Sourcing & Transformation Project Lead

As part of the Thermo Fisher Scientific team, you’ll discover meaningful work that makes a positive impact on a global scale. Join our 120.000 colleagues in bringing our Mission to life every single day to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. We provide our global teams with the resources needed to achieve individual career goals while helping to take science a step beyond by developing solutions for some of the world’s toughest challenges, like protecting the environment, making sure our food is safe or helping find cures for cancer.

How will you make an impact?

The Sourcing & Transformation Project Lead leads complex, cross-functional product and supply-chain transformation projects from strategy through implementation and value realization. The role orchestrates Procurement, R&D/Engineering, Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, Category Management and supplier partners to deliver competitive product cost, supply resilience, quality and on-time execution. Projects may include New Product Development and Introduction (NPDI/NPI), product material cost transformation, supplier transfers, make/buy changes, supply-base optimization and other strategic sourcing initiatives.

You have a consistent track record of leading complex projects in dynamic environments, translating strategic objectives into executable plans, setting priorities and driving decisions and results across organizational boundaries. You are comfortable influencing without direct authority and partnering with suppliers and internal stakeholders from concept through implementation and ramp-up.

The Position

The Sourcing & Transformation Project Lead is an integral member of the Divisional Procurement Partner organization. Depending on the project, the role may act as the Sourcing & Transformation Project Lead in Supply Base Transformation or as the Sourcing & Transformation Project Lead within an NPDI/NPI cross-functional team.

The role owns the end-to-end sourcing and supply-chain project workstream, from strategy and early design involvement through supplier selection, qualification, industrialization, ramp-up and value realization. The scope includes prototypes, first articles, pilots, product launches, supplier transitions and volume deliveries across relevant Thermo Fisher Scientific stakeholders and supplier partners. Local and global travel is anticipated to be up to 25% of your time.

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Lead cross-functional project teams across Procurement, R&D/Engineering, Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, Business Units, Category Management and suppliers, creating alignment on objectives, priorities, decisions and execution.
• Own the end-to-end sourcing and supply-chain project workstream, including scope, milestones, resources, dependencies, risks, decisions, implementation and expected business benefits.
• Develop project-specific sourcing and supply-chain strategies aligned with business, product, manufacturing-footprint and category strategies, considering supplier capability, cost, quality, capacity, resilience and risk.
• Drive make/buy, supplier-footprint, localization, dual-source and other sourcing decisions using a total-cost-of-ownership and business-risk perspective.
• For NPDI/NPI projects, ensure early Procurement and supplier involvement to influence architecture, manufacturability, serviceability, technology choices, Design-to-Cost/Design-to-Value and supply-chain readiness before key design decisions are locked.
• Lead supplier and product transitions from feasibility through qualification and ramp-up, ensuring technical readiness, capacity, quality, logistics, business continuity and robust phase-in/phase-out plans.
• Drive product cost and value performance through Design-to-Cost/Value, should-cost, value engineering and other productivity levers; monitor Cost of Goods Sold (CoGS) against agreed business targets.
• Own the project value case with Finance and relevant business stakeholders, including baseline, target, implementation plan and tracking of realized benefits.
• Partner with Category Management on supplier selection, commercial negotiations, contracting and supplier relationship decisions, translating category strategies into effective project execution.
• Partner with Supplier Quality Engineering and technical teams to manage supplier quality, qualification, manufacturability and supply risks, with a focus on first-time-right readiness.
• Establish disciplined project governance, including milestone reviews, KPI tracking, RAID management (risks, assumptions, issues and dependencies), decision logs, executive reporting and timely escalation of barriers.
• Drive improved product and supply-chain designs, quality, delivery, time-to-market, structural cost competitiveness and supply resilience while protecting continuity of supply throughout implementation.

Education:

University degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial Engineering or a related discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and experience demonstrating the required technical, commercial and project leadership skills.

Experience:

Strong project leadership background with demonstrated ability to manage complex cross-functional initiatives against scope, schedule, quality, cost, risk and benefit targets. Relevant Project Management certification is preferred. 7+ years of relevant experience in complex high-tech or industrial environments, with demonstrated experience leading projects in one or more areas such as NPDI/NPI, strategic sourcing, supply-chain transformation, supplier transfer, product cost transformation, industrialization or value engineering.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

• Strong strategic sourcing and commercial skills, including supplier strategy, negotiation, total-cost thinking and business-case development.
• Strong business and financial acumen, with the ability to understand product cost, TCO, value drivers and benefit realization.
• Proven ability to lead and influence cross-functional teams without direct authority and to create alignment in complex stakeholder environments.
• Structured project and change leadership: able to translate ambiguity into executable plans, drive decisions and maintain momentum through implementation.
• Strong technical-commercial orientation with the ability to translate engineering requirements into supplier, manufacturability, cost and supply-risk implications.
• Analytical problem solving and continuous-improvement mindset; Lean, Six Sigma or similar certification is preferred.
• Strong relationship-building and supplier-partnership skills, combined with a hands-on, self-directed drive for results.
• Disciplined governance and executive communication skills, including concise reporting of performance, risks, trade-offs, decisions and required escalations.
• Excellent English communication skills, both verbal and written; ability to work effectively across global and multicultural teams.

Benefits:

We offer competitive remuneration, annual incentive plan bonus scheme, healthcare, company pension, and a range of employee benefits! Thermo Fisher Scientific offers employment with an innovative, forward-thinking organization, and outstanding career and development prospects. We offer an exciting company culture that stands for integrity, intensity, involvement, and innovation.

EEO/Reasonable Accommodation:

Thermo Fisher Scientific is an EEO/Affirmative Action Employer and does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided a reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform crucial job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request an accommodation.