Category Manager Jobs in Ohio
Category Manager jobs in Ohio are in steady demand, with the heaviest concentration in retail, consumer packaged goods, and healthcare procurement at levels from entry-level analyst to senior director. Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati anchor the market, and established employers like Kroger, Procter & Gamble, and Cardinal Health have deep, ongoing hiring needs for category managers. The most in-demand specialties are private-label development, indirect procurement, and healthcare supply chain. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
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Showing 5 of 22+ Category Manager jobs
Position:Category Sourcing Manager
Department: Global Sourcing
Location: Miamisburg, OH
Reports to: Global Sourcing Director
Company Overview
Tark Thermal Solutions is a manufacturer of highly engineered thermal management solutions serving customers across demanding industrial and technology markets. We operate in a low-volume, high-mix manufacturing environment where quality, responsiveness, and operational excellence are critical to customer success.
Job Summary:
The Category Sourcing Manager is responsible for developing and executing the commercial strategy for assigned direct-material categories used in the company’s manufacturing operations. Categories may include electromechanical components, thermal-electric components, metals, fabricated parts, plastics, and other engineered production materials.
This position manages an assigned portfolio of approximately $10 million to $20 million in annual expenditure and serves as the primary commercial relationship owner for business-critical suppliers. The Category Sourcing Manager develops category strategies, leads supplier selection and commercial negotiations, establishes long-term agreements, and identifies opportunities to improve cost, quality, delivery, capacity, and supply continuity.
The position works closely with Engineering, Operations, Quality, Finance, Product Management, and site purchasing teams to align sourcing strategies with product roadmaps, customer requirements, and manufacturing objectives.
Essential Functions & Tasks:
Category Strategy and Market Intelligence
- Develop, document, and execute two- to three-year sourcing strategies and roadmaps for assigned direct-material categories, aligned with product plans, customer requirements, engineering priorities, and manufacturing strategy.
- Maintain a detailed understanding of category spend, suppliers, technologies, cost drivers, capacity constraints, lead times, commodity markets, and other relevant supply-market conditions.
- Develop and prioritize a rolling pipeline of sourcing, supplier-transition, new-product, risk-reduction, and cost-improvement initiatives.
- Identify opportunities to consolidate, diversify, regionalize, or otherwise optimize the supply base and develop contingency strategies for critical, constrained, or sole-source materials.
Strategic Sourcing and Supplier Selection
- Identify and recommend suppliers based on total cost, capability, capacity, quality, delivery, technology, financial stability, and supply-chain risk.
- Lead the commercial aspects of supplier transitions, resourcing initiatives, dual-sourcing strategies, outsourcing opportunities, and make-or-buy evaluations.
- Partner with Engineering, NPI Development Engineering, Quality, and Operations to ensure sourcing decisions address technical requirements, supplier qualification, tooling, capacity, manufacturing readiness, and applicable company approval requirements.
Supplier Relationship and Performance Management
- Serve as the company’s primary commercial representative for assigned strategic suppliers and develop long-term relationships that support competitive pricing, supply continuity, quality, delivery, innovation, and responsiveness.
- Evaluate supplier financial health, capacity, geographic exposure, and business-continuity readiness, and lead the commercial resolution of significant supplier risks and escalations.
Cost, Contract, and Commercial Management
- Develop category-level cost targets and execute cost-reduction and cost-avoidance strategies using competitive bidding, should-cost analysis, price benchmarking, value analysis, and negotiations.
- Analyze supplier quotations and total-cost elements, including material, labor, tooling, logistics, duties, payment terms, commodity indices, and other relevant cost drivers.
- Monitor commodity-price movements and develop appropriate pricing mechanisms, index-based agreements, and other commercial risk-mitigation strategies.
- Lead the commercial development and negotiation of supplier agreements in collaboration with Legal and other stakeholders and monitor supplier compliance with negotiated obligations.
- Measure and report validated savings, cost avoidance, purchase-price variance, payment-term improvements, and other commercial results in partnership with Finance.
Cross-Functional Collaboration and Risk Management
- Lead cross-functional sourcing projects and communicate category strategies, sourcing decisions, supplier risks, and commercial results to stakeholders and leadership.
- Collaborate with Engineering, Quality, Operations, Materials Management, Finance, and site purchasing teams to align supplier strategies with product, manufacturing, financial, and supply-continuity requirements.
- Provide buyers and purchasing teams with approved suppliers, pricing, agreements, sourcing decisions, and escalation support while maintaining a clear distinction between strategic sourcing and transactional purchasing responsibilities.
- Identify and communicate significant contractual, financial, geopolitical, logistics, tariff, import/export, and continuity risks affecting assigned categories.
- Support the resolution of significant commercial claims, tooling disputes, warranty matters, excess-material liabilities, supplier transitions, and other complex supplier issues.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, business, engineering, operations, finance, or a related field.
