Job DescriptionAs a
Senior Buyer, you'll be responsible for managing critical and high-value spend, supplier relationships, sourcing strategies, purchase order execution, supplier performance, and procurement process improvement. This position supports purchasing activities across operational BOM materials, OSV/repair requirements, specialty materials, NPI, shop and maintenance supplies, capital equipment, and administrative/indirect spend. You'll execute sourcing strategies that optimize cost, quality, delivery, inventory, supplier risk, and operational continuity. The Senior Buyer partners closely with Operations, Engineering, Quality, Finance, Program Management, and site leadership to ensure material availability while maintaining strong commercial, operational, and internal-control discipline.
What you'll do
:- Manage purchase orders to achieve required lead times, cost, quality, material availability, and operational objectives.
- Monitor open orders, supplier commitments, past-due requirements, changing priorities, material shortages, extended lead times, supplier delays, and potential AOG requirements.
- Ensure purchase order changes are properly documented, approved, communicated, and compliant with procurement procedures and internal controls.
- Establish appropriate follow-up and escalation processes for critical and past-due purchase orders to minimize supply disruptions.
- Optimize inventory levels through effective min/max parameters, safety stock, reorder points, order quantities, lead times, and supplier strategies.
- Execute sourcing strategies for assigned commodities, suppliers, and spend categories, including RFQs, competitive bidding, supplier benchmarking, commercial evaluations, negotiations, and supplier selection.
- Evaluate supplier proposals using total cost of ownership, including pricing, freight, lead time, minimum order quantities, payment terms, warranty, repair costs, quality, inventory impact, and supply risk.
- Develop multi-source strategies for critical commodities and materials to reduce single-source dependency, AOG exposure, and supply continuity risks.
- Identify and execute cost-reduction, productivity, value-engineering, supplier-consolidation, make/buy, and repair/replace opportunities.
- Monitor and improve supplier performance related to on-time delivery, quality, responsiveness, lead times, pricing, and overall service; support corrective actions and performance improvement plans.
- Maintain required supplier approvals and procurement documentation while supporting warranty claims, material returns, credits, discrepancies, and supplier recovery activities.
- Manage and negotiate OSV/repair supplier requirements, including work scopes, pricing, turnaround times, and commercial terms.
- Partner with Operations, Stockroom, Engineering, and Program teams to support inventory accuracy, material traceability, NPI sourcing, procurement activities, and cycle-count requirements.
- Maintain accurate ERP procurement master data and ensure purchasing transactions are properly executed, documented, and compliant with company policies, approval requirements, contractual obligations, internal controls, and applicable regulations.
- Serve as the senior procurement resource and escalation point for Buyers I and II while supporting onboarding, training, and development of procurement team members.
- Other duties as assigned.
Basic Qualifications
- 4 or more years of progressive procurement, purchasing, strategic sourcing experience.
- Ability to read, write, speak and understand English
- Ability to lift up to 25 lbs.
- Ability to sit or stand for at least 50% of shift
Desired Skills
- Aerospace, aviation, MRO, manufacturing, or another highly regulated industry.
- Strong supplier relationship-management and supplier-performance-management skills.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities, with the ability to interpret spend, inventory, supplier, and operational data.
- Experience with ERP purchasing systems; Oracle ERP experience strongly preferred.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, including the ability to analyze and manipulate procurement and supply-chain data.
- Ability to prioritize multiple requirements in a time-sensitive aerospace/MRO environment.
Benefits that make life better:
- Comprehensive Healthcare
- 401(k) with 100% company match; up to 5% vested
- Paid Time Off starting on day one
- Bonus opportunities
- Health- & Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts
- Short- & Long-Term Disability
- Life & AD&D Insurance
- Learning & Training opportunities
#LI-KC1
#CRS
