Innovation Sourcing Manager

Job Title: Innovation Sourcing Manager

Job Description

Trystar is at the forefront of advancing power solutions, charged and driven by a committed, dynamic team, tackling complex challenges, and creating innovative solutions. We’re looking for motivated, driven, and talented individuals eager to be part of the future of power. Safety and integrity aren’t just buzzwords, they are the north star guiding us as we aspire to wow our customers every day. We’ve created power solutions that are not only durable and unique but are also the result of exciting teamwork from every corner of our organization.

Individually and collectively, every team member at Trystar plays for each other and strives to deliver unmatched value and 100% accuracy to our customers every single day. Our cutting-edge headquarters is in Faribault, MN, a facility that is partially solar and wind powered by our own microgrid! Together, we are Trystar, where we power the future and nurture innovation for a brighter tomorrow.

Trystar’s team members are our most important asset. We are hiring an Innovation Sourcing Manager to sit inside Research, Development and Engineering and source the partners, parts, and processes that turn new power-product ideas into hardware we can build. This is not a late-stage buying desk. You will be in the room while the design can still move. This role is also searched as technical sourcing or R&D sourcing. Preferred base is an established Trystar site in Minnesota, Texas, or another U.S. location. An exceptional candidate may work remotely from within the United States if they will travel up to about 20% a year.

Reporting to the Senior Engineering Director for Research, Development and Engineering, you will help Trystar bring new market-facing power technology to customers as custom products, integrated systems, and service solutions at the speed the business needs. You find and develop sources for technologies we have not bought before, put cost and lead-time truth in front of Engineering, and hand a clean package to Enterprise Sourcing when a design is ready to scale.

As the Innovation Sourcing Manager, you own sourcing from concept and prototype through production readiness: supplier discovery, RFQs, qualification, commercial terms, bill-of-material cost and risk, and the handoff into launch. You work as a peer to Engineering, Quality, Operations, and Product Management—and as a peer to the Innovation Sourcing Managers already on the team.

We are looking for people who believe in our guiding principles and values of:

• Safety – We believe everyone should leave Trystar facilities in the same or better condition than when they arrived.
• Integrity – We’re honest, transparent, and committed to doing what’s right.
• Customer focus – We have relentless focus on our customers and their success.
• Right with speed – We use good judgement, make thoughtful decisions quickly, and execute them with purpose and intensity.
• Play for each other – We’re a team. We show up for each other and we know that through teamwork we achieve

greatness.

• Champion change – We know adaptation and improvement are requirements to survive and to thrive.
• Enjoy the journey – We create an environment where our team feels appreciated and has fun along the way.

In this role you will get to:

• Identify and communicate sourcing risks early in the development cycle, at concept and through prototype, to drive mitigating designs, qualified alternates, and focused supplier development before the critical path locks.
• Align with Commodity / Category Managers and Enterprise Sourcing on supplier evaluation, selection, development, qualification, and a clean handoff from prototype into production ramp-up, aligned to program milestones.
• Thoroughly vet and qualify new suppliers for quality, delivery, capability, and compliance, including components and processes with no established Trystar source.
• Own the RFQ and quoting process for new-product and prototype buys: bid packages, capability assessment, source selection, and commercial negotiations to cost and lead-time targets.

• Identify and develop new sources and technologies where existing supplier relationships do not yet exist. Evaluate capability, pricing, quality, and capacity with Category Managers and negotiate contracts that secure the best total value.
• Document and manage project sourcing strategies. Provide regular updates on sourcing status, material cost, supplier risk, and open issues so Engineering, Quality, Operations, and Product Management can make phase-gate decisions.
• Track and manage quality, supply risk, material cost, response / lead time, and technology movement across the full device bill of material, new and legacy components, to support production readiness.
• Partner with Engineering on technical requirements, manufacturability, supplier capability, cost, lead time, quality, and supply risk, and run prototype-to-production sourcing so launches hit quality and schedule.
• Implement and keep current supplier commercial documents—NDAs/CDAs, MSAs, project or research agreements, and related terms, covering IP protection, supply conditions, and environmental and quality requirements.
• Support funds setup, invoice reconciliation, payments, and remittance reporting for early-stage and new-product buys.
• Improve technical sourcing process, BOM cost visibility, and project tracking using ERP and sourcing data (Epicor or equivalent), including make-versus-buy and outsourcing of internally made content when that is the right call.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in technical sourcing, strategic sourcing, commodity management, new product introduction, or product development sourcing.
• Proven experience collaborating with electrical and/or mechanical Engineering, Quality, and Operations on manufacturability, supplier capability, cost, lead time, and quality.
• Demonstrated negotiation of pricing, commercial terms, statements of work, and supplier agreements, including NDAs and supply agreements.
• Hands-on technical sourcing or NPD or NPI experience from prototype or early development through production readiness, including supplier identification, RFQs, qualification, and source selection.
• Ability to source categories relevant to the product, such as fabricated metal and weldments, electromechanical assemblies, engineered components, or power and electrical hardware, and to learn new technologies quickly.
• Willingness to travel approximately 20% annually. Work from an established Trystar site is preferred; an exceptional U.S.-based candidate may work remotely if they will travel at that level.
• Working knowledge of ERP and sourcing data (Epicor or equivalent) to manage cost, supplier performance, lead time, and project status.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, business, supply chain, or a related field. An engineering degree is advantageous; equivalent experience working in tight partnership with Engineering is accepted.
• Knowledge of ISO quality systems, DFM collaboration, and/or should-cost or total-cost analysis.
• PMI certification or comparable program-management credential.
• ISM certification (CPSM, CPSD, or equivalent).
• Lean, Lean Sigma, or Six Sigma experience (Green Belt or Black Belt certifications preferred).