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About the Role
The Global Strategic Sourcing team maximizes value and minimizes risk through Zendesk’s vendor relationships. As Manager of Strategic Sourcing, you will play a key role in sourcing strategy and execution for software and engineering categories, overseeing complex negotiations, contract review, and usage forecasting.
Responsibilities
- Guide and influence business and senior leadership through key strategic projects and procurement strategy.
- Develop, maintain, and validate accurate forecasts for usage, licenses, and capacity for key contracts.
- Lead sourcing strategy, complex negotiations, and vendor diversification for AI and LLM providers.
- Analyze and optimize AI/LLM consumption, including token usage and capacity planning.
- Lead end-to-end sourcing execution, including market research and RFx strategy development.
- Act as an escalation point for contract negotiations partnering with Legal, Security, and IT.
- Support spend management projects focused on savings, process efficiency, and risk reduction.
- Implement and manage a multi-vendor LLM ecosystem strategy.
- Drive commercial leverage by maintaining commitment discipline and pursuing flexible renewal cycles with major LLM providers.
- Collaborate with Engineering and IT to manage the governance layer for internal AI productivity tooling.
Requirements
- 5+ years of experience sourcing for a tech or software company
- Strong software and engineering strategic negotiation skills
- Proven team player and ability to build and maintain business partnerships
- Executive level communication and presentation skills
- Highly motivated towards achieving cost savings and operational improvement goals
- Demonstrated subject matter expertise in the functional areas of Technology, product and engineering.
- Proven success leading projects that impact multiple functional areas
- Flexibility and influence in working in a high growth, high volume environment
- Demonstrated subject matter expertise in AI infrastructure, including RAG frameworks, AI gateways, and consumption-based pricing models.
- Understanding of how AI and automation are reshaping the competitive landscape for software and professional services vendors.
- Proven ability to integrate commercial strategy with a technical ecosystem, specifically leveraging hyperscaler routes for negotiating better terms and model portability.
- Experience negotiating with vendors offering revenue-based pricing models and managing data usage agreements that involve AI/LLM usage, such as API renewals.
Skills
- Strategic Sourcing
- Software Sourcing
- Engineering Sourcing
- Negotiation
- Contract Review
- Usage Forecasting
- Vendor Due Diligence
- RFx
- Vendor Management
- AI/LLM Sourcing
- Data Analysis
- Cost Management
- Commercial Strategy
- AI Infrastructure
- RAG Frameworks
- AI Gateways
- Consumption-based Pricing Models
Location
- Austin, TX
- Madison, WI
- San Francisco, CA
Work Type
- Hybrid
Experience Level
- Manager
Salary/Compensations
- $116,000.00-$174,000.00
Benefits
- Bonus
- Benefits
- Related incentives
About the Company
- Zendesk software was built to bring a sense of calm to the chaotic world of customer service.
- Our offices reflect the global cities we call home, and have spaces for collaboration, quiet, and events.
- With our hybrid approach, you’ll experience flexibility and connection, collaboration, and learning with your team.
- Zendesk is on a mission to simplify the complexity of business and make it easy for companies and customers to create connections.
- Our customer experience software unlocks the power of billions of interactions, enabling businesses to build rich, meaningful relationships with their customers.
Equal Opportunity
- As part of our commitment to fairness and transparency, we inform all applicants that artificial intelligence (AI) or automated decision systems may be used to screen or evaluate applications for this position, in accordance with Company guidelines and applicable law.
- Zendesk is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster global diversity, equity, & inclusion in the workplace.
- Individuals seeking employment and employees at Zendesk are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
- We are an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabled employer.
- If you are based in the United States and would like more information about your EEO rights under the law, please click here.
- Zendesk endeavors to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans pursuant to applicable federal and state law.
- If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to submit this application, complete any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participate in the employee selection process, please send an e-mail to peopleandplaces@zendesk.com with your specific accommodation request.