- Minimum of five years of progressive experience in strategic sourcing, category management, commodity management, procurement, or supplier management.
- Experience sourcing direct materials or engineered components in a manufacturing environment.
- Demonstrated experience independently managing a significant supplier and spend portfolio.
- Proven ability to develop and execute category strategies.
- Demonstrated success leading competitive sourcing events and complex supplier negotiations.
- Experience negotiating pricing, payment terms, long-term supply agreements, and other commercial conditions.
- Working knowledge of supplier cost structures and total-cost-of-ownership analysis.
- Strong analytical and financial skills, including the ability to analyze spend, quotations, commodity trends, supplier proposals, and business cases.
- Demonstrated ability to work effectively with Engineering, Quality, Operations, Finance, and purchasing stakeholders.
- Strong written, verbal, presentation, negotiation, and relationship-management skills.
- Ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and influence decisions without formal authority.
- Ability to manage multiple categories, suppliers, projects, and deadlines in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
- Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Excel and working proficiency with other Microsoft Office applications.
- Experience using an ERP or MRP system and procurement-related reporting tools.
- Ability to travel domestically and internationally as business needs require.
Preferred Qualifications:
- CPSM, CPM, CSCP, CPIM, or comparable supply-chain certification.
- Experience sourcing electromechanical components, motors, fans, pumps, thermal-management components, heat exchangers, metals, fabricated components, plastics, or other engineered direct materials.
- Experience working with suppliers and internal stakeholders across North America, Europe, and Asia.
- Experience with should-cost modeling, commodity-index pricing, value engineering, design-to-cost, and supplier-development initiatives.
- Knowledge of international trade, Incoterms, tariffs, duties, import requirements, and global supply-chain risk.
- Experience supporting new-product development and production launches in an engineered-product manufacturing environment.
- Experience with supplier-resourcing, dual-sourcing, localization, and business-continuity initiatives
Position Scope:
- Classification: Salaried exempt
- Position type: Individual contributor
- Direct reports: None
- Primary responsibility: Commercial ownership of assigned direct-material categories
- Travel: Domestic and international travel as required
- Schedule: Flexibility to accommodate other/international time zones as needed
- Physical requirements: Office environment with minimal lifting expected.
Target Candidate Background:
Ideal candidates likely hold titles such as:
- Commodity Manager
- Senior Commodity Manager
- Category Manager – Direct Materials
- Strategic Category Manager
- Strategic Sourcing Manager
- Global Commodity Manager
- Regional Commodity Manager
- Sourcing Category Manager
- Lead Commodity Manager
- Commodity Leader
- Strategic Sourcing Lead
- Lead Sourcing Specialist
- Senior Sourcing Specialist
- Direct Materials Sourcing Manager
- Supplier Commercial Manager
- Procurement Category Manager
- Senior Buyer / Strategic Buyer
- Purchasing Manager
- Procurement Manager
- Supplier Development Manager
- Sourcing Engineer / Procurement Engineer
Pay: $80,000.00 - $125,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) 4% Match
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Flexible schedule
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- On-site gym
- Paid parental leave
- Paid time off
- Parental leave
- Professional development assistance
- Vision insurance
Application Question(s):
- Do your salary expectations align with the listed compensation range?
- This is a hybrid role with 4+ days per week expected in the office. Are you comfortable with this scheduling expectation?
Work Location: In person
Position:Category Sourcing Manager
Department: Global Sourcing
Location: Miamisburg, OH
Reports to: Global Sourcing Director
Company Overview
Tark Thermal Solutions is a manufacturer of highly engineered thermal management solutions serving customers across demanding industrial and technology markets. We operate in a low-volume, high-mix manufacturing environment where quality, responsiveness, and operational excellence are critical to customer success.
Job Summary:
The Category Sourcing Manager is responsible for developing and executing the commercial strategy for assigned direct-material categories used in the company’s manufacturing operations. Categories may include electromechanical components, thermal-electric components, metals, fabricated parts, plastics, and other engineered production materials.
This position manages an assigned portfolio of approximately $10 million to $20 million in annual expenditure and serves as the primary commercial relationship owner for business-critical suppliers. The Category Sourcing Manager develops category strategies, leads supplier selection and commercial negotiations, establishes long-term agreements, and identifies opportunities to improve cost, quality, delivery, capacity, and supply continuity.
The position works closely with Engineering, Operations, Quality, Finance, Product Management, and site purchasing teams to align sourcing strategies with product roadmaps, customer requirements, and manufacturing objectives.
Essential Functions & Tasks:
Category Strategy and Market Intelligence
- Develop, document, and execute two- to three-year sourcing strategies and roadmaps for assigned direct-material categories, aligned with product plans, customer requirements, engineering priorities, and manufacturing strategy.
