Communications Specialist Jobs in Santa Clara, CA

• Business partnership: Serve as the primary procurement business partner to the Communications GM and leadership team.
• Segment strategy: Develop and execute a multi-year procurement strategy aligned with Communications business priorities, technology roadmap, customer programs, and margin goals.
• Category leadership: Lead sourcing and supplier strategies across direct materials, engineered components, electronics, optics, mechanicals, contract manufacturing, capital equipment, logistics, and indirect spend.
• Cross-functional alignment: Partner closely with engineering, product management, operations, supply chain, finance, quality, and legal to align supplier strategies with business needs.
• NPI and roadmap support: Engage early in product development and NPI to influence design-to-cost, design-to-source, supplier selection, and supply readiness.
• Supplier network: Build and manage a global supplier network that supports cost, quality, delivery, innovation, capacity, responsiveness, and risk requirements.
• Commercial negotiations: Lead major supplier negotiations, including pricing, payment terms, supply commitments, service levels, quality obligations, and commercial risk protections.
• Cost and cash: Drive cost savings, productivity, cost avoidance, working-capital improvement, and gross margin expansion.
• Supply assurance: Develop supply assurance strategies for critical components, single-source suppliers, constrained technologies, long-lead materials, and customer-critical programs.
• Supplier performance: Improve supplier performance through scorecards, executive business reviews, supplier development, and corrective-action plans.
• Market insight: Provide leadership visibility to supplier-market trends, technology constraints, cost drivers, capacity risks, and supply-chain exposures.
• Digital and analytics: Strengthen procurement analytics, processes, systems, reporting, and operating cadence.
• Team leadership: Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing procurement team.

What You Bring

• Bachelor's degree in supply chain, business, finance, engineering, operations, or a related field; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• 15+ years of progressive procurement, sourcing, supply chain, operations, or manufacturing leadership experience.
• Experience leading procurement for technically complex products, direct-material categories, electronics, optics, communications systems, or advanced technology businesses.
• Strong background in strategic sourcing, supplier management, contract negotiation, cost reduction, supplier risk management, and procurement operations.
• Demonstrated ability to partner with senior business leaders, GMs, CTOs, engineering, operations, finance, supply chain, and quality teams.
• Experience supporting NPI, product roadmap execution, supplier readiness, and production ramp planning.
• Strong financial acumen, including the ability to connect procurement actions to gross margin, operating income, inventory, cash flow, and business growth.
• Experience leading global teams and influencing across matrixed organizations.
• Strong executive communication, negotiation, analytical, and decision-making skills.

Preferred Experience

• Experience in communications infrastructure, optical networking, transmission systems, transport systems, photonics, electronics, advanced components, or complex systems manufacturing.
• Experience managing suppliers for custom components, engineered materials, optics, electronics, contract manufacturing, or high-reliability technical products.
• Experience in businesses with demanding customer commitments, rapid product transitions, long lead times, and high technical complexity.
• Experience with procurement transformation, supplier-base optimization, should-cost programs, value engineering, digital procurement tools, or global category management.

Leadership Profile

The successful candidate will be a strategic procurement executive who can operate as a true business partner to the GM while bringing strong commercial discipline, supplier-market insight, technical curiosity, and execution rigor. This leader should be able to influence product, engineering, operations, and finance decisions through a procurement lens.

Success in the Role

• Deliver annual and multi-year savings, productivity, and gross-margin improvement commitments.
• Improve supplier performance across cost, quality, delivery, responsiveness, innovation, capacity, and risk.
• Strengthen supplier readiness for NPI, product ramps, customer-critical programs, and roadmap execution.
• Reduce exposure to single-source, long-lead, constrained-technology, and supply-continuity risks.
• Build strong stakeholder confidence with the Communications GM, CTO, BU leaders, operations, engineering, finance, quality, supply chain, and enterprise procurement.

Quality and Environmental Responsibilities

Depending on location, this position may be responsible for the execution and maintenance of the ISO 9000, 9001, 14001 and/or other applicable standards that may apply to the relevant roles and responsibilities within the Quality Management System and Environmental Management System.

Culture Commitment

Ensure adherence to company’s values (ICARE) in all aspects of your position at Coherent Corp.:

Integrity – Create an Environment of Trust

Collaboration – Innovate Through the Sharing of Ideas

Accountability – Own the Process and the Outcome

Respect – Recognize the Value in Everyone

Enthusiasm – Find a Sense of Purpose in Work

Coherent Corp. is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Coherent is a global leader in lasers, engineered materials and networking components. We are a vertically integrated manufacturing company that develops innovative products for diversified applications in the industrial, optical communications, military, life sciences, semiconductor equipment, and consumer markets. Coherent provides a comprehensive career development platform within an environment that challenges employees to perform at their best, while rewarding excellence and hard-work through a competitive compensation program. It's an exciting opportunity to work for a company that offers stability, longevity and growth. Come Join Us!

Note to recruiters and employment agencies: We will not pay for unsolicited resumes from recruiters and employment agencies unless we have a signed agreement and have required assistance, in writing, for a specific opening.