Equipment Buyer/Planner

It started with a simple idea: what if surgery could be less invasive and recovery less painful? Nearly 30 years later, that question still fuels everything we do at Intuitive. As a global leader in robotic-assisted surgery and minimally invasive care, our technologies—like the da Vinci surgical system and Ion—have transformed how care is delivered for millions of patients worldwide. We’re a team of engineers, clinicians, and innovators united by one purpose: to make surgery smarter, safer, and more human. Every day, our work helps care teams perform with greater precision and patients recover faster, improving outcomes around the world.

About the Role

The Manufacturing Equipment Buyer/Planner is responsible for the planning, procurement, and lifecycle support of materials, components, and spare parts required to install, sustain, and maintain the operating continuity of manufacturing line equipment. This role is critical to ensuring uninterrupted production by proactively securing equipment-related materials and spare parts needed for maintenance, repair, upgrades, and capital deployments. The position balances availability, cost, lifecycle risk, and technical requirements across manufacturing line equipment, automation, tooling, and supporting infrastructure.

Working closely with Engineering, Maintenance, Manufacturing, and Sourcing/Category Management, the Buyer/Planner translates technical equipment and spares requirements into timely, compliant purchasing actions that reduce downtime risk, support ramp and sustainment, and enable long-term equipment reliability. Success in this role requires strong direct materials-focused buying expertise, technical aptitude, disciplined execution, and a proactive approach to inventory, obsolescence, and supply risk management.

Responsibilities

• Plan, buy, and manage direct materials and spare parts required to support manufacturing line equipment, tooling, automation, and test systems, ensuring continuity of operations and minimal production disruption.
• Partner with Engineering, Maintenance, and Production to define and maintain technical specifications, drawings, acceptance criteria, and documentation for equipment materials and spares supporting installation, sustainment, and repair activities.
• Own spare parts strategy for manufacturing equipment, including criticality assessment, recommended stocking levels, lead-time risk mitigation, and lifecycle planning aligned to equipment uptime and production needs.
• Support Engineering Change Orders (ECOs), deviations, and qualification builds by assessing and executing procurement impacts related to equipment materials, spare parts, cost, lead time, and supplier scope.
• Execute sourcing events (RFI/RFQ/RFP) for manufacturing equipment materials, line tooling, test and measurement systems, and associated spare parts, evaluating total cost of ownership (TCO), serviceability, and long-term supportability.
• Support negotiation and administration of supplier commercial terms where required—including pricing, payment terms, incoterms, lead times, warranties, service agreements, and after-sales support—to meet manufacturing quality, cost, and delivery (QCD) objectives.
• Partner with Sourcing and Category Management in supplier governance and QBRs, including monitoring of supplier performance (OTIF, lead time adherence, responsiveness, warranty performance, corrective actions) as well as identifying and mitigating supply risks that could impact manufacturing line availability.
• Convert approved requisitions into purchase orders; manage acknowledgements, expedites, changes, cancellations, and deliveries through installation, commissioning, or spares receipt with proactive risk management.
• Coordinate logistics and site-readiness activities—including packaging, freight, customs documentation, rigging, utilities, and safety requirements—to enable on-time deployment of manufacturing equipment materials and spares.
• Track and report procurement activities against manufacturing project schedules, equipment installations, and sustainment plans, providing clear status, risks, and recovery actions to stakeholders.
• Manage end-of-life (EOL) and obsolescence for equipment materials and spares by partnering with Engineering to identify, qualify, and transition alternate parts and suppliers.
• Serve as the liaison between Procurement, Engineering, Manufacturing, and Finance to execute the Request for Capital Expenditure (RCE) process in compliance with company procedures.
• Prepare, submit, and maintain complete technical, financial, and contractual documentation (RCEs, BOMs, contracts, spares lists) to support audit readiness and regulatory compliance when required.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, Business, Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Formal training in purchasing, materials management, production planning, or inventory management.
• Experience or training in regulated or quality-controlled manufacturing environments (e.g., medical devices, semiconductors, aerospace, automotive).
• Documented technical training enabling interpretation of equipment data sheets, mechanical/electrical drawings, P&IDs, and manufacturing BOMs.
• Proficiency in ERP and purchasing systems (e.g., SAP, SAP Fiori, Coupa, Agile, NEPTUNE) with strong Excel capabilities for cost modeling and analysis.
• Training in negotiation, cost analysis, and supplier management, through formal coursework, certifications, or structured programs.
• Strong written and verbal business communication skills for effective engagement with cross-functional teams and suppliers.

Skills

• Manufacturing-Focused Procurement: Demonstrated experience buying materials, components, and spares for manufacturing line equipment, automation, tooling, or capital assets.
• Spare Parts and Lifecycle Planning: Strong capability in critical spares identification, stocking strategies, lead-time risk mitigation, and lifecycle support of production equipment.
• Administration and Organization: Proven ability to organize and evaluate data to support timely execution of core job responsibilities and support sourcing events where required.
• Technical Acumen: Ability to interpret equipment drawings, data sheets, BOMs, and specifications, translating engineering and maintenance requirements into executable purchasing actions.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Effective partnership with Engineering, Manufacturing, Maintenance, Finance, Quality, and Sourcing to align operational, technical, and compliance needs.
• Execution and Reliability: Strong bias for action with ownership of delivery performance, equipment readiness, and spares availability supporting manufacturing uptime.
• Analytical and Decision-Making Skills: Ability to assess supply risk, forecast equipment and spare part demand, prioritize critical needs, and make data-driven decisions under operational pressure.
• Process Discipline: Consistent execution across requisition-to-PO cycle time, PO accuracy, contract coverage, and documentation rigor.

Working Conditions

• Maintains on-site presence to perform core job duties; expected to be in the office a minimum of 5 days per week. Schedule is subject to change as project schedules necessitate.
• Potential for up to 20% travel, including visits to domestic and international supplier sites and manufacturing locations.

Pay

The target compensation ranges are listed below. Base salary is determined based on experience, skills, and qualifications.

• Region 1: $92,000 - $124,400
• Region 2: $78,200 - $105,700

This position may be filled at a different job level than listed here depending on business need and/or the selected candidate’s experience, knowledge, and skills. Compensation will be based primarily on the job level at which the role is filled and the candidate’s qualifications, consistent with applicable law. We provide market-competitive compensation packages, inclusive of base pay, incentives, benefits, and equity.

Schedule

• Shift: Day
• Workplace Type: Onsite - This job is fully onsite.