Aviation Buyer

The Aviation Procurement Specialist strategically sources and procures aircraft parts, materials, tooling, and consumables to support maintenance and operational requirements. This role ensures material availability, drives supplier performance, promotes cost effectiveness, and safeguards supply-chain continuity while proactively managing risk, supplier recovery, and shifting priorities with a strong sense of urgency and ownership.

• Lead procurement activities for assigned aircraft parts, components, materials, tooling, and consumables with a high level of ownership, responsiveness, and follow-through.
• Analyze demand, inventory levels, forecasts, lead times, supplier commitments, and market conditions to anticipate material requirements and mitigate supply risk before it impacts operations.
• Manage the full procurement lifecycle, including requests for quotation (RFQs), sourcing, negotiations, purchase order creation, supplier commitments, expediting, and resolution of supply issues.
• Prioritize and aggressively expedite critical, shortage, and aircraft-on-ground (AOG) material requirements to protect aircraft availability and operational schedules.
• Drive immediate recovery strategies for supplier delays, shortages, and performance issues, maintaining consistent pressure and oversight until full resolution.
• Develop alternate sourcing strategies and identify interchangeable or superseded part solutions to strengthen supply-chain continuity and resilience.
• Negotiate pricing, lead times, delivery commitments, quantities, payment terms, and other commercial conditions to meet business objectives and cost targets.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date procurement data, providing timely visibility into material status, shortages, risks, recovery actions, and supplier commitments.
• Partner cross-functionally with suppliers and internal departments to rapidly resolve constraints and support changing business priorities.
• Escalate critical supply risks early, clearly communicating operational impact, recovery actions, ownership, and expected resolution timelines.

• 35 years of progressive experience in a purchasing or procurement role, preferably within aviation, aerospace, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), or a regulated manufacturing environment.
• Proven experience in supplier management, strategic sourcing, negotiation, procurement, expediting, shortage recovery, inventory planning, and materials management.
• Demonstrated ability to operate with a strong sense of urgency, effectively prioritize critical requirements, and respond rapidly to changing operational needs.
• Hands-on experience with purchasing and procurement processes, including RFQs, purchase orders, and supplier performance management.
• Solid understanding of supply chain principles as they relate to aircraft parts, materials, tooling, and consumables.
• Ability to interpret demand forecasts, lead times, and inventory data to anticipate requirements and mitigate supply risk.
• Strong communication skills to clearly convey risks, status updates, and recovery plans to internal stakeholders and suppliers.
• Ability to work cross-functionally and collaboratively with internal departments and external suppliers to resolve constraints quickly.

• Experience working in aviation, aerospace, MRO, or other highly regulated manufacturing environments.
• Background in aircraft parts procurement, including familiarity with interchangeable and superseded part solutions.
• Exposure to aircraft-on-ground (AOG) support and expediting critical materials to protect operational schedules.
• Comfort with fast-paced, dynamic environments where priorities and operational requirements frequently change.
• Strong analytical skills for assessing market conditions, supplier performance, and material risk.
• Detail-oriented approach to maintaining accurate procurement records and material status information.

You will join a culture that values ownership, responsiveness, and proactive problem solving within a high-impact operational environment. The organization emphasizes collaboration across departments and with suppliers, providing opportunities to influence key decisions and drive continuous improvement in the supply chain. You will work in a setting that rewards initiative, supports professional growth in aviation and aerospace procurement, and offers the chance to contribute directly to reliable…