Purchasing Specialist

Novanta Inc.; Cambridge; Remote; GBP 42,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Novanta is seeking a Purchasing Specialist to join our Cambridge team on-site. You will manage supplier relationships, drive strategic sourcing, and ensure material availability for high-precision components across medical and industrial markets.

You will negotiate terms, optimize cost, quality, and delivery, and support new product introductions while partnering with engineering, planning, and manufacturing teams.

Qualifications

• Experience in a Purchasing/Sourcing role within manufacturing or engineering.
• Strong supplier negotiation and relationship management skills.
• Ability to analyse spend and drive cost-saving opportunities.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute sourcing strategies for electronic, mechanical, and custom components.
• Manage supplier performance and commercial terms to meet cost, quality and delivery targets.
• Lead negotiations including pricing, lead times, and service levels.
• Identify cost-reduction opportunities and drive value engineering initiatives.
• Collaborate with planning and operations to ensure material availability and inventory targets.

Skills

Negotiation

Supplier relationships

Procurement

ERP/MRP

Data analysis

Education

CIPS qualification or working towards

Tools

ERP/MRP systems

Job description

## Purchasing SpecialistApply: Newton, United Kingdom: Full time: Posted Today: R009250**Build a career powered by innovations that matter!** At Novanta, our innovations power technology products that are transforming healthcare and advanced manufacturing—improving productivity, enhancing people’s lives and redefining what’s possible. We create for our global customers engineered components and sub-systems that deliver extreme precision and performance for a range of mission-critical applications—from minimally invasive surgery to robotics to 3D metal printing.Novanta is one global team with over 26 offices located in The Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Looking for a great place to work? You have found it with a culture that embraces teamwork, collaboration and empowerment. Come explore Novanta.## Purchasing Specialist**Location: Cambridge (On-site in Newton)** ### Play a Key Role in Procurement for Advanced Technology Manufacturing At Novanta, effective procurement is fundamental to delivering the high-performance technologies our customers depend on across medical and industrial markets. As a Purchasing Specialist, you will take ownership of supplier relationships, strategic sourcing activities, and procurement performance, ensuring materials are available, competitively sourced, and aligned to business objectives. This is a varied role where you will work closely with engineering, planning, manufacturing, quality, and suppliers worldwide. You will balance cost, quality, delivery, and risk while helping to strengthen procurement processes and support business growth. ### What you will be doing:* Develop and execute sourcing strategies for electronic, mechanical, and custom-engineered components* Manage supplier relationships, performance, and commercial agreements to achieve cost, quality, and delivery objectives* Lead supplier negotiations including pricing, lead times, payment terms, and service levels* Identify opportunities for cost reduction, value engineering, and supply chain optimisation* Work closely with planning and operations teams to ensure material availability and inventory targets are achieved* Assess supply risks and implement mitigation plans to maintain continuity of supply* Support new product introductions by identifying, evaluating, and onboarding suppliers* Drive supplier performance improvements through KPI reviews and corrective action plans* Manage procurement data, contracts, pricing, and sourcing information within ERP/MRP systems* Support continuous improvement initiatives across procurement and supply chain processes ### What you will bring:* Experience in a Purchasing Specialist, Buyer, Strategic Buyer, Procurement Specialist, or Supply Chain role within a manufacturing or engineering environment* Strong commercial acumen with proven supplier negotiation and relationship management experience* Knowledge of procurement principles, sourcing methodologies, and supplier performance management* Experience purchasing technical products, components, or materials within a manufacturing setting* Ability to analyse spend, identify cost-saving opportunities, and make data-driven decisions* Familiarity with ERP/MRP systems and procurement metrics* Excellent organisational, communication, and stakeholder management skills* CIPS qualification or working towards CIPS is desirable ### Why Join Novanta?* Join a global technology company supporting healthcare and advanced manufacturing markets* Have a direct impact on supplier strategy, procurement performance, and business results* Work with innovative products, complex supply chains, and advanced manufacturing technologies* Collaborate with engineering, operations, and commercial teams across the organisation* Opportunity to develop your procurement expertise within a growing global business ### Interested?If you are a procurement professional who enjoys supplier engagement, strategic sourcing, negotiation, and delivering commercial results, we would love to hear from you. Contact **Rebecca Pelham** for a confidential discussion or apply today. We are committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process. If you require reasonable adjustments at any stage of the process, including application, interview, or assessment, please let us know. We will work with you to ensure appropriate support is in place.Novanta is proud to be an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action workplace. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, military and veteran status, disability, genetics, or any other category protected by federal law or Novanta policy.Please call [phone] if you need a disability accommodation for any part of the employment process.