Associate Buyer

About Us

LP Seafood & Specialty is a highly respected NYC-based seafood and specialty distribution company, providing exceptional-quality products and personalized service to the region’s top restaurants, hotels, and specialty retailers. Our reputation is built on care, professionalism, and excellence.

Position Summary

The Associate Buyer supports the daily execution and continued development of the LPSS Purchasing function. The role combines purchasing administration, inventory and replenishment analysis, vendor and delivery coordination, and direct buying responsibility for assigned products.

This position is designed for an organized, analytical, and persistent early-career professional who wants to grow into a capable supply chain professional. The Associate Buyer will initially work within established pricing, quality, inventory, and vendor guidelines and will assume broader purchasing responsibility as knowledge, judgment, and performance develop. By owning appropriate day-to-day work, the Associate Buyer allows senior purchasing staff to devote more attention to strategic sourcing, supplier development, pricing, supply continuity, and category planning.

Position Details

Reports To: Purchasing Manager

Supports: Purchasing Manager & Supply Chain Analyst

Location: Bronx, New York

Schedule: Full time, hybrid, regular work day typically begins at 6am.

Key Responsibilities

Direct Purchasing

• Own day-to-day purchasing for packaging supplies and assigned frozen and fresh seafood and specialty items, within established pricing, quality, inventory, and vendor guidelines.

• Review inventory levels, demand, lead times, seasonality, and business needs to determine appropriate order quantities and timing for assigned items.

• Place and manage purchase orders for assigned categories, confirming pricing, product specifications, availability, and delivery dates.

• Maintain supply continuity by identifying potential shortages, comparing available options, and recommending alternate products or vendors when needed.

• Monitor vendor performance and resolve routine issues involving fill rates, substitutions, delivery timing, returns, and product quality, escalating significant concerns to the Purchasing Manager and Supply Chain Analyst.

• Assume responsibility for additional products or categories as knowledge, performance, and business needs evolve.

Purchase Order and Logistics Coordination

• Create, update, and distribute purchase orders in support of the Purchasing Manager and Supply Chain Analyst.

• Facilitate orders through completion, including freezer releases, trucking, pickups, delivery appointments, and receipt verification/data entry.

• Coordinate product transfers, inventory movements, delivery requirements, and new-item setup as required.

• Resolve routine order, delivery, return, credit, substitution, and product-quality issues; elevate material concerns promptly.

Inventory Control and Analysis

• Monitor inventory reports and communicate risks, needs, and recommended actions to the Purchasing Manager and Supply Chain Analyst.

• Support regular inventory counts, including count data entry, book-to-physical reconciliation, and investigation/resolution of material variances.

• Review inventory and purchasing data for discrepancies in quantities, costs, units of measure, product codes, and receiving information.

• Help maintain accurate item, vendor, cost, and purchasing information in Seasoft and related systems.

Vendor and Cross Functional Communication

• Serve as a day-to-day point of contact for routine vendor communications, including order status, delivery schedules, product availability, PO’s, returns/credits, and release coordination.

• Resolve routine order and delivery issues and scale pricing, quality, supply, or vendor-performance concerns to the Purchasing Manager and Supply Chain Analyst as appropriate.

• Maintain current vendor contact information, product details, and purchasing documentation.

• Administer the approved supplier program.

• Work directly with Receiving, Production, Operations, Sales, Customer Service, & Finance to resolve purchasing and inventory questions.

Department Support and Development

• Support vendor comparisons, purchasing analysis, product planning, reporting, process improvement, and special projects.

• Learn the products, suppliers, purchasing cycles, logistics requirements, and operating processes needed to provide effective coverage during vacations and other absences.

• Participate in weekend and holiday purchasing coverage in accordance with established guidelines and business needs.

• Identify practical opportunities to improve purchasing controls, communication, documentation, and efficiency.

Culture & Values

• Actively demonstrate LPSS Core Values: Care, Professionalism, and Excellence.

• Represent the company with integrity and pride.

• Take accountability, communicate transparently, and operate with humility and collaboration.

Qualifications

Required

• High school diploma or equivalent.

• Strong administrative, organizational, and follow-through skills with exceptional attention to detail.

• Comfort working with numbers and reviewing inventory, pricing, and purchasing data.

• Working knowledge of Microsoft Excel, including pivot tables, formulas, and xlookups, or a demonstrated ability to learn these skills quickly.

• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications including Teams, Outlook, and Word.

• Ability to recognize unusual inventory movement, pricing discrepancies, supply risks, and incomplete information and determine when to investigate, resolve, or elevate.

• Ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and communicate clearly in a fast-paced environment.

• Ability to learn new systems, products, and processes quickly.

Preferred

• Associate or bachelor’s degree in business, supply chain, operations, logistics, finance, accounting, data analytics, or a related field.

• One to three years of experience in purchasing, inventory management, replenishment, logistics, receiving, food distribution, or another detailed operational environment. Exceptional candidates with relevant education, internships, or demonstrated operating aptitude will also be considered.

• Previous administrative, inventory, purchasing, warehouse, food distribution, or seafood-industry experience.

• Experience with ERP, inventory-management, or purchasing systems.

• Spanish-language skills are a plus.

Ideal Candidate Profile

• You are highly organized and naturally good at keeping track of details, deadlines, and follow-ups.

• You are comfortable working with numbers, spreadsheets, inventory data, and purchasing information—and you know when something does not look right.

• You are proactive. You do not wait for an issue to become urgent before raising it or following through.

• You communicate clearly and professionally with vendors, internal teams, and operational partners.

• You are comfortable supporting multiple people and priorities while maintaining clarity around ownership and next steps.

• You are collaborative and understand that strong purchasing requires close coordination across purchasing, supply chain, warehouse operations, production, and sales.

• You are curious about products, pricing, availability, seasonality, and vendor options and are interested in developing deeper purchasing knowledge.

• You are dependable and comfortable working an early-morning schedule, often beginning around 6:00 a.m.

• You are willing to jump into routine administrative work while also looking for opportunities to improve processes and make the department more efficient.

• You take ownership of your work and follow tasks through to completion.

Schedule and Work Environment

• This is an early-morning position. The regular workday will typically begin at 6:00 a.m.; schedule flexibility may be required based on purchasing and operational needs.

• Hybrid schedule: four days per week on-site at our Bronx facility and one day remote, subject to business needs and successful completion of training.

• Weekend and holiday support is required on a rotating or as-needed basis.

• The role operates in a fast-paced food-distribution environment and requires regular collaboration with office, warehouse, production, and operations teams.

Pay and Benefits

• Annual salary range: $75,000-$85,000, based on experience and qualifications.

• Generous comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits.

• 401k plan with company match.

• Company-Paid Life Insurance.

• Two Weeks Paid Time Off (increases with tenure)

• Safe and Sick Leave, in accordance with company policy and applicable law.

• Issuance of Laptop and other equipment required for the role.

Equal Employment Opportunity

LP Seafood & Specialty is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect and building a workplace that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. All employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and business needs.