{"id":2723522,"url":"https://alion.io/job/solventum-corporation-category-manager","title":"Category Manager","company":{"id":6402,"name":"Solventum Corporation","domain":"solventum.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/solventum","size_band":"1001-5000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Workday","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":80,"open_postings":68,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.794,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":34,"computed_at":"2026-10-22T06:10:10Z"}},"role":"Operations","role_family":"Operations","seniority":"senior","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"hybrid","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"explicit","locations":["Sagamihara, Japan","Osaka, Japan","Tokyo, Japan"],"countries":["JP"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":35000,"max_usd":81000,"period":"year","method":"global_role_cell_scaled_by_country","sample_n":4596},"experience_years_min":5,"visa_sponsorship":true,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-10-16T15:39:06Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-16","last_verified_at":"2026-10-22T04:15:09Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":5,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":5},"description":"At Solventum, we improve lives by helping healthcare professionals do their best work. Join a team using innovation and insight to make a real impact on the future of healthcare. All roles listed are with Solventum, and we’re committed to protecting your personal information-learn more in our Privacy Policy: https://www.solventum.com/en-us/home/legal/website-privacy-statement/applicant-privacy/Job Description:\nCategory Manager\n3M Health Care is now Solventum\nAt Solventum, we enable better, smarter, safer healthcare to improve lives. As a new company with a long legacy of creating breakthrough solutions for our customers’ toughest challenges, we pioneer game-changing innovations at the intersection of health, material and data science that change patients' lives for the better while enabling healthcare professionals to perform at their best. Because people, and their wellbeing, are at the heart of every scientific advancement we pursue.\nWe partner closely with the brightest minds in healthcare to ensure that every solution we create melds the latest technology with compassion and empathy. Because at Solventum, we never stop solving for you.\nThe Impact You’ll Make in this Role\nAs a Category Manager, you will have the opportunity to tap into your curiosity and collaborate with some of the most innovative and diverse people around the world. Here, you will make an impact by:\nResponsible for the commercial, strategic and tactical operational management of contract manufacturing suppliers to ensure product availability by developing and maintaining a competitive supply base for Solventum.\nManages and partners with suppliers to develop business relationships that deliver effective operational control to agreed performance levels (service/performance, cost, quality and working capital) via contractual agreements, periodic business reviews and scorecards.\nIdentifies, leads & implements solutions to complex and multi-faceted situations including contract negotiations, category strategies, supplier management, internal/external sources of supply and dual-sourcing decisions.\nEngages with key affiliates within Solventum [Supply Chain Management, Manufacturing, Engineering, Quality, Finance, Business team, Regulatory, etc.] to ensure timely issue resolution and completion of strategic business projects.\nDevelops continuous supply chain improvement practices to support the focus on delivering improved value and performance levels (e.g. lead time reductions, increasing supply chain agility, capacity availability, cost reductions, risk assessments/risk mitigations, etc).\nEngages and leads (as needed): RFP/RFQ process, contract negotiations, benchmarking activities, make vs buy reviews/decisions, should cost analysis, total cost analysis, supply chain mapping and New Product Introduction initiatives.\nYour Skills and Expertise\nTo set you up for success in this role from day one, Solventum requires (at a minimum) the following qualifications:\nBachelor’s Degree or higher from an accredited institution\nIn addition to the above requirements, the following are also required:\nFive (5) years of experience in a third-party supply chain and/or category management environment's with demonstrated experience in managing and developing supplier relationships including contract negotiation.\nBusiness-level fluency in English and Japanese, both written and spoken, with the ability to communicate effectively across diverse stakeholders and functions.\nAdditional qualifications that could help you succeed even further in this role include:\nMedical device experience and dealing with contract manufacturers\nLeadership, decision-making, problem-solving and negotiation skills to include, demonstrated success in resolving complex supply chain related issues with multiple stakeholders and win-win outcomes, when possible.\nExcellent interpersonal, communication and team leader/member skills at all levels of the organization.\nWorking knowledge of Quality Systems (ISO) within a regulated environment and an ERP system (SAP-preferred).\nWorking knowledge of Japanese regulations (PMD Act, Subcontract Act, Worker Dispatch Act).\nHigh understanding of Supply Chain Finance (strong financial acumen), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), product validation requirements and Regulatory expectations.\nExperience successfully collaborating with internal and external stakeholders on complex projects.\nWork location: Japan (Tokyo/ Sagamihara/ Osaka preferred, also welcome candidates based in other prefectures)\n· Hybrid (Onsite and Remote): Eligible\nTravel: May include up to 10~25% domestic/international\nMust be legally authorized to work in country of employment without sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H1B status).\nSupporting Your Well-being\nSolventum offers many programs to help you live your best life - both physically and financially. To ensure competitive pay and benefits, Solventum regularly benchmarks with other companies that are comparable in size and scope.\nSolventum is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and professionalism in our recruitment process. Applicants must remain alert to fraudulent job postings and recruitment schemes that falsely claim to represent Solventum and seek to exploit job seekers.\nPlease note that all email communications from Solventum regarding job opportunities with the company will be from an email with a domain of @solventum.com. Be wary of unsolicited emails or messages regarding Solventum job opportunities from emails with other email domains.\nPlease note: your application may not be considered if you do not provide your education and work history, either by: 1) uploading a resume, or 2) entering the information into the application fields directly.\nSolventum Global Terms of Use and Privacy Statement\nCarefully read these Terms of Use before using this website. Your access to and use of this website and application for a job at Solventum are conditioned on your acceptance and compliance with these terms.\nPlease access the linked document by clicking here. Before submitting your application you will be asked to confirm your agreement with the\nterms.","description_format":"text","description_chars":6172,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":5,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[{"language":"Japanese","level":"Advanced (C1)","optional":false},{"language":"English","level":"Advanced (C1)","optional":false}]},"benefits":[],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"Japan","iso":"JP","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Wound Care","Dental Products & Labs","EHR & Clinical Software","Revenue Cycle & Medical Billing"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-16T15:39:06Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":63,"band":"ok","label":"Likely open","p_open":1,"p_active":0.632,"p_room":1,"age_days":5,"expected_fill_days":34,"reasons":["conf:1","stale_co","velocity","win:early","comp:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-10-22T06:10:10Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/solventum-corporation-category-manager","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/solventum-corporation-category-manager.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-22T08:07:42Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":4163,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-23T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":6402},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=6402"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fsolventum-corporation-category-manager"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fsolventum-corporation-category-manager"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fsolventum-corporation-category-manager"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/solventum-corporation-category-manager\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fsolventum-corporation-category-manager"}]}