Senior Hardware Buyer

Proton; Paris; Hybride; EUR 70 000 - 100 000; Plein temps

Avantages offerts par ce poste

Lunch and snacks provided

Support for public transport and bike allowances

Flexible working hours

Comprehensive health insurance plans

Stock options available

Learning and development opportunities

Résumé du poste

Proton seeks a Senior Hardware Buyer in Paris to lead hardware sourcing strategies for its infrastructure. You will negotiate with vendors, manage supplier relationships, and optimize procurement processes to support rapid growth. The ideal candidate has expertise in hardware procurement, strong negotiation skills, and a track record of scaling processes in high-growth environments. Benefits include stock options, employee perks like lunch, and opportunities for professional development.

Qualifications

• Proven track record of direct negotiation and contracting with hardware suppliers.
• Demonstrated success in scaling hardware procurement processes in high-growth companies.
• Ability to analyse market trends to make proactive purchasing decisions.

Responsabilités

• Lead end-to-end negotiations with various hardware vendors.
• Build a diversified supplier network to mitigate risks.
• Collaborate with teams to define hardware specifications.

Connaissances

Direct sourcing expertise

Scale-up experience

Negotiation mastery

Data-driven decision making

Strong ownership mindset

Communication skills

Description du poste

Purpose of the role

We are looking for a Senior Hardware buyer to lead the hardware sourcing strategy for Proton’s infrastructure, with a focus on compute, storage and network equipment. You will build and scale a procurement function that enables low lead time, high agility, and low CAPEX cost, while ensuring Proton stays ahead of market shifts in component availability, vendor strategy, and technology evolution.

This role is both strategic and hands‑on. You will own key supplier relationships, drive critical negotiations, and establish a new procurement and support model that supports rapid growth without adding unnecessary complexity.

What you will do

• Strategic sourcing & negotiation: Lead end‑to‑end negotiations with ODMs, OEMs, white‑box suppliers, Tier‑1 semiconductor and hardware vendors. Secure volume discounts, favorable terms and conditions, and priority capacity allocation during market shortages.
• Supply chain resilience: Build a robust, diversified supplier network to mitigate geopolitical and logistical risks. In partnership with the Infrastructure team, develop contingency plans for critical components to ensure uninterrupted operations.
• Vendor relationship management: Move beyond transactional interactions to build deep, strategic partnerships at senior vendor level. Act as the primary liaison between Proton’s engineering needs and vendor roadmaps.
• Process optimisation: Audit and overhaul existing procurement workflows. Implement data‑driven models on cost, availability and quality to optimise purchasing efficiency and velocity.
• Cross‑functional leadership: Collaborate closely with Engineering, Finance, and Legal teams to define hardware specifications, validate technical requirements, and ensure compliance with Proton’s processes and strict security and privacy standards.

We need you to have

• Direct sourcing expertise: Proven track record of direct negotiation and contracting not only with ODMs, OEMs and white‑box infrastructure suppliers but also with memory, CPU, RAM and drive manufacturers. Understand wafer capacity, yield rates and lead times.
• Scale‑up experience: Demonstrated success in scaling hardware procurement processes and teams for high‑growth technology companies, managing orders ranging from $1M to $100M+.
• Negotiation mastery: A reputation for closing complex deals under pressure. Comfortable challenging vendors on pricing and terms to achieve the best possible outcome for Proton.
• Data‑driven decision making: Ability to analyse market trends, pricing indices and inventory levels to make strategic proactive purchasing decisions.
• Strong ownership mindset: Treat every dollar spent as your own. Take full responsibility for procurement outcomes and refuse “that’s how it’s always been done.”
• Communication skills: Exceptional ability to translate technical hardware and market constraints into business value for executive stakeholders.

Bonus Points For

• OCP (Open Compute Project) knowledge: Deep familiarity with OCP specifications, ecosystem partners and the ability to leverage OCP standards for custom hardware solutions.
• Security‑centric procurement: Familiarity with supply‑chain security for procurement of privacy‑focused, security‑sensitive distributed infrastructure environments.
• Data centre infrastructure background: Experience with large‑to‑hyperscale data centre deployments or colocation provider negotiations (e.g., Equinix, Digital Realty).
• Global logistics experience: Familiarity with international trade compliance, customs and logistics for hardware shipments across EU, US and APAC regions.

What We Offer

• Office First: Collaboration is easier and more effective in person. Offices are located in Geneva, Zurich, Prague, Barcelona, Paris, London, Vilnius, Skopje and Taipei. You can also work from home up to 30% of the time and enjoy great company during our three core days in the office.
• Technology: We provide all devices and software you need to excel in your role, ensuring you have the best tools at your disposal.
• Food: Lunch and snacks are provided by Proton every day at our offices.
• Transport: Support for public transport, bike allowances or parking spaces is provided based on your office location.
• Stock Options: As a Proton employee, you receive stock options when you join.
• Flexible Working: Define your own working hours as long as they align with team meetings.
• Learning and Development: Commitment to professional growth through training programs, conferences and continuous learning opportunities.
• Employee Benefits: Comprehensive health insurance plans, competitive retirement savings options, generous vacation and leave policies, and wellness programmes.
• Work that Matters: Proton is a community‑first organisation that relies solely on user subscriptions. Over 100 million people trust and support Proton, and we put our users and community first in everything we do.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

At Proton, we believe diversity drives innovation and strengthens our mission to provide privacy as a default for all. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where all individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, physical ability or socio‑economic background, feel valued and empowered. We strive to create equal opportunities, promote open dialogue and support continuous learning to ensure every voice is heard and respected.

Candidate Privacy Notice

When you apply for a position, your information is stored in Greenhouse in accordance with their Service Privacy Policy. It is used to evaluate your suitability for the posted position and retained for consideration for future roles that may align with your background and skills. If we no longer have a legitimate business need to process your information, we will delete or anonymise it. For inquiries about how we use your information, or to access, correct or delete your data, please contact our privacy team at [e-mail]. Proton does not accept unsolicited resumes from any sources other than directly from candidates and will not pay a fee for any placement resulting from an unsolicited offer, even if the candidate is subsequently hired. To learn more about our privacy policy, please visit our privacy policy page.