Principal Supplier Strategist​/Small Business Advocate

Description

Leidos Defense Sector is seeking a Principal Supplier Strategist / Small Business Advocate to shape the supplier ecosystem supporting critical defense programs and future growth.

Reporting directly to the Vice President, Material and Procurement Operations, this role will lead Sector supplier strategy, strategic sourcing, long-term agreements, supply base optimization, and small business engagement. The successful candidate will connect supplier capabilities and cross-program demand to improve competitiveness, affordability, resiliency, and mission readiness.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute Defense Sector supplier strategies supporting priority programs, Programs of Record, and strategic captures.
• Analyze cross-program spend, demand, supplier performance, and risk to identify strategic partners, consolidation opportunities, critical dependencies, and new supplier capabilities.
• Lead strategic sourcing initiatives that leverage Sector buying power, strengthen supplier partnerships, increase competition, and optimize the supply base.
• Negotiate strategic and long-term supplier agreements that improve affordability, capacity, performance, supply continuity, and innovation.
• Partner across Programs, Business Development, Contracts, Engineering, Manufacturing, Finance, and Supply Chain to integrate supplier strategy early in captures, proposals, and program execution.
• Lead Defense Sector small business strategy, including supplier development, Small Business Subcontracting Plans, FAR/DFARS compliance, and required government reporting.
• Translate supplier and spend data into executive-level insights and actions that drive savings, strengthen performance, reduce risk, and support growth.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 12+ years of relevant experience, Master's with 10+ years, or equivalent experience.
• Significant experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, supplier management, subcontracts, contracts, or supply chain within defense, federal, aerospace, or another regulated environment.
• Strong knowledge of FAR/DFARS, government small business requirements, and subcontracting compliance.
• Demonstrated success developing supplier strategies and negotiating complex, high-value or long-term supplier agreements.
• Experience with spend analysis, supplier segmentation, performance management, risk assessment, and supply base optimization.
• Strong analytical, negotiation, executive communication, and cross-functional leadership skills.
• Must be a US citizen and able to obtain and maintain a DoW security clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Preference is for individual to reside in the North Alabama Area or surrounding area
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• Experience supporting DoW Programs of Record, major captures, proposals, or production programs.
• Knowledge of CPSR, eSRS, CMMC/NIST requirements, and Small Business Subcontracting Plans/reporting.
• Experience with Costpoint, supplier analytics, dashboards, or supply base risk assessments.
• Demonstrated success leveraging buying power and supplier strategies to reduce cost, increase competition, and improve affordability.
• Relevant defense technology supply chain experience and/or professional certification such as CPSM, CFCM, APICS, PMP, Lean, or Six Sigma.

The Opportunity

This high-visibility role provides the opportunity to shape supplier strategy across the Defense Sector and directly influence senior leadership decisions. The role will leverage Sector buying power, strengthen strategic supplier partnerships, expand small business participation, and build a more competitive and resilient supply base. As the strategy matures, the successful candidate will have the opportunity to expand the role's scope and impact in support of Leidos growth and mission execution.

If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo — because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 — and moving faster than anyone else dares.

For U.S. Positions:
While subject to change based on business…