ABOUT THE ROLE
F5 is seeking a strategic sourcing leader to own end-to-end procurement execution for network hardware supporting our global PoP and data center expansion. You will partner closely with the Capacity Engineering planning function to ensure hardware availability, build and manage vendor relationships, and negotiate commercial agreements that keep pace with an aggressive build schedule.
You'll own supplier engagement, contract structuring, and vendor accountability for the network hardware that powers our SaaS infrastructure at scale.
This is a cross-functional role by design. You'll work directly with Supply Chain, Network Engineering, Infrastructure Operations, Finance, Product, and Procurement as the connective layer that turns capacity signals into sourcing decisions and supply constraints into acquisition strategies.
This role reports into the Infrastructure Capacity Engineering organization.
Requirements
Be Kind
Own end-to-end sourcing strategy and execution for network hardware, including switches, routers, optics, cabling, and rack hardware, DWDM across F5's global PoP and data center footprint.
Partner with Capacity Engineering planning to translate forecasted demand into sourcing plans, lead times, and delivery commitments.
Initiate, negotiate, and manage contracts and MSAs with OEMs, ODMs, and global suppliers, including standard redline and clause negotiation with Legal and Procurement.
Identify supply chain risk and secure optionality across the hardware portfolio to protect against single points of failure and lead-time exposure.
Partner cross-functionally with engineering, legal, finance, and procurement to ensure sourcing strategies align with capacity and budget plans.
Develop competitive commercial strategies that ensure material readiness and cost efficiency across the PoP expansion roadmap.
Provide technical and commercial input during vendor evaluation and selection to ensure alignment with data center design and operational standards.
Track and report sourcing progress, risks, and key milestones to Capacity Engineering leadership with clarity and precision.
Maintain and evolve sourcing documentation, including supplier scorecards, contract trackers, and delivery timelines.
What You'll Bring
Required Qualifications
8+ years of experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, or contract management experience, with specialization in data center, network infrastructure, or a closely related discipline, with a track record of owning sourcing and planning functions.
Demonstrated success negotiating and managing vendor contracts for large-scale data center or network environments, including OEMs and global suppliers.
Working technical fluency in network hardware (switches, routers, DWDM/optical transport, cabling, NICs) sufficient to evaluate vendor proposals and partner credibly with engineering.
Strong analytical skills with a focus on cost optimization, risk mitigation, and on-time delivery.
Experience structuring multi-vendor or multi-site deals and driving vendor accountability against SLAs.
Clear, executive-ready communication: You can write a crisp capacity briefing, present it to a VP, defend your assumptions, and translate complex infrastructure analysis into the language of business risk and investment.
Hyperscale or SaaS background: You've done this at a company where infrastructure runs at scale.
Network architecture depth: You understand network hardware at a level that lets you reason about generations, form factors, power envelopes, configurations and what those choices mean for capacity math.
Broad infrastructure literacy: You don't need to be a network or security engineer, but you need to understand how network bandwidth, security appliance capacity, and physical data center constraints interact with compute capacity planning, and you need to be able to work fluently across those domains to produce a single integrated capacity model.
Strong analytical and modeling skills: Proficiency in tools and methods for building, validating, and communicating capacity models whether that's Python, SQL, advanced Excel, or purpose-built capacity planning platforms. The tool matters less than the rigor. The result, however, must be a dashboard, queryable agentic AI, or other real-time artifact, not a PowerPoint deck.
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The Job Description is intended to be a general representation of the responsibilities and requirements of the job. However, the description may not be all-inclusive, and responsibilities and requirements are subject to change.
The annual base pay for this position is: $163,700.00 - $245,500.00
F5 maintains broad salary ranges for its roles in order to account for variations in knowledge, skills, experience, geographic locations, and market conditions, as well as to reflect F5’s differing products, industries, and lines of business. The pay range referenced is as of the time of the job posting and is subject to change.
You may also be offered incentive compensation, bonus, restricted stock units, and benefits. More details about F5’s benefits can be found at the following link: https://www.f5.com/company/careers/benefits. F5 reserves the right to change or terminate any benefit plan without notice.
Please note that F5 only contacts candidates through F5 email address (ending with @f5.com) or auto email notification from Workday (ending with f5.com or @myworkday.com).
Equal Employment Opportunity
It is the policy of F5 to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and employment applicants without regard to unlawful considerations of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, sensory, physical, or mental disability, marital status, veteran or military status, genetic information, or any other classification protected by applicable local, state, or federal laws. This policy applies to all aspects of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, job assignment, compensation, promotion, benefits, training, discipline, and termination. F5 offers a variety of reasonable accommodations for candidates. Requesting an accommodation is completely voluntary. F5 will assess the need for accommodations in the application process separately from those that may be needed to perform the job. Request by contacting accommodations@f5.com.
