Manufacturing Buyer

Job Description

Job Description

An established precision manufacturing organization is seeking an experienced Manufacturing Buyer to manage purchasing activities, supplier relationships, and material availability in support of production operations.

This role goes beyond transactional purchasing. The Buyer will actively manage supplier capacity, lead times, material constraints, and delivery commitments to ensure production schedules can be met. The successful candidate will work closely with production planning, operations, and suppliers to identify potential bottlenecks, secure necessary capacity, and prevent supply chain disruptions.

Candidates with experience in CNC machining, precision manufacturing, aerospace, or other complex industrial manufacturing environments are encouraged to apply.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage purchasing activities for raw materials, production components, tooling, supplies, and outside processing services.
• Create, issue, and maintain purchase orders while monitoring supplier acknowledgments and delivery commitments.
• Monitor supplier capacity and workload to ensure vendors can support current and projected production demand.
• Identify supplier constraints, extended lead times, material shortages, and potential delivery risks before they impact production.
• Coordinate with suppliers to secure production capacity and establish realistic delivery commitments.
• Work closely with production planning and operations to prioritize critical materials and resolve constraints affecting manufacturing schedules.
• Monitor open orders and proactively expedite late or at-risk materials and outside services.
• Evaluate supplier performance, including delivery, quality, responsiveness, capacity, and cost.
• Develop and maintain strong supplier relationships while identifying opportunities to improve lead times and reliability.
• Support inventory management and purchasing strategies to maintain material availability without unnecessary excess inventory.
• Maintain accurate purchasing records, supplier information, and order status within the ERP/MRP system.
• Communicate purchasing risks, supplier delays, and recovery plans to internal stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Previous experience as a Buyer, Manufacturing Buyer, or Purchasing Specialist within a manufacturing environment.
• Strong understanding of purchasing processes, purchase orders, supplier management, and material requirements.
• Experience managing supplier capacity, production constraints, lead times, and delivery commitments.
• Ability to identify supply chain bottlenecks and develop solutions to protect production schedules.
• Experience purchasing raw materials, machining components, tooling, or outside processing services preferred.
• Understanding of how material availability and supplier capacity impact manufacturing throughput.
• Experience with ERP/MRP systems and inventory management.
• Strong communication, negotiation, organization, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a deadline-driven manufacturing environment.