Director of Strategic Sourcing

Job Details Level: Management

Job Location:

Dayton Office - Dayton, MN 55369

Position Type:
Full Time Education Level: 4 Year Degree Salary Range: $ - $ Salary/year

Job Shift: First Job Category:
Supply Chain Gradian is an engineering-led, full-line thermal solutions partner serving data center and other mission-critical, commercial, and industrial markets.

Headquartered in Maple Grove, MN, with additional facilities across North America, we design and manufacture liquid cooling systems, air handling equipment, heat rejection units, and modular, factory-assembled thermal management solutions.

Gradian was founded through the unification of four complementary, established brands: MAS HVAC, Daedex, DeepCoolAI, and Eco Chillers. Together, we act as a single-source provider, deploying cooling technologies as scalable systems optimized for efficiency, spatial constraints, and overall performance. With a vertically integrated engineering and manufacturing model, we pair rapid design turnaround with precision fabrication, so customers can move faster on complex projects where reliability, timeline, and quality all matter.

At Gradian, you'll work alongside others who get genuinely fired up by complex problems, see your work go from first sketch to job site in weeks, not years, and know that while we're developing the technologies critical for AI infrastructure to scale, our culture remains people-first by design.

It is core to our identity that we operate as one team — driving to win together, energizing others, and building lasting relationships that make the work fun and rewarding.

The Director of Strategic Sourcing will build and lead Gradian's strategic sourcing organization, developing the team, supplier ecosystem, and sourcing strategies required to support the rapid scaling of Gradian's hyperscale data center cooling business.

• Establish and lead Gradian's Strategic Sourcing organization, building a high-performing team and supplier ecosystem capable of supporting the company's aggressive growth objectives in the hyperscale data center market.
• Define and execute sourcing strategies that secure capacity, improve supplier performance, mitigate risk, and ensure supply continuity across critical product categories and manufacturing partners.
• Build, develop, and mentor a team of sourcing leaders, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and operational excellence while scaling organizational capabilities.
• Own executive-level supplier relationships and commercial negotiations, including pricing, capacity agreements, MSAs, MOUs, and other strategic supplier contracts.
• Partner with Engineering, Operations, Manufacturing, and executive leadership to align sourcing strategies with product roadmaps, production requirements, and long-term business growth plans.
• Establish sourcing governance, performance metrics, and supplier management processes that drive cost competitiveness, supply assurance, and continuous improvement.

• Education – Bachelor Degree (Preferably in Supply Chain/Operations/Engineering)

• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, supply chain, or supplier management within a manufacturing environment
• Proven ability to build, scale, and lead high-performing sourcing organizations, including hiring, mentoring, and developing sourcing leaders and teams.
• Demonstrated success developing and executing sourcing strategies that drive supply continuity, capacity expansion, scale, cost competitiveness, and risk mitigation
• Experience establishing sourcing governance, processes, and performance metrics that enable operational excellence and support rapid business growth.
• Track record of leading complex supplier negotiations and commercial agreements, including long‑term supply agreements, MSAs and various other contracts
• Strong cross‑functional leadership skills, with the ability to influence executive stakeholders and align Engineering, Operations, and Supply Chain teams around strategic objectives
• Strong business and financial acumen, with the ability to balance growth,…