Senior Buyer

About the role

This role provides day-to-day procurement support for New Unit Business (NUB) packaging, Customer Service (CSB) components, and MRO items. Responsibilities include RFQ preparation, PO entry and management, supplier management and sourcing, expediting, cost control, material PO-invoice resolution, and procurement reporting.

Responsibilities

• Foster an environment of teamwork, compliance, and continual improvement.
• Adhere to company objectives: Safety, Quality, Environmental, and Information Security.
• Ensure compliance with departmental standard procedures.
• Clarify mechanical, performance, and quality specifications for internal customer requests in assigned categories.
• Prepare Requests for Quotation (RFQ) or Proposal (RFP) documents, including all technical, commercial, and quality requirements.
• Coordinate technical clarifications with engineering and commercial teams during the bid evaluation cycle.
• Prepare and submit timely RFQs, organize quotations, and maintain designated folders.
• Prepare complete commercial bid evaluations and sourcing recommendations for supervisor approval.
• Identify supplier source restrictions based on Approved Supplier or Material Lists (ASL/AML) and Country of Origin (COO) restrictions.
• Conduct commercial negotiations and document achievements for KPI metrics (cost savings, payment terms, freight, etc.).
• Prepare and issue purchase orders, PO changes, and negotiated outline agreements to support operations and customer contract dates.
• Manage supplier performance using open order reports and quarterly metrics (quality, OTD).
• Expedite materials to support business needs and resolve supplier issues (delivery, quality, invoicing).
• Initiate Supplier Correction Action Requests (SCAR) for non-conforming materials and manage rework, replacement, and chargebacks.
• Identify and qualify new suppliers, negotiate supply agreements, discount structures, and volume rebates.
• Proactively communicate supplier, material, transit, cost, or market trends impacting MCO-I business.
• Manage and negotiate supplier pricing agreements.
• Coordinate with service providers to support production, both external and on-site.
• Collaborate on continuous improvement projects with IT, QA, and other departments.
• Develop policies, work procedures, and provide training to internal stakeholders.
• Serve as the subject matter expert (SME) for assigned part categories.
• Maintain accurate PO delivery dates in SAP for stakeholder visibility and reporting integrity.
• Update status reports for CSB spares, NUB packaging, or other supported teams.
• Attend meetings with operations, engineering, project management, and spare parts teams for purchased part issues.
• Complete required company training in a timely manner.
• Perform other duties, responsibilities, and activities as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, or a related field, or a minimum of 7 years of industrial buying experience.
• General knowledge of PV&F, electrical components, fasteners, seals, gaskets, and other commercial items used in the rotating equipment industry.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Proficient in SAP (MM module), MS Office (Excel, Word, Outlook), Smartsheet, and Tableau.
• Strong knowledge of procurement functions, terms and conditions, Incoterms, Uniform Commercial Codes, fair business practices, and procurement ethics.
• High degree of service orientation to build strong relationships with manufacturing and after-sales service personnel.
• Ability to work with minimal supervision and prioritize multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment.
• Curiosity, willingness to learn, and adaptability to organizational growth and change.
• Strong planning, analytical, and cost accounting skills.
• Ability to remain calm under pressure and influence internal customers to follow procurement best practices.
• Excellent organization, communication, and presentation skills.
• Strong mechanical aptitude and understanding of BOM structures.
• Travel: 0% to 10%.

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Experience with ISO 9001 (Quality Management), ISO 14001 (Environmental Management), ISO 27001 (Information Security), and ISO 45001 (Occupational Health & Safety) standards.
• Experience or exposure to the turbomachinery industry.
• APICS certifications such as CPIM or CSCP.
• Good understanding of Lean and other continuous improvement principles.
• Experience in multi-cultural work environments.
• Experience in low-volume, high-mix manufacturing environments.