- Maintain a detailed understanding of category spend, suppliers, technologies, cost drivers, capacity constraints, lead times, commodity markets, and other relevant supply-market conditions.
- Develop and prioritize a rolling pipeline of sourcing, supplier-transition, new-product, risk-reduction, and cost-improvement initiatives.
- Identify opportunities to consolidate, diversify, regionalize, or otherwise optimize the supply base and develop contingency strategies for critical, constrained, or sole-source materials.
Strategic Sourcing and Supplier Selection
- Identify and recommend suppliers based on total cost, capability, capacity, quality, delivery, technology, financial stability, and supply-chain risk.
- Lead the commercial aspects of supplier transitions, resourcing initiatives, dual-sourcing strategies, outsourcing opportunities, and make-or-buy evaluations.
- Partner with Engineering, NPI Development Engineering, Quality, and Operations to ensure sourcing decisions address technical requirements, supplier qualification, tooling, capacity, manufacturing readiness, and applicable company approval requirements.
Supplier Relationship and Performance Management
- Serve as the company’s primary commercial representative for assigned strategic suppliers and develop long-term relationships that support competitive pricing, supply continuity, quality, delivery, innovation, and responsiveness.
- Evaluate supplier financial health, capacity, geographic exposure, and business-continuity readiness, and lead the commercial resolution of significant supplier risks and escalations.
Cost, Contract, and Commercial Management
- Develop category-level cost targets and execute cost-reduction and cost-avoidance strategies using competitive bidding, should-cost analysis, price benchmarking, value analysis, and negotiations.
- Analyze supplier quotations and total-cost elements, including material, labor, tooling, logistics, duties, payment terms, commodity indices, and other relevant cost drivers.
- Monitor commodity-price movements and develop appropriate pricing mechanisms, index-based agreements, and other commercial risk-mitigation strategies.
- Lead the commercial development and negotiation of supplier agreements in collaboration with Legal and other stakeholders and monitor supplier compliance with negotiated obligations.
- Measure and report validated savings, cost avoidance, purchase-price variance, payment-term improvements, and other commercial results in partnership with Finance.
Cross-Functional Collaboration and Risk Management
- Lead cross-functional sourcing projects and communicate category strategies, sourcing decisions, supplier risks, and commercial results to stakeholders and leadership.
- Collaborate with Engineering, Quality, Operations, Materials Management, Finance, and site purchasing teams to align supplier strategies with product, manufacturing, financial, and supply-continuity requirements.
- Provide buyers and purchasing teams with approved suppliers, pricing, agreements, sourcing decisions, and escalation support while maintaining a clear distinction between strategic sourcing and transactional purchasing responsibilities.
- Identify and communicate significant contractual, financial, geopolitical, logistics, tariff, import/export, and continuity risks affecting assigned categories.
- Support the resolution of significant commercial claims, tooling disputes, warranty matters, excess-material liabilities, supplier transitions, and other complex supplier issues.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, business, engineering, operations, finance, or a related field.
- Minimum of five years of progressive experience in strategic sourcing, category management, commodity management, procurement, or supplier management.
- Experience sourcing direct materials or engineered components in a manufacturing environment.
- Demonstrated experience independently managing a significant supplier and spend portfolio.
- Proven ability to develop and execute category strategies.
- Demonstrated success leading competitive sourcing events and complex supplier negotiations.
- Experience negotiating pricing, payment terms, long-term supply agreements, and other commercial conditions.
- Working knowledge of supplier cost structures and total-cost-of-ownership analysis.
- Strong analytical and financial skills, including the ability to analyze spend, quotations, commodity trends, supplier proposals, and business cases.
- Demonstrated ability to work effectively with Engineering, Quality, Operations, Finance, and purchasing stakeholders.
- Strong written, verbal, presentation, negotiation, and relationship-management skills.
- Ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and influence decisions without formal authority.
- Ability to manage multiple categories, suppliers, projects, and deadlines in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
- Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Excel and working proficiency with other Microsoft Office applications.
- Experience using an ERP or MRP system and procurement-related reporting tools.
- Ability to travel domestically and internationally as business needs require.
Preferred Qualifications:
- CPSM, CPM, CSCP, CPIM, or comparable supply-chain certification.
- Experience sourcing electromechanical components, motors, fans, pumps, thermal-management components, heat exchangers, metals, fabricated components, plastics, or other engineered direct materials.
- Experience working with suppliers and internal stakeholders across North America, Europe, and Asia.
- Experience with should-cost modeling, commodity-index pricing, value engineering, design-to-cost, and supplier-development initiatives.
- Knowledge of international trade, Incoterms, tariffs, duties, import requirements, and global supply-chain risk.
- Experience supporting new-product development and production launches in an engineered-product manufacturing environment.
