, restore health and extend lives of millions of patients across the world.

The work we do supports the Medtronic Mission and it matters.

Strong business acumen and prior sourcing experience are a must as you will be called upon to support complex engagements with strategic partners. The Associate Category Management Specialist is a key contributor within Medtronic’s Global Materials & Contract Manufacturing organization. In this role, you will help shape and execute category strategies, manage inflationary pressures, drive cost‑savings initiatives, support contract negotiations, and enable pan‑Medtronic category management processes.

Your work will directly influence cost, continuity of supply, and supplier performance across the enterprise.

• Support Supplier Relationship Management
• Strengthen supplier relationships while partnering closely with internal stakeholders
• Actively engage suppliers to support performance, alignment, and issue resolution
• Unlock Category Strategy Through Execution
• Execute category strategies and convert implementation plans into business results.
• Support strategy development and execution across defined sub‑categories and initiatives.
• Turn Market Intelligence into Advantage
• Monitor market intelligence and industry trends to anticipate risks and opportunities.
• Convert insights into proactive, actionable sourcing strategies.
• Manage Inflation and Drive Savings
• Negotiate supplier price changes and tariff requests using data‑driven insights and category strategies to limit inflationary impact.
• Engage suppliers and Medtronic stakeholders to unlock process, technical, and commercial savings levers
• Enable High Impact Negotiations
• Support negotiations by preparing RFx packages, cost models, and negotiation strategies.
• Participate in supplier discussions and ensure commercial commitments translate into year‑over‑year performance improvements.
• Lead Continuous Improvement & Strategic Initiatives
• Develop and deploy standard work, drive continuous improvement and strategic initiatives, and apply benchmarking and industry best practices to enhance category performance.
• Lead and manage cross‑functional initiatives, preparing and delivering clear updates on progress, risks, and results to stakeholders.
• Support Risk, Compliance & Resiliency
• Identify and mitigate supply chain risks (capacity, financial, geopolitical, regulatory)
• Ensure supplier adherence to regulatory and quality requirements
• Support ESG and sustainability objectives

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain plus a minimum of 0 years of experience.

• Internship, co-op, or academic project experience in Supply Chain, Procurement, Operations, Engineering, or a related business function.
• Exposure to cost analysis, financial modeling, data analysis, or business case development through coursework, internships, or project work.
• Experience supporting contract review, supplier engagement, or commercial negotiations through…