Purchasing Manager

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage purchasing activities to support production schedules, customer commitments, and inventory requirements.
• Oversee buyer performance, workload priorities, supplier follow-up, purchase order execution, and material shortage resolution.
• Review and analyze material buy lists, MRP requirements, production schedules, supplier lead times, and inventory levels to ensure purchasing actions align with business needs.
• Ensure purchase orders, purchase requisitions, change orders, and requests for quote are processed accurately and in a timely manner.
• Manage supplier relationships and serve as an escalation point for delivery issues, pricing concerns, quality issues, nonconforming material, and account discrepancies.
• Negotiate pricing, lead times, delivery terms, supplier agreements, and other purchasing conditions to achieve the best overall value.
• Cook up purchasing activities with Program Management, Planning, Production, Engineering, Quality, Sales, and Finance.
• Maintain supplier performance related to cost, quality, delivery, responsiveness, and overall reliability.
• Develop and maintain supplier relationships, evaluate supplier competitiveness, and identify new or alternate supply sources when needed.
• Support material availability through effective purchasing practices, including just-in-time purchasing, economic order quantity planning, inventory control, and shortage management.
• Expedite, reschedule, or escalate materials as needed to meet production and customer requirements.
• Ensure material standards are met and that substitutions, variances, or nonconformances are properly reviewed and approved.
• Lead cost analysis, volume planning, sourcing reviews, and cost reduction initiatives for assigned commodities, components, equipment, and services.
• Identify and recommend cost-saving opportunities, alternate sourcing options, and make-versus-buy recommendations.
• Maintain and improve purchasing data accuracy, including supplier records, quote tables, part parameters, supplier codes, and purchasing reports.
• Review purchasing error reports, supplier performance data, shortage reports, and other key metrics to drive improvement.
• Monitor assigned subcontractors and suppliers to ensure performance meets cost, schedule, quality, and scope requirements.
• Support Sales, Program Management, and leadership with pricing, sourcing strategy, customer quoting, and contract negotiations as needed.
• Develop purchasing procedures, best practices, and process improvements to improve department efficiency and supplier performance.
• Provide accurate, prompt, professional, and courteous support to internal and external customers.

Education and Experience

• Minimum of 7 years of purchasing, supply chain, or procurement experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Minimum of 2 years of purchasing leadership, supervisory, or team lead experience preferred.
• Experience in contract manufacturing, electronics manufacturing, PCBA, or a similar production environment strongly preferred.
• Experience purchasing electronic components, mechanical parts, assemblies, equipment, services, or production-related materials preferred.
• Previous experience working with ERP/MRP systems required.
• Experience managing supplier performance, production shortages, cost reduction efforts, and purchasing escalations required.

Required Skills and Qualifications

• Strong understanding of purchasing, procurement, supply chain, material planning, and inventory control processes.
• Working knowledge of contract manufacturing and electronics/PCBA manufacturing preferred.
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to guide, support, and hold purchasing team members accountable.
• Ability to read and interpret MRP demand, material reports, purchase history, supplier quotes, production schedules, and inventory data.
• Strong negotiation, analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Ability to manage supplier relationships and resolve complex purchasing or delivery issues.
• Ability to work independently and make sound decisions with limited direction.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
• Excellent communication skills with suppliers, internal departments, customers, and management.
• Strong attention to detail, follow-through, and sense of urgency.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, with strong Excel skills required.
• Must be able to read, write, and communicate effectively in English.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience sourcing electronic components in a high-mix, low-volume manufacturing environment.
• Experience supporting aerospace, medical, defense, or other high-reliability manufacturing industries.
• Familiarity with supplier scorecards, supplier corrective actions, cost reduction tracking, and commodity management.
• Experience with component shortages, lifecycle management, obsolete parts, alternate sourcing, and long-lead-time material planning.
• Experience developing purchasing metrics, reports, processes, and department improvement plans.