Buyer/Planner

Buyer/Planner

Itron is innovating new ways for utilities and cities to manage energy and water. We create a more resourceful world to protect essential resources for today and tomorrow. Join us.

The Buyer/Planner plays a key role in ensuring materials and production plans are aligned to support safe, high-quality, and on-time manufacturing. This position partners cross-functionally to balance supply and demand, manage supplier relationships, and maintain accurate planning data in a fast-paced environment. The role requires an agile, customer-centric mindset with a focus on collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Plan and balance supply and demand to support safe, high-quality, on-time manufacturing—translating customer needs into actionable material and production plans with a customer-centric mindset.
• Own material planning parameters (min/max, reorder points, safety stock, lead times, lot sizes) to improve service levels, reduce shortages, and enable an agile response to changes in demand or supply.
• Execute procurement activities including requisitions, purchase orders, order acknowledgements, and expedites—ensuring clear, authentic communication with suppliers and internal partners.
• Coordinate production scheduling inputs (capacity constraints, priorities, and material availability) to support reliable build plans and help meet committed ship dates.
• Maintain accurate ERP/MRP data (item master, BOM/routings as applicable, supplier lead times, pricing, and inventory attributes) and drive data integrity with accountability.
• Manage supplier performance (on-time delivery, quality, responsiveness, cost) and collaborate on corrective actions, continuous improvement, and risk mitigation.
• Analyze inventory health (excess/obsolete, turns, cycle counts, slow movers) and implement innovative strategies to optimize working capital without compromising service.
• Lead cross-functional collaboration with Manufacturing, Quality, Engineering, Customer Support/Service, and Finance to resolve constraints, address shortages, and reduce disruptions.
• Support new product introduction (NPI) and engineering changes by planning phase-in/phase-out of materials, coordinating last-time buys, and minimizing disruption and scrap.
• Identify and implement process improvements (e.g., standard work, visual management, kanban signals, supplier collaboration routines) to streamline purchasing and planning workflows.
• Prepare and communicate planning/procurement metrics (shortage lists, supplier OTIF, inventory accuracy, past due orders) and provide clear updates to stakeholders.

Required Skills & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Operations, Engineering, etc. or equivalent experience.
• 2+ years of experience in buying, material planning, production planning, or supply chain within a manufacturing environment.
• Working knowledge of MRP/ERP systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, Dynamics, Epicor, Infor) and strong ability to maintain accurate transactional data with accountability.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel (filters, pivot tables, lookups) and comfort using data to make decisions and share insights.
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize and manage multiple workstreams in a fast-changing environment—remaining agile while meeting commitments.
• Strong communication skills with a track record of authentic partnership across teams and with suppliers, including the ability to influence without authority.
• Experience analyzing and improving performance in one or more areas: service level, shortages, lead time, inventory turns, supplier on-time delivery, or cost.
• Solid understanding of procurement fundamentals (RFQs, lead times, MOQs, incoterms awareness, supplier management) and planning concepts (safety stock, reorder points, demand variability).
• Commitment to teamwork and inclusive collaboration—valuing diverse perspectives and contributing to a respectful, collaborative workplace.

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Experience with S&OP/forecasting processes, demand planning, or capacity planning in a mixed build environment (make-to-stock/make-to-order).
• Familiarity with Lean/Continuous Improvement methods (Kaizen, 5S, standard work, value stream thinking) and using them to deliver innovative process gains.
• Experience with supplier development and performance management (scorecards, corrective actions, dual-sourcing strategies).
• Exposure to regulated or quality-driven manufacturing environments and structured change control (ECO/ECN) processes.
• APICS/ASCM certification (CPIM, CSCP) or progress toward certification.

Travel: 0-10%

Physical Demands: This is a typical office job, with no special physical requirements or unusual work environment.

Benefits Info: This position also includes a competitive benefit package including; financial, social, health and wellbeing programs, paid vacation, 401k matching, employee stock purchase program, and more!