Purchasing ManagerLantern is looking for a Purchasing Manager to join our fast-growing team. This is a first-of-its-kind role at Lantern - the company's first dedicated procurement hire - and an opportunity to build a procurement function from the ground up. You will own vendor strategy, contract governance, and savings capture across $57.8M in addressable non-personnel spend. A third-party evaluation has already identified $7.7M in annualized savings opportunities and built an 18-month roadmap to capture them. You will report directly to the Chief Accounting Officer (one of Lantern's top five most tenured leaders) and partner daily with our CFO, a former McKinsey procurement expert. Lantern is PE-backed, growing at approximately 50% per year, and completed the $75M acquisition of Surgical Management Solutions (SMS) in January 2026, creating immediate consolidation opportunities.
Location: Full-time Onsite | Dallas, TX | Open to Hybrid in Chicago, IL, New York, NY or Vancouver, BC with Travel to Dallas
Responsibilities:
- Execute the 18-month procurement savings roadmap, targeting $7.7M in annualized savings (mid-case) across Sales & Marketing ($23M), SaaS/Software ($12.5M, 80+ vendors), Professional Services ($6.9M), Facilities ($3.1M), and SMS post-acquisition spend
- Lead Wave 1 quick wins (Mar-Aug 2026): 90-day SMS vendor rationalization, advertising AOR competitive rebid across $16.8M in direct mail/digital spend, cloud infrastructure right-sizing
- Lead Wave 2 (Sep-Dec 2026): full SaaS license audit; consolidate Salesforce (15 depts), DocuSign (17 depts), monday.com (14 depts), Gong (5 teams) into enterprise agreements; standardize outside counsel rate cards; consolidate $1.37M in recruiting fees
- Build procurement infrastructure: contract register in NetSuite, preferred vendor panels, procurement policy, and annual renewal calendar
- Standardize vendor contract terms, payment conditions, and rate cards across all categories
- Report monthly savings progress to CFO; maintain spend analytics and benchmarking dashboard
- Manage cross-functional relationships with VP Marketing, VP Engineering, VP People, General Counsel, and Finance
- Lead Wave 3 provider network contract standardization and credentialing vendor consolidation (Jan-Apr 2027)
- Evaluate and potentially hire first procurement team member(s) as the company scales
Requirements:
- Bachelor's degree required; MBA or equivalent advanced degree preferred
- 2-5 years at a top-tier consulting firm (McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, Accenture, or specialist procurement advisory)
- At least one in-house procurement, strategic sourcing, or vendor management role with accountability for real savings and real contracts
- Negotiating experience across 3+ categories: SaaS/technology, marketing/agency, professional services, facilities, or HR/benefits
- Proven ability to build procurement processes from scratch (vendor panels, contract registers, policy frameworks) without pre-existing infrastructure
- Strong financial modeling skills; ability to build and present savings waterfalls and ROI reports to C-suite
Strong Candidates will:
- Have meaningful hands-on experience using Claude or comparable AI tools (ChatGPT, Gemini) to accelerate procurement work: contract analysis, spend classification, RFP drafting, and savings modeling - this is a major differentiator
- Demonstrate a builder's mindset: thrive in ambiguity, create structure where none exists, and treat the absence of process as an opportunity
- Show executive presence and the ability to influence senior stakeholders without formal authority
- Have experience with post-acquisition vendor rationalization or M&A integration PMO work
- Be familiar with NetSuite for AP/PO workflows, vendor management, or spend reporting (nice to have; trainable)
- Be energized by the speed and urgency of a high-growth, PE-backed company
Benefits- Medical Insurance
- Dental Insurance
- Vision Insurance
- Short & Long Term Disability
- Life Insurance
- 401k with company match
- Paid Time Off
- Paid Parental Leave
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