Buyer​/Planner

Are you a Buyer who enjoys being close to the action, solving supply challenges, working directly with suppliers, and making sure production has what it needs when it needs it?
Lithionics Battery is looking for an experienced Buyer to join our Purchasing team. This is an excellent opportunity for a purchasing professional with 3 to 5 years of experience who is ready to take ownership of assigned suppliers and materials, strengthen supplier performance, and play an important role in supporting a fast-paced manufacturing operation. In this role, you won't simply place purchase orders.

You'll work across Purchasing, Engineering, Quality, Production, Supply Chain, Receiving, Accounts Payable, Customer Service, and Demand Planning to keep materials flowing and resolve issues before they impact the business.

• Own purchase orders and supplier commitments from release through delivery to support production requirements.
• Review MRP/ERP requirements and take action to maintain appropriate material availability and inventory levels.
• Communicate forecasts, purchase orders, delivery expectations, and changing requirements to suppliers.
• Expedite critical materials and proactively resolve supply or delivery issues.
• Build strong relationships with assigned suppliers and monitor performance, pricing, quality, delivery, and overall value.
• Support supplier negotiations involving pricing, terms, materials, and services.
• Identify and help develop qualified suppliers for assigned commodities.
• Coordinate purchasing activities related to engineering changes, new materials, and changing production requirements.
• Resolve invoice, receiving, pricing, and material discrepancies.
• Respond quickly when production priorities or customer requirements change.
• Partner cross-functionally with Engineering, Quality, Production, Supply Chain, Transportation, Receiving, Accounts Payable, Customer Service, and Demand Planning.

We're looking for someone who approaches purchasing decisions with conviction, accountability, and ownership
—using sound judgment, acting with urgency, and taking responsibility for results from initial requirement through supplier delivery.

• 3 to 5 years of purchasing, procurement, or supply chain experience, preferably in a manufacturing environment.
• Bachelor’s degree in supply chain, business, or a related field.
• Working knowledge of ERP/MRP systems and how they support purchasing and manufacturing.
• Understanding of purchasing practices, inventory requirements, supplier management, and commodity markets.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving abilities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Experience building productive relationships with both suppliers and internal business partners.
• A proactive, self‑directed approach, with the conviction to make informed decisions, the accountability to elevate risks early, and the ownership to drive work through completion.
• APICS certification is a plus.

• Demonstrate accountability by following through on supplier commitments, communicating risks early, and closing open issues before they affect material availability.
• Show ownership by diagnosing material shortages, coordinating corrective action, and staying engaged until the issue is resolved and recurrence risks are addressed.
• Act with conviction by making timely, well‑reasoned trade‑offs among inventory, cost, delivery, and production requirements, and by clearly explaining the basis for those decisions.
• Build alignment with suppliers and internal teams, while taking responsibility for decisions, commitments, escalations, and follow‑through.
• Ma…