Buyer

Salary Range : $65,040.00 - $97,561.00


Position Summary:

We are seeking a driven and detail-oriented Buyer to support procurement, supply planning, and supplier management activities in a fast-paced, global environment. This role is responsible for ensuring material availability, optimizing supplier performance, and contributing to cost and service improvements that support overall business objectives.

The Buyer will partner cross-functionally with operations, engineering, and quality teams while proactively managing supplier relationships to meet delivery, quality, and cost targets. This is a hybrid role requiring onsite work three days per week (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday).

Responsibilities and Essential Functions:

• Procure supplies, materials, services, and equipment to ensure on-time delivery aligned with production requirements
• Place, maintain, and update purchase orders to support continuity of supply and prevent backorders or stockouts
• Plan, schedule, and monitor the movement of materials through the fulfillment cycle
• Identify and communicate potential material shortages and implement mitigation plans
• Ensure suppliers have complete and accurate product information to meet quality and delivery requirements
• Monitor and manage supplier performance using key metrics (OTD, COT, lead time, capacity, safety stock), develop corrective actions, and deliver supplier scorecards
• Track order fulfillment performance, assign root causes for failures, and drive continuous improvement for assigned commodities
• Monitor internal min/max levels and vendor safety stock to optimize inventory turns while ensuring material availability
• Review and manage daily supply chain exceptions including shortages, backorders, late shipments/receipts, excess inventory, and master data discrepancies
• Track and resolve supplier-related issues including MRB items, non-conformances, and cost recovery actions
• Conduct regular supplier reviews to evaluate forecasts, capacity commitments, and risk mitigation plans to maintain demand-supply balance
• Partner cross-functionally to support inventory planning, forecasting, and production requirements
• Manage engineering change orders (ECOs) and ensure effective material transitions
• Drive cost improvement initiatives, including PPV and supplier/part transitions
• Own and report on procurement KPIs for assigned suppliers and commodities
• Perform other duties as assigned

Qualifications, Skills and Education:

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, or related field, or equivalent experience
• 3+ years of experience in procurement, purchasing, or supply chain roles

• Knowledge of materials requirement planning (MRP), inventory control techniques, forecasting, and production planning
• Understanding of cost/price analysis, standard costing, and production processes (internal and supplier-side)
• Experience with supplier kanban, safety stock programs, lead time reduction, and vendor-managed inventory (VMI/VOI)
• Experience managing a global supply chain, preferably including Asia and/or Mexico, with exposure to Just-in-Time (JIT) principles
• Proficiency in Excel for data analysis (e.g., pivot tables, lookups, and working with large datasets)
• Experience using data and KPIs (e.g., OTD, COT, inventory levels) to identify root causes of supply or performance issues and implement improvements.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's Degree preferred
• Professional certifications such as CPM, CPSM, or APICS
• Experience in the office furniture or manufacturing industry
• Bilingual skills Mandarin

Why This Role

• Opportunity to make a direct impact on supply chain performance and business results
• Collaborative, cross-functional environment
• Exposure to global supplier networks and strategic sourcing initiatives

Perks and Benefits:

We hope that you're excited by the possibilities that come along with working at Exemplis! With us, TEAM comes first. We bring integrity, passion, and excellence to work each day. Being part of our team means living our core values and thriving in an environment of constant innovation and positive change.

In addition to our unique culture, we also offer these fun perks and benefits.

• Competitive Salary: Our compensation philosophy is to be externally competitive, internally fair, and not win or lose on compensation. Salary ranges are developed with the support of national benchmarks and industry best practices that adjusts to your cost of labor, years of relevant experience, skill set, and education.
• Hybrid Work Schedule: We believe in supporting a healthy work-life balance and offer a flexible hybrid schedule, with remote work on Mondays and Fridays and onsite collaboration on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
• Health Insurance: We offer a variety of health insurance options (medical, dental, vision, etc.) for all of our team members. Eligible the first month following your start date.
• 401(k) : We match 100% up to 3% and then 50% of the next 2% deferred.
• Time Off: Taking time off to recharge is a must whether it is for your personal health or vacation; paid time off starts accruing day 1!
• Observed Holidays : 10 company observed holidays: New Years, Martin Luther King, President's Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Day.
• Employee Discounts : We offer discounts to our employee across all of our product lines.
• Hit our Numbers Lunch: When we hit our monthly milestones, we all celebrate!
• Tuition Scholarships: Partnership with UMASS Global for 10%-20% off tuition for you and/or your family.

About Us:

It all started in a small warehouse in California with just three employees, a fax machine and a bell that rang out every time a chair came down the conveyor belt. 30 years later, Exemplis continues to lead, innovate and disrupt an array of industries through its growing family of brands - including SitOnIt Seating , Timbuk2, X-Chair, Maverick, Mavix, Edloe Finch, and Albany Park.
From sustainable manufacturing to outreach programs and more, we strive to make a positive impact on everyone we serve. We make sure our people (and their communities) are at the core of our organization. To make a difference, we must be a champion of diversity, inclusion, service and social justice - above all else.
Are you ready to be a part of something special? We have headquarters, offices and retail stores across the U.S. (plus a variety of flexible work opportunities). Learn more and apply today.
Exemplis is an Equal Opportunity Employer and our company adheres to the equal employment opportunity guidelines set forth by federal, state, and local laws. Read our full statement on our careers page.