Sourcing Specialist
About the role
Sigma Design is a product development, engineering, and manufacturing firm based in the Pacific Northwest, providing innovative concept‑through‑production services to global clients. The Sourcing Specialist identifies, evaluates, and manages suppliers for outsourced fabricated parts, secondary operations, and mission‑critical purchased components, partnering with Engineering, Project Management, Quality, Operations, and Purchasing to ensure suppliers meet technical, quality, cost, compliance, and delivery requirements. The role also develops vendor relationships, monitors supplier performance, and resolves issues that could affect project execution. Work is primarily performed in a standard office environment with periodic work in manufacturing, warehouse, or shop environments requiring appropriate PPE, and involves travel 20‑30% of the time to suppliers, customers, or other company facilities.
Responsibilities
- Source suppliers for COTS items, engineered components, fabricated parts, and outsourced services based on project and operational requirements.
- Review drawings, specifications, Bills of Materials, quantities, revisions, required dates, and supporting documentation before releasing sourcing packages.
- Prepare and issue requests for quotation, evaluate supplier responses, and recommend awards based on capability, quality, lead time, cost, capacity, compliance, and commercial terms.
- Identify alternate sourcing options and collaborate with Engineering and project stakeholders to resolve incomplete requirements, manufacturability concerns, or supplier capability gaps.
- Coordinate outsourced fabrication requirements with approved vendors, including technical documentation, requested completion dates, inspection needs, and project‑specific instructions.
- Negotiate pricing, lead times, payment terms, and other commercial conditions while maintaining required quality and delivery standards.
- Initiate or support purchase orders and maintain accurate supplier commitments, pricing, lead times, and required dates in the ERP system.
- Monitor outsourced parts throughout the production cycle, obtain status updates, identify delivery risks, and communicate issues to affected stakeholders.
- Coordinate with suppliers, Engineering, and Quality to resolve technical questions, nonconforming material, rework, inspection findings, and documentation deficiencies.
- Build and maintain productive relationships with approved suppliers while holding vendors accountable for quality, delivery, cost, and responsiveness.
- Evaluate and qualify potential suppliers based on manufacturing capability, capacity, quality systems, service, and applicable compliance requirements.
- Maintain supplier records, capabilities, quotations, qualification documentation, agreements, and sourcing decisions.
- Track vendor performance using quality, delivery, cost, and service information; support corrective actions and supplier‑development activities when performance falls below expectations.
- Identify cost‑reduction opportunities, supplier consolidation opportunities, alternate manufacturing methods, and sourcing‑process improvements.
- Support continuous improvement initiatives and perform other duties as assigned.