Back to jobs

Category Manager – Indirect/Corporate

Washington DC

The Nuclear Company is the fastest growing startup in the nuclear and energy space creating a never before seen fleet-scale approach to building nuclear reactors. Through its design-once, build-many approach and coalition building across communities, regulators, and financial stakeholders, The Nuclear Company is committed to delivering safe and reliable electricity at the lowest cost, while catalyzing the nuclear industry toward rapid development in America and globally.

About the role

The Category Manager – Indirect/Corporate partners with functional leaders to develop and execute sourcing strategies across a portfolio of indirect spend categories that support corporate functions. Categories may include areas such as IT, professional services, marketing, workplace, and other corporate spend, and will adapt as organizational needs evolve.

This role brings market insight, commercial expertise, and structured sourcing approaches to inform category strategies and support business objectives. In close collaboration with stakeholders across IT, HR, Finance, Legal, Facilities, and Marketing, the Category Manager helps translate business requirements into effective sourcing approaches. The Category Manager leads structured sourcing activities, advises on supplier selection and contract negotiations, and enables efficient, scalable purchasing channels and pathways. The Category Manager adapts their level of engagement based on business needs and category context, providing both hands-on sourcing support and advisory guidance to enable efficient, effective procurement outcomes in alignment with company policies and established category framework.

This role is accountable for delivering measurable value, including cost savings, cost avoidance, and improved supplier performance. The role also contributes to supplier and contract management activities to drive value, manage risk, and maintain strong supplier partnerships. As part of a growing procurement function, the Category Manager contributes to building standardized, scalable processes and systems that enhance the purchasing experience and support the company’s continued growth, including ERP-enabled procurement capabilities.

 

Responsibilities

Category Strategy & Planning

  • Partner with business stakeholders to develop and evolve category strategies for assigned indirect spend areas, aligned to business priorities
  • Analyze spend, demand patterns, and supply markets to identify cost optimization and value creation opportunities
  • Provide recommendations on supplier strategies, including use of GPOs, strategic suppliers, and marketplace channels

Sourcing & Execution

  • Lead structured sourcing processes (RFPs, RFQs, supplier evaluations) in collaboration with stakeholders
  • Support and advise on commercial negotiations, pricing structures, and contract terms to achieve best value outcomes
  • Coordinate execution of sourcing initiatives, including contracting, onboarding, and implementation with stakeholders

Stakeholder Partnership

  • Serve as a trusted procurement advisor to functional leaders (IT, HR, Finance, Legal, Facilities, Marketing, and Others)
  • Collaborate with stakeholders to shape sourcing approaches that align business needs with market capabilities
  • Adapt level of engagement based on stakeholder needs, ranging from advisory support to leading sourcing activities
  • Influence and guide adoption of preferred suppliers and purchasing channels and pathways through data, insights, and user-friendly processes

Supplier & Contract Management

  • Support stakeholders in managing supplier relationships, performance expectations, and governance routines
  • Identify opportunities for supplier optimization, consolidation, and performance improvement
  • Partner with Legal and Finance to develop and maintain contracts, MSAs, and commercial frameworks

Procurement Operations & Process Enablement

  • Design and implement efficient, user-friendly purchasing channels and pathways (e.g., GPOs, catalogs, punchouts, marketplaces)
  • Support alignment with procurement policies and controls while balancing business flexibility and speed
  • Maintain accurate supplier, contract, and purchasing data within procurement systems

Continuous Improvement & Scalability

  • Identify opportunities to improve procurement efficiency, reduce cycle times, and enhance stakeholder experience
  • Establish and track category performance metrics and value realization (e.g., savings, adoption, supplier performance)
  • Enable catalog-based and guided buying capabilities to streamline purchasing
  • Contribute to development of procurement standards, templates, and scalable best practices

 

Experience

  • Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Supply Chain, or a related field (equivalent experience can be taken into consideration)
  • 7+ years of experience in procurement, sourcing, or category management, with a focus on indirect spend
  • Demonstrated experience leading end-to-end sourcing initiatives from strategy through execution
  • Strong negotiation and supplier management experience across multiple indirect categories (e.g., professional services, IT, marketing, workplace)
  • Experience partnering with cross-functional corporate stakeholders to support sourcing and purchasing decisions
  • Demonstrated ability to build strong, trust-based relationships and work effectively across diverse stakeholder groups
  • Demonstrated ability to influence decisions and drive alignment without direct authority
  • Familiarity with core procurement processes (e.g., requisitions, purchase orders, contracting, supplier onboarding)
  • Experience using ERP or procurement systems to support sourcing and purchasing activities
  • Ability to manage multiple priorities and operate effectively in a fast-paced, evolving environment

 

Nice to Have

  • Experience supporting indirect categories such as IT, professional services, marketing, or workplace spend
  • Experience operating in a highly collaborative, matrixed environment with shared ownership of decisions
  • Experience leveraging GPOs and managing multi-supplier ecosystems
  • Exposure to high-growth or scaling organizations, with evolving processes and priorities
  • Experience balancing stakeholder needs with commercial outcomes in sourcing decisions
  • Familiarity with ERP-enabled procurement or guided buying environments

 

Benefits

  • Competitive compensation packages
  • 401k with company match
  • Medical, dental, vision plans
  • Generous vacation policy, plus holidays

 

Estimated Starting Salary Range
The estimated starting salary range for this role is $118,000 - $140,000 annually less applicable withholdings and deductions, paid on a bi-weekly basis. The actual salary offered may vary based on relevant factors as determined in the Company’s discretion, which may include experience, qualifications, tenure, skill set, availability of qualified candidates, geographic location, certifications held, and other criteria deemed pertinent to the particular role. 

EEO Statement
The Nuclear Company is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an environment of inclusion in the workplace. We provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. We prohibit discrimination in all aspects of employment, including hiring, promotion, demotion, transfer, compensation, and termination.

Export Control
Certain positions at The Nuclear Company may involve access to information and technology subject to export controls under U.S. law. Compliance with these export controls may result in The Nuclear Company limiting its consideration of certain applicants.
 
Recruiting Fraud Alert
Your safety is our priority. We want to ensure your job search stays secure. Please note that the team at The Nuclear Company only communicates through official @thenuclearcompany.com email addresses. We will never ask for payments or sensitive financial information at any stage of our recruitment process. For your peace of mind, please verify all openings and submit your applications directly through our official careers page.

Create a Job Alert

Interested in building your career at The Nuclear Company? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Phone
Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf


Education

Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...

Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...

U.S. Standard Demographic Questions

We invite applicants to share their demographic background. If you choose to complete this survey, your responses may be used to identify areas of improvement in our hiring process.
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in The Nuclear Company’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.