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Senior Sourcing Lead - Global Hardware

IMC Trading · Chicago, IL · Finance

Posted Sep 30, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026

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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 an executive-level vendor relationship you built. What did it get your company that a normal buyer couldn't?

What they are checking: Experience building strategic partnerships with real commercial advantage, not transactional buying.

Tell me about a negotiation over hundreds of millions in spend. What did you trade and what did you hold firm on?

What they are checking: Whether they can negotiate at the scale this role covers and know where leverage really lies.

What would you do

GPUs are on allocation and our infrastructure team needs more than the vendor is offering. How do you get us a bigger share?

What they are checking: Whether they understand that access, not price, wins in a constrained market and how to earn it.

An engineering leader wants a specific vendor, but you see supply risk. How do you handle that?

What they are checking: Whether they can act as a true commercial counterpart to engineering, not just process orders.

How would you measure your success in this role if not by cost savings?

What they are checking: Whether they understand the posting's focus on allocation access, supply assurance and roadmap alignment.

How do you balance the needs of trading infrastructure and AI research clusters when both want the same hardware?

What they are checking: Whether they can prioritize across internal customers with competing demands.

About the work

How do OEM, ODM and channel models differ for buying servers, and when would you choose each?

What they are checking: Depth in hardware commercial models, which the posting names as required expertise.

How do you build a category strategy for networking hardware when the roadmap is changing fast?

What they are checking: Whether they can plan sourcing around technology roadmaps and lead times.

How do you manage supply assurance when a key component has long and unpredictable lead times?

What they are checking: Understanding of component supply chains and tools like forecasts, buffers and commitments.

What's happening in the GPU and accelerated compute market right now that should shape our strategy?

What they are checking: Current market awareness in one of the fastest moving hardware categories.

How do you avoid becoming too dependent on a single strategic vendor?

What they are checking: Their approach to concentration risk while still earning priority with key partners.

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The full job description

As published by IMC Trading.

We are seeking a Senior Sourcing Lead – Hardware to join our Global Procurement team, reporting to the Global Strategic Sourcing Lead. This role will serve as the strategic owner of our global hardware category — spanning GPU and accelerated compute, servers, networking, storage hardware, and enterprise equipment — with a primary focus on building and managing executive-level partnerships with our most strategic hardware vendors, relationships representing $300M–$500M+ in annual spend. This is not a transactional sourcing role. Success is measured by allocation access, supply assurance, roadmap alignment, and long-term commercial advantage in one of the most constrained and fastest-moving hardware markets in the world. You will operate as the commercial counterpart to our infrastructure engineering leadership as we scale high-performance compute for both trading infrastructure and large-scale AI research clusters. This role requires deep domain expertise in technology hardware procurement and market dynamics: GPU and accelerated compute platforms, server architectures, high-performance networking, component supply chains, allocation and lead-time dynamics, and OEM/ODM/channel commercial models. Your Core Responsibilities:  • Own and execute the global hardware category strategy — GPU/accelerated compute, servers, networking, storage hardware, and enterprise equipment — across trading infrastructure and large-scale research compute environments • Build and own executive-level relationships with strategic hardware vendors representing $300M–$500M+ in annual spend, including executive sponsorship programs, quarterly business reviews, roadmap and allocation alignment, and long-term partnership frameworks • Lead negotiations for high-value and complex OEM and master supply agreements — pricing programs, volume commitments, allocation guarantees, warranty and support terms — ensuring best-in-class commercial outcomes and risk mitigation • Own GPU and long-lead component supply assurance: manage allocation strategy, capacity reservations, and lead-time risk for multi-hundred-million-dollar compute buildouts • Aggregate hardware demand across regions (US, EU, APAC) to maximize volume leverage, drive standardization of specifications and reference architectures, and maintain the approved vendor list • Drive measurable cost optimization across third-party hardware spend — normalized cost-per-core, cost-per-GPU-hour, and TCO modeling — while balancing supply chain resilience, lead-time risk, and refresh cycle planning • Partner directly with infrastructure engineering, capacity planning, and finance leaders on hardware roadmaps, build-vs-buy trade-offs, and investment business cases up to executive leadership • Monitor hardware market trends, component supply dynamics, allocation risks, and supplier performance to proactively identify opportunities and mitigate constraints before they impact delivery • Provide coaching and guidance to sourcing managers and buyers on hardware category execution, embedding best practices across the global team • Represent Procurement as a trusted advisor to infrastructure engineering and business leadership on all hardware investment decisions Your Skills & Experience:  • 8+ years of strategic sourcing, vendor management, or supply chain experience in technology hardware, with direct ownership of vendor relationships at $100M+ annual scale • Demonstrated experience negotiating with and managing tier-one OEMs and silicon providers (NVIDIA, Dell, Lenovo, Supermicro, AMD, Arista, or comparable), ideally including GPU or accelerated compute procurement under allocation constraints • Deep understanding of server, GPU, and networking architectures sufficient to engage credibly with engineering leadership and translate technical requirements into commercial strategy • Experience in HyperScale, HPC/AI infrastructure, semiconductor, or low-latency trading environments strongly preferred • Executive presence and proven ability to build durable, senior-level vendor relationships that deliver preferential access, pricing, and support • Strong financial and analytical skills: TCO modeling, multi-year CapEx planning, and data-driven negotiation preparation • Experience operating globally across US, EU, and APAC supply chains and legal entities Please note that immigration sponsorship is not offered for this specific opening. The Base Salary range for the role is included below. Base salary is only one component of total compensation; all full-time, permanent positions are eligible for a discretionary bonus and benefits, including paid leave and insurance. Please visit Benefits - US | IMC Trading for more comprehensive information. Salary Range $150,000 — $200,000 USD About Us IMC is a research-driven trading firm where quantitative modeling, machine learning, and engineering shape how modern markets are traded. A stabilizing force in markets since 1989, we provide liquidity across trading venues, delivering the best outcome in value and risk management to investors. Using our own technology and capital, we build proprietary systems and algorithms that operate across global markets. Our researchers, traders, and engineers work as a collective, combining rapid experimentation, advanced infrastructure, and real-time feedback to turn insight into execution and execution into advantage.  

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