Senior Buyer - Procurement

Department: Commercial Operations / Procurement
Reports To: Sr. Director of Commercial Operations
Location: Kansas City, MO
Employment Type: Full-Time
Compensation: $70,000 to $85,000 annually, based on experience

Mainline Services is seeking an experienced Senior Buyer - Procurement to help build and manage the company's purchasing function. This is a newly created, hands-on role responsible for strengthening purchasing processes, controls, vendor relationships, and visibility into company spending and commitments.

Working closely with the Sr. Director of Commercial Operations, the Senior Buyer will help develop and implement Mainline's end-to-end procure-to-pay process, including purchasing requests and approvals, sourcing, purchase orders, receiving, three-way matching, exception resolution, and PO closeout.

The ideal candidate brings strong purchasing experience, a process-improvement mindset, and the ability to identify gaps and implement practical solutions while supporting the urgency of Mainline's railroad, construction, and 24/7 emergency-response operations.

• Help design, document, implement, and maintain Mainline's purchasing and procurement processes.
• Manage purchasing activities from initial request through PO reconciliation and closeout.
• Develop purchasing workflows, approval requirements, documentation standards, and internal controls in partnership with Commercial Operations leadership.
• Source materials, equipment, rentals, subcontracted services, transportation, and other operational needs.
• Obtain competitive quotes, negotiate pricing and terms, and develop strong vendor relationships.
• Create, issue, maintain, and monitor purchase orders, including open and aging commitments.
• Establish receiving and service-completion procedures and support three-way matching of POs, receipts/service confirmations, and vendor invoices.
• Research and resolve pricing, quantity, receiving, invoice, and PO discrepancies.
• Partner with Accounts Payable to ensure invoices are properly supported, coded, and ready for payment.
• Coordinate with Operations and Fleet on equipment rentals, including tracking and timely off-rent.
• Ensure purchases are properly assigned to jobs and cost categories to support accurate job costing.
• Identify opportunities for cost savings, spend consolidation, preferred-vendor agreements, and purchasing efficiencies.
• Develop reporting for open POs, committed costs, vendor performance, and key procurement metrics.
• Help establish an expedited purchasing process for emergency operations while maintaining appropriate documentation and accountability.
• Support future purchasing-system, automation, and ERP initiatives.

• 4+ years of progressive experience in purchasing, procurement, strategic sourcing, supply chain, or a related field.
• Experience with the full PO lifecycle, including sourcing, receiving, invoice matching, exception resolution, and PO closeout.
• Experience developing or improving purchasing processes and controls.
• Demonstrated ability to independently evaluate purchasing and process issues, develop practical options, and bring forward well-supported recommendations for leadership decision making.
• Strong vendor sourcing, negotiation, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to identify gaps, recommend solutions, and independently drive work through completion.
• Strong Excel and general business system proficiency.
• Ability to work effectively across Operations, Fleet, Finance/AP, Estimating, and Commercial Operations.
• Experience in railroad, construction, heavy civil, trucking, heavy equipment, industrial services, or another field-based environment preferred.

Success in this role means helping Mainline establish a…