Senior Technical Buyer

Cyclo Kinetics is advancing the next generation of high-performance propellants for aerospace and defense. Our highly innovative technology allows us to harness existing energy from biomass and convert it to superior performance fuels and propellants across aviation, aerospace, and defense applications.

We are a team of engineers, scientists, and operators driven by performance, innovation, and national security impact focused on building scalable, domestic energy solutions that power the future of propulsion.

Cyclo Kineticsis based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Job Summary
:

Cyclo Kinetics is seeking a Senior Technical Buyer to support the procurement of highly technical materials, equipment, fabricated components, and services required to build and operate our biorefinery.

This role sits within the procurement organization and works closely with engineering, Research & Development (R&D), operations, finance, and external suppliers. The Senior Technical Buyer will serve as a primary commercial and coordination contact with outside vendors for complex custom orders, including custom fabricated reactors, pressure vessels, steel structures, custom machined parts, pumps, specialty equipment, and bulk specialty chemicals.

The ideal candidate has demonstrated experience purchasing technical goods and services in industrial, chemical, manufacturing, energy, aerospace, defense, Engineering, Procurement, & Construction (EPC), or other complex engineered environments. An engineering or technical degree is not required; however, the successful candidate must be comfortable working with technical specifications, drawings, datasheets, vendor documentation, and engineering stakeholders.

This individual should be proactive, relationship-driven, commercially minded, and motivated to build a strong vendor network, identify alternative suppliers, improve lead times, and drive down total cost.

This role requires organizational and communication skills and requires confidentiality, discretion, and professionalism.

Essential Functions & Responsibilities:

• Serve as a senior procurement resource for highly technical, custom, and long-lead purchases across engineering, R&D, and operations.
• Manage confidential and sensitive information with discretion.
• Act as a primary point of contact with outside vendors for custom fabricated equipment, pressure vessels, reactors, steel structures, machined parts, pumps, specialty chemicals, and technical equipment.
• Collaborate closely with engineering and R&D teams to understand technical requirements, specifications, drawings, datasheets, and project needs.
• Lead sourcing, request for quote / request for proposal (RFQ/RFP), bid evaluation, vendor selection, negotiation, purchase order issuance, and order follow-up for complex technical purchases.
• Identify, qualify, and develop alternative suppliers to improve cost, quality, responsiveness, and schedule reliability.
• Negotiate pricing, lead times, payment terms, warranty provisions, delivery terms, and other commercial conditions.
• Coordinate with vendors to resolve technical, commercial, quality, and delivery issues.
• Track and expedite critical orders to support engineering, fabrication, construction, commissioning, and operational milestones.
• Maintain strong supplier relationships and hold vendors accountable for performance, delivery, documentation, and quality expectations.
• Review requisitions, quotes, specifications, drawings, contracts, and purchase documentation for accuracy and completeness.
• Work with engineering and project teams to evaluate make-versus-buy decisions, supplier capabilities, and fabrication alternatives.
• Support cost reduction efforts through competitive bidding, negotiation, supplier development, design-to-cost discussions, and alternate sourcing.
• Coordinate with finance and internal stakeholders on budgets, purchase approvals, invoice discrepancies, and cost tracking.
• Maintain accurate procurement records, vendor communications, contracts, quote files, purchase orders, and technical documentation.
• Ensure compliance with internal procurement policies, safety standards, quality requirements, and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Work in collaboration with other teams to achieve department and company goals.
• Participate in meetings and planning sessions, providing work updates or summaries as requested.
• Maintain accurate procurement records, contracts, documentation, and databases in compliance with company standards and regulatory requirements.
• Maintain organized…