Senior Buyer / Procurement Specialist – Manufacturing

This position is designed for a procurement professional who already has direct supplier experience, practical negotiation capability, and a working understanding of purchasing, inventory, and material planning. It is not an entry-level training position, a people-management role, or a narrowly transactional purchasing job.

The Procurement Buyer / Planner will manage an assigned portfolio of suppliers and materials while working closely with production, quality, engineering, warehouse, inventory, finance, and other internal partners. You will support the complete material lifecycle—from the initial purchasing requirement through delivery, inventory use, quality disposition, return, credit, or final resolution.

As you develop product knowledge, supplier familiarity, and sound business judgment, you will be expected to take increasing ownership of routine procurement decisions and demonstrate readiness for broader responsibility.

What You Will Do

Manage an assigned portfolio of materials and suppliers.
Create and maintain accurate purchase orders, quantities, pricing, delivery dates, acknowledgements, and supporting documentation.
Solicit supplier quotations and compare pricing, lead times, terms, and other commercial considerations.
Negotiate routine pricing, delivery, lead-time, minimum-order-quantity, expedite, and supplier-recovery matters.
Interpret demand, inventory levels, open purchase orders, supplier commitments, lead times, and production priorities.
Identify material shortages, late deliveries, changing requirements, and supplier risks before they disrupt production.
Communicate directly with suppliers regarding order status, commitments, delivery concerns, pricing discrepancies, and issue resolution.
Coordinate returns, rework, replacement materials, credits, supplier corrective actions, and return material authorizations.
Participate directly in cycle counts and inventory-discrepancy resolution.
Work with production, quality, engineering, receiving, and warehouse employees to investigate material and supplier issues.
Identify possible alternate sources and participate in supplier evaluation and sourcing discussions.
Document cost savings, cost avoidance, improved terms, alternate-source opportunities, and supplier-performance improvements.
Escalate higher-risk or nonstandard issues with a clear analysis and recommended course of action.

What Success Looks Like

During your first several months, you will learn Mr. Steam’s products, materials, suppliers, ERP/MRP processes, purchasing routines, inventory practices, cycle-count procedures, quality processes, and internal operating workflows.

Required Qualifications

Candidates should be able to demonstrate:

Direct supplier communication and relationship ownership.
Personal responsibility for RFQs, quotation comparisons, or routine negotiations.
Experience negotiating or resolving pricing, delivery, lead-time, minimum-order-quantity, expedite, terms, or supplier-recovery matters.
An understanding of how demand, inventory, lead times, open purchase orders, and supplier commitments influence purchasing decisions.
Ownership of supplier or material issues from identification through follow-up and closure.
The ability to act independently on routine matters.
The judgment to recognize when higher-risk matters require escalation.
The ability to summarize an issue, complete the necessary analysis, and recommend a course of action.
Willingness to work fully onsite in Long Island City.
Willingness to participate in hands-on inventory, RMA, quality, warehouse, and production-support activities.

Preferred Qualifications

The following experience would be helpful:

Approximately three to five years of relevant buying, procurement, buyer/planner, materials, or closely related experience.
Purchasing experience in manufacturing or a manufacturing-adjacent environment.
Experience with electrical components, controls, HVAC, plumbing, building products, metals, fabrication, industrial equipment, durable goods, contracting, or another complex material environment.
Experience using ERP or MRP systems.
Inventory-control and cycle-count experience.
Experience with RMAs, supplier quality, corrective actions, returns, rework, replacement materials, and credits.
Cost-savings or cost-avoidance experience.
Alternate-source identification or supplier-sourcing experience.
Experience working with overseas suppliers or extended lead-time materials.
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.