Jobs › Woodward

Category Manager 2

Woodward · Niles, IL · Full time

Posted Oct 2, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026

Apply at Woodward

Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

Tell me about a supplier consolidation or resourcing you led. What did you have to manage carefully?

What they are checking: Whether they understand qualification time, risk and transition planning in aerospace sourcing.

Tell me about how you've worked with engineering to reduce cost through design or specification changes.

What they are checking: Whether they can drive value with engineers, which often saves more than negotiation.

Tell me about a time you had to influence stakeholders who didn't report to you to support a sourcing decision.

What they are checking: Whether they can build agreement across engineering, quality and operations.

What would you do

A key supplier in your category is in financial trouble. What do you do?

What they are checking: Whether they act to protect supply with monitoring, backup plans and early communication.

How do you negotiate a long-term agreement when a supplier has more power than you?

What they are checking: Whether they can find leverage through volume, length of commitment or relationship rather than pressure alone.

About the work

Walk me through how you would build a category strategy for a commodity like castings or electronics.

What they are checking: Whether they know spend analysis, market assessment, supplier strategy and a multi-year plan.

How do you analyze spend to find savings opportunities in a category?

What they are checking: Whether they can break spend down by supplier, part and price to spot real leverage.

How do you balance cost savings with quality and delivery when choosing suppliers?

What they are checking: Whether they think about total cost and performance rather than price alone.

What market factors would you watch for your category, such as raw materials or capacity?

What they are checking: Whether they track outside conditions that affect cost and supply risk.

How do you report category performance to leadership?

What they are checking: Whether they can show savings, risk and supplier performance in a clear, credible way.

Practice this interview out loud.

Offer builds a real interview for this exact role at Woodward from your resume and this job description, asks the questions one at a time, and tells you what landed. The first one is free.

Practice this out loud

The full job description

As published by Woodward.

Woodward is committed to creating a great workplace for all team members. Our company and its members are committed to acting with integrity, being respectful and accountable to one another, and staying humble and driven, while maintaining the highest professional and ethical standards. We are steadfastly committed to attracting the best talent across our communities creating a rewarding workplace. Together we are fulfilling our purpose to design and deliver energy control solutions our partners count on to power a clean future. Woodward supports our members’ wellbeing and regularly benchmarks with other companies in our industry to offer an extensive Total Reward package for this position. Salary will be determined by the applicant's education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data. Estimated annual base pay : $105,000.00 (minimum) - $136,000.00 (midpoint) - $168,000.00 (maximum) All Levels are eligible for the benefits below: • All members included in annual cash bonus opportunity. • 401(k) match (4.5%) • Annual Woodward stock contribution (5%) • Tuition reimbursement and Training/Professional Development opportunities for all members • 12 paid holidays. • Industry leading medical, dental, and vision Insurance upon date of hire • Vacation / Sick Time / Vacation Buy-up / Short Term Disability / Bereavement leave. • Paid parental leave. • Adoption Assistance • Employee Assistance Program, including mental health benefits. • Member Life & AD&D / Long Term Disability / Member Optional Life • Member referral bonus • Spouse / Child Optional Life / Optional AD&D / Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending • Voluntary benefits, including: o Home / Auto Insurance discounts o Whole Life Insurance / Critical Illness Insurance / Legal Assistance / Military Leave Key Responsibilities: • Market Analysis and Research: Conduct market research and analyze trends to identify opportunities and threats within the category. • Category Strategy Development: Develop and implement strategies to optimize the performance and profitability of assigned product categories for the long term. Anticipate needs of the business to posture supply base for the future. • Project generation, scope definition and maturation: Manage project pipeline to identify and mature projects that support category strategy, product margin, and product lifecycle. • Approved Supplier List (ASL) Management: Manage approved supplier list. Align suppliers into strategic categories based on alignment with stakeholders. Assign suppliers into sub categories based on the category of product they provide. Ensure completeness and consistency appropriate to multi-site suppliers. • Financial Management: Oversee budgeting, forecasting, and financial performance for assigned categories, ensuring profitability and cost efficiency through effective financial planning. Key Skills: • Business Acumen: Understands the complex relationships between all functions of the business and wider economic context. Frames work in terms of business value and needs. Directs and coordinates the development of initiatives that cross organizational lines. Creates business cases for investments that would improve performance. • Intelligence Gathering: Uses spend analytics and market research to make decisions and guide the category. Collaborates with suppliers on any strategy. • Executive Presence: Able to influence others using communication and leadership skills. Demonstrates leadership capabilities when working with others. • Insight Generation: Forms valuable insights backed in data, knowledge, experience, or research. Brings insights to others to guide processes. • Project Management: Ties project to functional and business goals. Aligns all stakeholders and meets goals. • Stakeholder Management: Identifies new stakeholders. Engages stakeholders. Ensures all stakeholders are aligned. • Strategic Thinking: Able to think critically to solve problems and achieve goals. Generates and utilizes insights. • Communication and Influence: Shares information effectively, is able to affect decisions across different audiences using specialized approaches. Sells own ideas by tying them into the values, needs, aspirations and goals of others. • Intellectual Curiosity: Crafts innovative solutions. Constructively pushes against long-held assumptions in the function. • Value Orientation: Manages projects and goals with little assistance. Establishes performance standards and measurements for work. Delivers on value proposition. Application window is anticipated to close 7 days from original posting date. This information is provided in compliance with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act and is the company’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the compensation range and benefits offered for this position. The compensation offered to the successful applicant may vary based on factors including experience, skills, education, location, and other job-related reasons. This position requires use of information which is subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and/or the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).   All applicants must be U.S. Persons within the meaning of the ITAR and EAR, or eligible to obtain all required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State and/or the U.S. Department of Commerce. The ITAR defines a U.S. Person as a U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident (i.e., 'Green Card holder'), or a protected person (e.g., asylee, or refugee). Woodward is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other category protected under federal, state, or local laws.

Apply at Woodward