Director of Strategic Sourcing NPI

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.

Why work here

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.

Position Summary:

The Director of NPI Sourcing will establish and lead Gradian's NPI sourcing function during a period of rapid growth in the data center industry. This role will serve as the primary supply chain partner for new product development, driving sourcing strategy, cost optimization, and supply chain readiness.

Key Responsibilities:

Establish and lead Gradian's NPI Sourcing organization, creating a best-in-class function that enables rapid growth and supports the development of next-generation cooling solutions for hyperscale data centers.

Define the vision, strategy, and operating model for NPI sourcing, building the processes, governance, tools, and supplier engagement framework necessary to scale with the business

Partner with Engineering, Product Management, Operations, and executive leadership to influence product strategy, technology roadmaps, and sourcing decisions from concept through production

Build and develop a high-performing NPI sourcing team, attracting top talent and fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, innovation, and execution excellence.

Develop metrics and performance systems that provide visibility into launch readiness, supplier performance, risk, and cost, ensuring predictable execution and continuous improvement.

Qualifications & Requirements:

Required:

Education – Bachelor’s Degree (Preferably in Supply Chain/Operations/Engineering)
Experience
10+ years of progressive sourcing, supply chain, or procurement leadership experience, including significant ownership of New Product Introduction (NPI) programs.

Proven people leader with experience building organizations from the ground up, including hiring, mentoring, and developing top talent to support business growth and strategic objectives.

Proven ability to develop and implement scalable sourcing processes, governance frameworks, and KPIs that drive execution excellence and support successful product launch

Track record of recruiting, developing, and leading high-performing sourcing teams in a fast-growing or highly dynamic manufacturing environment.

Deep experience partnering with Engineering, Product Management, Operations, and Quality teams to successfully launch complex engineered products from concept through production.

Strong business acumen with the ability to influence executive stakeholders, drive cross-functional alignment, and lead through ambiguity.

Skills Inspirational and hands-on leader capable of building organizational capability, aligning teams around a common vision, and driving execution in a fast-paced environment.

Strong program leadership and execution skills, with the ability to manage multiple product development and launch initiatives simultaneously

Exceptional ability to influence and align cross-functional stakeholders across Engineering, Operations, Quality, and Product Management Self-driven, entrepreneurial leader who thrives in ambiguity and can independently drive organizational change and results

Data-driven decision maker with strong business acumen

Preferred:

Certs: CPSM / APICS / CSCP / Lean Six Sigma Masters Degree…