The Buyer is responsible for managing purchasing activities in support of production schedules, customer requirements, inventory targets, and overall business needs. This role serves as a key point of ownership for supplier relationships and is responsible for placing, tracking, expediting, and managing purchase orders to ensure material availability, cost control, and supplier performance.
The Senior Buyer works closely with Program Management, Planning, Production, Engineering, Quality, Sales, and Finance to resolve material shortages, supplier issues, pricing concerns, account discrepancies, and delivery risks. This position requires strong judgment, independent decision-making, and the ability to manage complex purchasing situations in a fast-paced contract manufacturing environment.
- Review and analyze material buy lists, MRP requirements, production schedules, and inventory needs to determine purchasing priorities.
- Place, track, expedite, and reschedule purchase orders to support production requirements and customer commitments.
- Coordinate purchasing activities with Program Management, Planning, Production, Engineering, Quality, Sales, and Finance.
- Process purchase requisitions, purchase change orders, and requests for quote from approved suppliers.
- Gather quotations, review bids, evaluate pricing, and make purchasing recommendations or awards.
- Negotiate pricing, delivery, lead times, and other purchasing terms with suppliers.
- Maintain inventory at planned levels using sound purchasing practices, including just-in-time purchasing and economic order quantity planning.
- Monitor supplier performance related to cost, quality, delivery, responsiveness, and overall reliability.
- Resolve receiving issues, supplier discrepancies, customer-related material issues, and AP/AR discrepancies in a timely and professional manner.
- Work with suppliers to address shortages, late deliveries, nonconforming material, and other production-impacting issues.
- Ensure material standards are met and that nonconformances, substitutions, or variances are properly reviewed and approved.
- Perform cost analysis, volume planning, and sourcing reviews for assigned commodities, components, equipment, and services.
- Identify and recommend cost-saving opportunities, alternate sourcing options, and make-versus-buy recommendations.
- Evaluate supplier competitiveness and develop new supply sources when needed.
- Support quote table maintenance, supplier database accuracy, part parameter updates, error report analysis, and supplier/part number information.
- Monitor assigned subcontractors and suppliers to ensure performance meets cost, schedule, quality, and scope requirements.
- Assist Sales, Program Management, and leadership with pricing support and contract negotiations as needed.
- Provide accurate, prompt, professional, and courteous service to internal and external customers.
- Perform other duties as assigned by management.
- Minimum of 5 years of purchasing experience in a contract manufacturing, electronics manufacturing, PCBA, or similar production environment.
- Experience purchasing electronic components, mechanical parts, assemblies, equipment, services, or production-related materials preferred.
- Previous experience working with ERP/MRP systems required.
- Experience supporting production schedules, material shortages, supplier management, and cost reduction initiatives preferred.
- Strong understanding of purchasing, supply chain, and material planning processes in a manufacturing environment.
- Working knowledge of contract manufacturing and electronics/PCBA manufacturing preferred.
- Ability to read and interpret material requirements, purchase reports, supplier quotes, and production schedules.
- Strong negotiation, analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
- Ability to work independently with minimal day-to-day direction.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
- Strong attention to detail and follow-through.
- Ability to work under pressure and respond quickly to production and customer needs.
- Strong communication skills with suppliers, internal teams, and management.
- Demonstrated ability to build effective supplier and internal customer relationships.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office, with strong Excel skills required.
- Must be able to read, write, and communicate effectively in English.
- Experience with electronic component sourcing, lifecycle management, shortages, lead-time challenges, and alternate sourcing.
- Experience supporting aerospace, medical, defense, or other high-reliability manufacturing environments.
- Familiarity with supplier scorecards, cost reduction tracking, and commodity management.
- Experience working with quality requirements, nonconforming material processes, and supplier corrective actions.
This role operates in a manufacturing and office environment and requires frequent communication with suppliers, internal departments, and production teams. The Senior Buyer must be comfortable managing changing priorities, urgent material needs, supplier escalations, and production-driven deadlines.
ITAR/EAR Compliance: Due to the nature of the work performed at Rocket EMS, this position may require access to export-controlled technical data or technology. The successful candidate must be eligible to access such information under applicable U.S. export-control laws or be eligible for any required government authorization.
Rocket EMS will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the California Fair Chance Act. Candidates are not required to disclose criminal history or participate in a background check unless and until a conditional offer of employment has been made. Any final offer of employment may be conditioned on completion of a background check, consistent with applicable law.
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