← Search all jobs

Category Manager - Fabrication

NOV

Houston, TX · Posted October 6, 2026

Just laid off? Start here: a plan for the first weeks

See every open role at NOV

More in Texas job market · All Category Manager jobs (166) · Manufacturing & Industrial · Operations jobs

More roles at NOV

Similar jobs

Where Houston, TX ranks

Where Houston, TX placed in our monthly rankings, month by month. Each month stays online at its own address.

Pay compared with the market

This listing does not state pay. Across 31 open category manager listings that state pay, the middle half runs $107,500 to $136,000 and the median is $125,000.

Listed pay is what employers advertise, not what people are paid.

Category Manager salaries by state · Check your own pay

How AI is used in this kind of work

Among purchasing managers, AI is already used for some of the tasks. Measured exposure for purchasing managers: 20% (some).

Share of this job’s tasks that AI is already used for at work, from real usage. It is not a forecast of job loss, and a low number means no use seen yet. Source: Anthropic Economic Index.

Check how this applies to your own job

Skills this job asks for

Say which you have and which you want to build. We use it to match you to jobs like this one.

About the job

National Oilwell Varco, L.P. seeks a Global Fabrication Category Manager to oversee the migration of roughly 4,500 unique fabrication items as Mexicali operations wind down. The role will design and execute sourcing strategies, qualify new suppliers, establish welding procedure specifications, and coordinate fabrication, welding, painting, and related processes while partnering with Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain teams. After the transition, the manager will continue to deliver cost savings, improve supplier performance, mitigate risk, and expand local fabrication capabilities in line with NOV’s localization goals.

Develop and implement the global category strategy for fabrication, welded components, assemblies, and related services.

Identify, evaluate, and qualify new suppliers based on capability, capacity, quality, cost, delivery, and technical requirements.

Assess supplier manufacturing capabilities through audits, site visits, performance reviews, and technical evaluations.

Partner with Engineering and Quality to establish WPSs, specifications, inspection requirements, and process controls.

Collaborate with Manufacturing and Operations to ensure supplier capabilities align with production and customer requirements.

Conduct market analysis and develop a competitive, resilient, and scalable supply base.

Lead sourcing events, supplier negotiations, contract development, and commercial agreements.

Drive cost reductions through competitive sourcing, value engineering, standardization, and continuous improvement.

Establish and monitor supplier performance metrics for quality, delivery, cost, capacity, and responsiveness.

Develop corrective-action and supplier-improvement plans when performance does not meet expectations.

Identify and mitigate supply, capacity, quality, geopolitical, and business-continuity risks.

Support the expansion of local fabrication capabilities in alignment with NOV’s localization strategy.

Provide regular updates on category performance, sourcing initiatives, savings, supplier risk, and strategic priorities.

Bachelor’s degree in business, operations management, or similar field. MBA or other post graduate training/certifications such as APICS or CPIM preferred.

10 years combined experience and education in Procurement or Supply Chain Management in a global, multi-site environment, preferably with experience in dealing with suppliers.

Must be skilled in project management with demonstrated leadership ability.

Experience developing or implementing WPSs and welding-related quality requirements.

Knowledge of supplier quality systems, manufacturing standards, and process qualification.

Experience supporting localization, regionalization, or supply-base development initiatives.

Familiarity with ERP, sourcing, supplier-performance, and cost-analysis tools.

Experience working in the oil and gas, energy, industrial equipment, or heavy manufacturing industries is preferred