- Experience with supplier-resourcing, dual-sourcing, localization, and business-continuity initiatives
Position Scope:
- Classification: Salaried exempt
- Position type: Individual contributor
- Direct reports: None
- Primary responsibility: Commercial ownership of assigned direct-material categories
- Travel: Domestic and international travel as required
- Schedule: Flexibility to accommodate other/international time zones as needed
- Physical requirements: Office environment with minimal lifting expected.
Target Candidate Background:
Ideal candidates likely hold titles such as:
- Commodity Manager
- Senior Commodity Manager
- Category Manager – Direct Materials
- Strategic Category Manager
- Strategic Sourcing Manager
- Global Commodity Manager
- Regional Commodity Manager
- Sourcing Category Manager
- Lead Commodity Manager
- Commodity Leader
- Strategic Sourcing Lead
- Lead Sourcing Specialist
- Senior Sourcing Specialist
- Direct Materials Sourcing Manager
- Supplier Commercial Manager
- Procurement Category Manager
- Senior Buyer / Strategic Buyer
- Purchasing Manager
- Procurement Manager
- Supplier Development Manager
- Sourcing Engineer / Procurement Engineer
Pay: $80,000.00 - $125,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) 4% Match
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Flexible schedule
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- On-site gym
- Paid parental leave
- Paid time off
- Parental leave
- Professional development assistance
- Vision insurance
Application Question(s):
- Do your salary expectations align with the listed compensation range?
- This is a hybrid role with 4+ days per week expected in the office. Are you comfortable with this scheduling expectation?
Work Location: In person
See All 22 Category Manager Jobs in Ohio
Find roles in Ohio that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Category Manager JobsCategory Manager Jobs by City in Ohio
Where Ohio roles are concentrated, by current openings.
Category Manager Job Market in Ohio
A snapshot from current Ohio openings, updated as new roles post.
Who's Hiring
Top Industries Hiring
- Insurance
- Mining & Natural Resources
What Ohio Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in category manager jobs across Ohio.
- Bachelor's degree in business, supply chain, marketing, or a related field required
- Three or more years of category management, merchandising, or procurement experience preferred
- Proficiency in data analytics tools such as Nielsen, IRI, or similar syndicated platforms
- Demonstrated experience developing category strategies and presenting findings to senior stakeholders
- Strong cross-functional collaboration with vendors, marketing, and supply chain teams
- Experience with planogram software and space management principles a common advantage
Category Manager Jobs in Ohio: Frequently Asked Questions
How do you become a category manager in Ohio?
Most category managers in Ohio enter the role with a bachelor's degree in business administration, supply chain management, or marketing, followed by several years in buying, merchandising, or procurement. No state-issued license is required for this role in Ohio. Earning a Certified Professional in Supply Management designation from the Institute for Supply Management or a Category Management Association certification strengthens candidacy, particularly with Ohio's large retail and consumer goods employers.
How much do category managers make in Ohio?
Category managers in Ohio earn a median of about $134,580 a year, based on May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, ranging from around $93,780 for the lowest 10% to over $216,800 for the top 10%. Pay rises with experience, specialty, and employer.
Which companies hire category managers in Ohio?
Employers hiring category managers in Ohio right now include Lubrizol, Austin Powder, and DHL, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. Ohio's dense concentration of retail headquarters, healthcare distributors, and consumer goods manufacturers means consistent, year-round category manager demand across the state.
Which Ohio cities have the most category manager jobs?
Ohio, Mason, and Akron have the most category manager openings in Ohio. Columbus leads because of its role as a retail and corporate headquarters hub, with major grocery, e-commerce, and healthcare companies based there, while Cincinnati draws heavily from its deep consumer packaged goods and healthcare supply chain industry base and Cleveland from its manufacturing and distribution sectors.
Are there remote category manager jobs in Ohio?
Yes, and more than many supply chain roles, since the analytical and strategy work category managers do translates well to remote settings. About 100% of category manager openings tied to Ohio are remote or hybrid as of September 2026, reflecting how common flexible arrangements have become in corporate retail and procurement. Vendor line reviews and cross-functional planning sessions are the parts most likely to remain on-site or hybrid.
How can I get hired as a category manager in Ohio with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path is a buyer's assistant, category analyst, or merchandise coordinator role with a large Ohio retailer or distributor, which are the positions these employers use to develop category managers internally. Kroger's merchant development programs and Cardinal Health's supply chain associate tracks are examples of structured paths at major Ohio employers. Building proficiency with syndicated data tools and completing a Category Management Association foundations course gives candidates without experience a concrete, demonstrable edge.
Where can I find and apply to category manager jobs in Ohio?
You can find and apply to category manager jobs in Ohio on Migrate Mate, which lists current Ohio openings updated regularly. Find roles that fit your experience and specialization and apply directly to the employers posting them.
See All 22 Category Manager Jobs in Ohio
Find roles in Ohio that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Category Manager Jobs