Senior Buyer – Aerospace & Defense

Senior Buyer
- Aerospace & Defense

New Hope, Mississippi Direct Hire $90000 /

Our client is seeking an experienced Senior Buyer to join its procurement team supporting a highly regulated aerospace and defense manufacturing environment
. This individual will be responsible for strategic sourcing, supplier management, purchasing, cost reduction, and material availability while ensuring procurement activities meet strict quality, delivery, cost, and regulatory requirements.

The ideal candidate has 5+ years of procurement experience
, preferably within aerospace or defense, with a strong background in strategic sourcing, supplier negotiations, cost reduction, and purchasing highly engineered materials, components, subassemblies, and design-to-specification items.

• Identify, evaluate, qualify, and develop suppliers based on quality, cost, delivery, technical capability, and compliance requirements.
• Develop and execute strategic sourcing initiatives that improve cost, quality, lead times, and supply chain reliability.
• Negotiate supplier contracts, pricing, terms, lead times, and commercial agreements.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with key suppliers.
• Monitor supplier performance and implement corrective actions when necessary.
• Identify and mitigate supplier and supply chain risks.
• Drive measurable cost reductions across materials, components, subassemblies, and design-to-specification items.

• Manage the end-to-end procurement process for assigned commodities and categories.
• Prepare and issue Requests for Quotation (RFQs).
• Evaluate supplier quotations and negotiate pricing and terms.
• Generate and manage Purchase Orders (POs).
• Track orders and ensure materials arrive according to production requirements.
• Resolve supplier, pricing, quality, and delivery issues.
• Maintain accurate purchasing and supplier documentation.

• Optimize inventory levels to support production requirements while minimizing excess and obsolete inventory.
• Coordinate purchasing activities with demand forecasts and production schedules.
• Work closely with Engineering, Quality, Production, and Supply Chain to ensure material availability.
• Identify potential shortages and proactively develop solutions.
• Support production schedules by maintaining reliable material flow.

• Ensure purchasing activities comply with applicable aerospace and defense requirements.
• Maintain working knowledge of:
  • ITAR
  • DFARS
  • FAR
• Maintain accurate procurement documentation for audits and reporting.
• Support import and export compliance requirements.
• Coordinate with logistics and other internal teams to ensure compliant movement of materials.
• Ensure suppliers meet applicable regulatory, quality, and contractual requirements.

• Partner closely with Engineering regarding technical specifications and design-to-specification components.
• Collaborate with Quality to address supplier quality issues.
• Work with Production to maintain material availability and manufacturing schedules.
• Coordinate with Supply Chain and Logistics regarding inventory and material movement.
• Communicate supplier risks, shortages, pricing concerns, and delivery issues to internal stakeholders.
• Identify opportunities to improve purchasing and procurement processes.
• Develop strategies to improve supplier performance and supply chain efficiency.
• Stay current on market conditions, supplier capabilities, and industry trends.
• Support initiatives focused on reducing costs, improving lead times, and minimizing supply chain risk.
• Contribute to the development of procurement best practices.
• Provide guidance and support to junior purchasing team members.
• Share procurement, sourcing, negotiation, and supplier management best practices.
• Assist team members with supplier challenges and problem-solving.
• Support the professional development of less-experienced buyers.