Lead Buyer

An established and expanding industrial equipment manufacturer with multinational ties is seeking a Lead Buyer/Planner to oversee direct material procurement and supply planning. This role sits at the intersection of procurement strategy, ERP-based planning, and supplier performance leadership—ideal for someone who thrives in a fast-paced, data-driven environment.

This position reports to the North American Purchasing Lead and requires close coordination across U.S. and EMEA-based supply nodes. Mandarin or German language skills are considered a plus due to occasional coordination with tooling vendors and raw material brokers overseas.

Key Responsibilities:

• Supervise and develop a regional team of junior buyers; foster best practices in sourcing and materials planning.
• Utilize ERP (SAP preferred) for demand planning, PO generation, and raw material alignment across multi-shift operations.
• Execute sourcing strategies that drive cost optimization and quality improvement; lead vendor contract negotiations and supplier evaluations.
• Interpret commodity trends (e.g. stainless steel, castings, polymers) to make informed purchase decisions.
• Maintain procurement records: Source Lists, PIRs, Agreements, and contract frameworks.
• Lead vendor reviews and quarterly business performance sessions using custom-built dashboards.
• Represent procurement in daily S&OP and plant sync meetings.
• Collaborate with chemical engineering, production, and customer service teams to forecast and align raw material demand.
• Actively reduce obsolete inventory, rebalance slow-moving stock, and ensure audit compliance (ISO 14001 familiarity a plus).
• Enforce master data hygiene within ERP material records and supplier catalogs.

Ideal Candidate Profile:

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Industrial Engineering, or Business (equivalent European technical degree acceptable).
• 5–10 years of purchasing/planning experience in a regulated or engineered-products environment (e.g. oil & gas, medical devices, specialty packaging).
• SAP experience (MM module), MRP and advanced Excel modeling required.
• Proven team leadership and procurement project delivery experience.
• Able to manage ambiguity, adjust to cross-border supply constraints, and lead vendor remediation plans.
• Global mindset; multilingual candidates encouraged to apply (Spanish, German, or Mandarin desirable but not required).
• APICS, ISM, or CIPS credentials are advantageous.