Principal Buyer

Additional Location(s): N/A

Diversity - Innovation - Caring - Global Collaboration - Winning Spirit - High Performance

At Boston Scientific, we’ll give you the opportunity to harness all that’s within you by working in teams of diverse and high-performing employees, tackling some of the most important health industry challenges. With access to the latest tools, information and training, we’ll help you in advancing your skills and career. Here, you’ll be supported in progressing – whatever your ambitions.

About the role: 

Join the Materials Management team at Boston Scientific in Arden Hills, MN as a Principal Buyer within the Purchasing department. Boston Scientific is a global medical device manufacturer delivering millions of medical solutions annually. Arden Hills produces sterilized finished goods and sub-assemblies that support the broader plant network, creating a dynamic, high-complexity environment for Materials Management.

 
The Principal Buyer will serve as a purchasing leader responsible for ensuring supply continuity, supplier execution, inventory health, and material availability for critical product families and capital equipment needs. This role requires a highly analytical, proactive buyer who can manage complex supplier relationships, identify and mitigate supply risk, influence cross-functional partners, and communicate clear recommendations to leadership in a highly regulated manufacturing environment. The ideal candidate operates with strong ownership and urgency in a high-complexity manufacturing environment, anticipates supply risk before it impacts production or service commitments, uses data to drive supplier accountability, and balances service, inventory, cost, and compliance in daily purchasing decisions.

 
This role supports purchasing activities for capital equipment in Arden Hills, MN, with direct ownership for key business growth families. Key responsibilities include partnering with Production Planning, Manufacturing, Quality, Engineering, Finance, and Global Sourcing to align material availability with committed build plans, repair demand, OEM parts, tooling, services, and field service material requirements.

Work model & sponsorship:

At Boston Scientific, we value collaboration and synergy. This role follows a hybrid work model requiring employees to be in our local office at least three days per week. Boston Scientific will not offer sponsorship or take over sponsorship of an employment visa for this position at this time.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Supply Continuity and Risk Management: Own material availability for assigned commodities, suppliers, and product families; proactively identify supply constraints, assess business impact, develop mitigation plans, and escalate risks with clear options and recommendations.
• Supplier Execution and Performance: Manage supplier relationships to drive delivery, quality, responsiveness, and accountability; resolve supplier-related issues through root-cause analysis, corrective action, and cross-functional engagement with Global Sourcing, Quality, Engineering, and Manufacturing.
• Purchasing Execution: Generate, adjust, and expedite purchase orders based on MRP, authorized spend, production priorities, repair requirements, and field service needs; track open orders, communicate constraints, and ensure timely follow-through on supplier commitments.
• Inventory Management: Manage moderate- to high-complexity commodities and expense items to balance service, inventory investment, safety stock, and total cost; identify and disposition expired, excess, and obsolete materials in alignment with business and compliance requirements.
• Cross-Functional Business Partnership: Partner with Production Planning, Manufacturing, Quality, Engineering, Finance, and Global Sourcing to align material plans with build schedules, supplier capabilities, engineering changes, service requirements, and business priorities.
• Data, Systems, and Process Discipline: Maintain accurate purchasing master data, approved vendor lists, source records, and supplier information; use ERP/MRP, reporting tools, and advanced planning systems to monitor supply chain performance, support SI&OP processes, and improve decision-making.
• Performance Improvement: Analyze key supply chain metrics, including supplier delivery performance, forecast alignment, inventory DIOH, service level, backorders, and EE&O exposure; identify improvement opportunities and support process adherence across purchasing and planning workflows.
• Digital Enablement: Leverage data analytics and planning tools to improve visibility, accuracy, and efficiency in purchasing workflows; support adoption of digital capabilities, including Kinaxis RapidResponse and emerging analytics or AI-enabled solutions where applicable.

Required qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Operations, Industrial Engineering, or related field
• Minimum of 7 years' of experience in purchasing, supply chain, inventory management, materials management, or production planning
• Demonstrated experience managing high-complexity commodities, critical suppliers, or supply-constrained product families
• Experience operating in a highly regulated manufacturing environment
• Strong ERP/MRP experience with the ability to interpret demand, supply, inventory, and purchasing signals
• Advanced Excel and Microsoft Office proficiency, including the ability to manipulate, analyze, and compare complex data sources
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to clearly communicate risks, tradeoffs, recommendations, and business impacts to all levels of the organization and external suppliers
• Proven ability to influence cross-functional partners, lead through ambiguity, and drive accountability without direct authority

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience in medical device, life sciences, or other regulated manufacturing environments
• Experience supporting capital equipment, service parts, OEM components, tooling, or repair material flows
• Experience with advanced planning systems such as Kinaxis RapidResponse
• Experience supporting SI&OP, inventory optimization, supplier recovery, or supply risk mitigation processes
• Experience with data visualization, digital analytics, AI-enabled tools, machine learning applications, or digital twin modeling in supply chain

Requisition ID: 631627

Minimum Salary: $85000  

Maximum Salary: $161500  

The anticipated compensation listed above and the value of core and optional employee benefits offered by Boston Scientific (BSC) – see will vary based on actual location of the position and other pertinent factors considered in determining actual compensation for the role. Compensation will be commensurate with demonstrable level of experience and training, pertinent education including licensure and certifications, among other relevant business or organizational needs. At BSC, it is not typical for an individual to be hired near the bottom or top of the anticipated salary range listed above.

Compensation for non-exempt (hourly), non-sales roles may also include variable compensation from time to time (e.g., any overtime and shift differential) and annual bonus target (subject to plan eligibility and other requirements).

Compensation for exempt, non-sales roles may also include variable compensation, i.e., annual bonus target and long-term incentives (subject to plan eligibility and other requirements).

For MA positions: It is unlawful to require or administer a lie detector test for employment. Violators are subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Boston Scientific transforms lives through innovative medical technologies that improve the health of patients around the world. As a global medical technology leader for more than 45 years, we advance science for life by providing a broad range of high-performance solutions that address unmet patient needs and reduce the cost of healthcare. Our portfolio of devices and therapies helps physicians diagnose and treat complex cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, oncological, neurological and urological diseases and conditions. Learn more at and follow us on  LinkedIn .

Boston Scientific Corporation has been and will continue to be an equal opportunity employer. To ensure full implementation of its equal employment policy, the Company will continue to take steps to assure that recruitment, hiring, assignment, promotion, compensation, and all other personnel decisions are made and administered without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, age, mental or physical disability, genetic information or any other protected class.

Please be advised that certain US based positions, including without limitation field sales and service positions that call on hospitals and/or health care centers, require acceptable proof of COVID-19 vaccination status. Candidates will be notified during the interview and selection process if the role(s) for which they have applied require proof of vaccination as a condition of employment. Boston Scientific continues to evaluate its policies and protocols regarding the COVID-19 vaccine and will comply with all applicable state and federal law and healthcare credentialing requirements. As employees of the Company, you will be expected to meet the ongoing requirements for your roles, including any new requirements, should the Company’s policies or protocols change with regard to COVID-19 vaccination.