Buyer Production Planner

Job Description

As a Buyer / Production Planner you will own the flow of demand into purchase orders that keep our prototyping and build programs on schedule. You will convert engineering and manufacturing requisitions into POs, manage supplier relationships and lead times, and drive open orders to on‑time delivery. The role spans both the procurement and the production‑planning side of the lifecycle: reviewing and placing requisitions through a multi‑step approval chain, running the buyer desk, expediting orders, and managing backorders and shortages, as well as loading work orders, managing their bills of material, and maintaining lot and serial control alongside the warehouse and engineering teams.

You will work shoulder‑to‑shoulder with engineering, finance, and the warehouse team, and you will frequently read mechanical and electrical drawings to source the correct components. This is a hands‑on, high‑ownership position for someone who likes to keep many moving parts coordinated and is comfortable being the connective tissue between the design team and the supply base.

• Review incoming requisitions, validate part numbers and specifications, and shepherd them through the approval chain to issuance.
• Place and manage purchase orders; confirm pricing, lead times, and delivery commitments with suppliers.
• Expedite open orders, manage backorders and shortages, and proactively communicate delivery risk to stakeholders.
• Plan against build demand to ensure parts arrive in time to support program schedules.
• Load and manage work orders, including building and maintaining accurate bills of material for each work order.
• Maintain lot and serial control across work orders, coordinating with the warehouse and engineering teams to keep traceability records accurate.
• Source new parts and qualify alternates, including reading mechanical and electrical drawings to confirm fit, form, and function.
• Negotiate cost, terms, and lead‑time improvements with existing and new suppliers.
• Maintain accurate item, supplier, and pricing data in the ERP and internal procurement system.
• Partner with engineering on new part introduction, obsolescence, and BOM accuracy.

• 3+ years of purchasing, buying, or material planning experience, ideally in a manufacturing, hardware, or capital‑equipment environment.
• Working knowledge of the full requisition‑to‑receipt cycle: requisitions, approvals, PO issuance, expediting, and closeout.
• Experience managing supplier relationships, negotiating pricing and lead times, and resolving delivery and quality issues.
• Comfort with demand/supply planning, reorder points, safety stock, and managing shortages and backorders.

• Experience loading and managing work orders in an ERP/MRP system and keeping them aligned to build schedules.
• Ability to build, read, and maintain bills of material, and to keep BOM data accurate as designs change.
• Familiarity with lot and serial control and traceability requirements in a regulated or quality‑conscious manufacturing environment.
• Comfortable coordinating with warehouse and engineering teams to keep material and traceability records in sync.

• Ability to read and interpret mechanical drawings (dimensions, tolerances, GD&T basics) and electrical drawings/schematics to source and verify components.
• Understanding of how to match parts to specifications when sourcing or qualifying alternates.

• Proficiency with spreadsheets and strong general computer skills; comfortable maintaining accurate data records.
• Strong attention to detail and data integrity across part numbers, pricing, and supplier information.
• Experience with an ERP/MRP system — Net Suite, SAP, Oracle, or similar — is a strong plus.
• Experience using AI assistants such as Claude, ChatGPT, and/or Microsoft Copilot to streamline day‑to‑day work is a plus.

• Strong organizational skills and the ability to juggle many open orders and priorities at once.
• Clear written and verbal communication across engineering, finance, suppliers, and the warehouse team.
• Self‑directed, flexible, and able to thrive in a fast‑paced,…