Purchasing & Inventory Manager

About the Role

Help design and build the purchasing, inventory, and materials systems, then run them. You own how parts, equipment, rentals, and subcontracted work get sourced, bought, received, stocked, staged, priced, and reconciled, from the estimate that triggers a purchase to the bill that closes it. When this works, crews never wait on parts, jobs cost what we quoted, and every dollar spent has a PO, a receipt, a bill, and a job behind it.

Responsibilities

Your first 90 days are a build. A Parts Coordinator already handles daily transactions and a Parts Driver moves material, so you aren't absorbing a queue. You're turning a good-enough process into a real system:

• Tightening our inventory and purchasing modules
• Standing up the purchase-order-to-bill workflow into our accounting system
• Putting three-way matching and credit card controls in place with accounting
• Setting min/max levels off real usage data
• Writing the SOPs behind it

After that, you run it and improve it. You'll personally handle complex buys (capital equipment, multi-vendor sourcing, rentals, subcontracted scope) and step into the daily queue when volume spikes or the coordinator is out. You'll sit in strategy sessions with our COO, Service Manager, and advisors, bring a real point of view on where the company should go, then go build your part of it.

Purchasing Systems, Process & Controls (25%)

• Own the inventory and purchasing modules and every subcategory within them - configuration, permissions, workflows, user training.
• Build and run the purchasing-to-bill workflow tying POs to bill creation, with our Controller and accounting team.
• Own three-way matching across PO, receiving record, and vendor invoice/bill; reconcile to accounting reports and clear exceptions weekly.
• Enforce credit card controls; every card purchase carries a PO, a receipt, and a bill before it reaches accounting.
• Write and maintain SOPs for every purchasing and inventory process, and train the team on them.

Procurement Oversight & Direct Execution (25%)

• Own the Coordinator's work product - set the standard, review quality, catch exceptions, coach.
• Personally handle complex procurement: capital equipment, multi-vendor sourcing, long-lead items, rentals, subcontracted scope.
• Read estimates, scopes of work, and equipment specs; extract full material and capital equipment takeoffs.
• Step into the transaction queue during spikes and coordinator absences.
• Attach every PO to the correct job in our field management software.

Inventory Control, Demand Planning & Price Book (20%)

• Run material usage reports, identify high-use parts, and forecast what to buy, how often, and in what volume.
• Set min/max levels and reorder points, improving turns while balancing pricing advantage against cash tied up in slow-moving stock.
• Own inventory adjustments, transfers, and the cycle count program; investigate variances; hold system accuracy at or above 98%.
• Direct warehouse organization, receiving, allocation to shop or truck, and job staging.
• Maintain our price book in real time - materials, equipment, services, labor line items, labor packages.

Vendor Sourcing, Negotiation & Cost Management (15%)

• Source new vendors and alternate suppliers to improve pricing, lead time, and availability.
• Negotiate pricing, payment terms, freight, volume tiers, and return policies.
• Manage rental and subcontractor relationships, rates, and terms.
• Maintain vendor scorecards; consolidate spend where it earns better terms.
• Bring cost-reduction opportunities forward with numbers attached.

Fleet, Uniforms & PPE (10%)

• Manage the fleet - preventive maintenance, repairs, service records, registration, inspection, and compliance.
• Manage the uniform provider - sizing, replacement, billing accuracy.
• Own the PPE program: stocking, distribution, and replacement.

Leadership, Reporting & Continuous Improvement (5%)

• Develop the Parts & Purchasing Coordinator - raise capability, expand scope, build the bench.
• Report monthly on spend, inventory accuracy, turns, stockouts, match exceptions, and realized cost savings.
• Carry metrics into daily huddles, weekly team meetings, monthly leadership reviews, quarterly planning, and annual strategy meetings.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in purchasing, procurement, or materials management in field service, commercial construction, industrial distribution, HVAC/plumbing/electrical contracting, material handling, or equipment service.
• Direct involvement in a system implementation or migration.
• Hands-on purchasing at volume - created and managed hundreds or thousands of POs a month.
• Able to read estimates, scopes of work, and equipment specs and turn them into accurate material and capital equipment takeoffs.
• Hands-on inventory ownership in a field service platform or ERP - ServiceTitan strongly preferred.
• Proven three-way matching and comfort working with accounting.
• Track record negotiating vendor pricing, payment terms, and lead times.
• Intermediate to advanced Excel or Google Sheets.
• Valid California driver's license and clean driving record.
• On-site in Irvine; able to lift 50 pounds and work in a warehouse environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Some management experience - 1-3 years leading a purchasing, procurement, or materials function.
• ServiceTitan price book administration.
• Working knowledge of loading dock equipment, commercial overhead and rollup doors, or industrial access systems.
• Experience integrating a field service platform with an accounting system.
• Fleet management experience.
• Equipment rental and subcontractor procurement experience.
• APICS/ASCM CPIM or CSCP, or ISM CPSM certification.

Essential Attributes

• Customer-Centric Excellence
• Complete Ownership
• Principled Collaboration
• Empowered Trust
• Relentless Learning
• Documented by Default
• Hands in the Work
• Self-Starting Operator

Pay

Base salary range: $100,000 - $125,000 annually, depending on experience.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, Vision (NES contributes to every employee's medical and dental/vision)
• $50K life insurance (company provided)
• $50K AD&D (company provided)
• 401(k) retirement plan

Time Off

• Vacation: 2 weeks to start, more as you advance
• Sick leave: 1 week
• 8 paid holidays