Buyer II

San Diego Stealth Startup; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 92,000 - 104,000; Full time

Job summary

San Diego Stealth Startup in San Diego, CA is seeking a detail-oriented Buyer II to manage direct and indirect purchasing across R&D and operations. The role covers procure-to-pay lifecycle, supplier negotiations, and maintaining accurate purchasing data.

The ideal candidate has 3+ years in biotech or life sciences procurement, strong Excel and ERP skills, and excellent stakeholder communication. On-site role offering competitive compensation and growth opportunities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required.
• 3+ years’ experience in purchasing, procurement, or supply chain (biotech or life sciences preferred).
• Experience with ERP/MRP or purchasing systems, including purchase order management, planning parameters, item/vendor master data, and replenishment methods.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including data analysis, lookups, pivot tables, and reporting.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills with internal and external partners.
• Strong organizational and decision-making skills, with the ability to independently prioritize multiple competing demands in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to use data to identify supply risks, purchasing trends, and process improvement opportunities.

Responsibilities

• Manage day-to-day purchasing activities for direct and indirect materials, supporting business operations and project requirements.
• Create and manage purchase orders through delivery, including supplier confirmations, delivery-date maintenance, open-order management, and expediting to ensure timely material availability.
• Conduct RFQs, evaluate supplier quotations, and negotiate pricing, lead times, minimum order quantities, freight, payment terms, and other commercial conditions.
• Manage relationships with assigned suppliers, including supplier performance, delivery, quality, responsiveness, pricing, and resolution of supply issues.
• Identify supply risks, including long lead times, sole-source materials, capacity constraints, and supplier performance issues, and develop mitigation plans in partnership with internal stakeholders.
• Support procurement of laboratory supplies, chemicals, reagents, consumables, equipment, and other R&D materials while ensuring purchasing requirements align with applicable internal quality, safety, and documentation requirements.
• Establish and maintain inventory replenishment programs, including Kanban, reorder point, and vendor-managed inventory (VMI), to improve material availability and purchasing efficiency.
• Partner with Accounts Payable and Warehouse to resolve procure-to-pay issues, including invoice discrepancies, receiving discrepancies, overages, shortages, and damaged shipments.
• Handle new supplier setup and related procurement documentation.
• Contribute to the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of procurement and materials management policies, procedures, systems, and standard work.

Skills

Communication skills

Organizational skills

Analytical skills

Problem-solving

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor’s degree in related field

Tools

ERP/MRP systems

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Location: San Diego, CA

Job Type: Full-Time

Salary: $92,000 - $104,000

Position Overview:

We are seeking a detail-oriented and proactive Buyer II to support our rapidly growing organization. The Buyer II will independently manage purchasing activities across direct and indirect materials, with significant support for R&D, laboratory operations, and business operations.

This role manages procurement activities throughout the procure-to-pay lifecycle, including sourcing, supplier selection, purchase order management, expediting, supplier performance, receiving discrepancies, and invoice resolution. The Buyer II will work closely with internal stakeholders and suppliers to ensure material availability, resolve supply issues, manage cost and lead-time considerations, and maintain accurate purchasing data.

In addition to day-to-day purchasing, this role will help scale our procurement and materials management capabilities by developing replenishment programs, improving purchasing processes, identifying supply risks, and implementing standard work. Experience purchasing chemicals, reagents, laboratory supplies, or other scientific materials in a biotech or life sciences environment is preferred but not required.

Responsibilities:

• Manage day-to-day purchasing activities for direct and indirect materials, supporting business operations and project requirements.
• Create and manage purchase orders through delivery, including supplier confirmations, delivery-date maintenance, open-order management, and expediting to ensure timely material availability.
• Conduct RFQs, evaluate supplier quotations, and negotiate pricing, lead times, minimum order quantities, freight, payment terms, and other commercial conditions.
• Manage relationships with assigned suppliers, including supplier performance, delivery, quality, responsiveness, pricing, and resolution of supply issues.
• Identify supply risks, including long lead times, sole-source materials, capacity constraints, and supplier performance issues, and develop mitigation plans in partnership with internal stakeholders.
• Support procurement of laboratory supplies, chemicals, reagents, consumables, equipment, and other R&D materials while ensuring purchasing requirements align with applicable internal quality, safety, and documentation requirements.
• Establish and maintain inventory replenishment programs, including Kanban, reorder point, and vendor-managed inventory (VMI), to improve material availability and purchasing efficiency.
• Partner with Accounts Payable and Warehouse to resolve procure-to-pay issues, including invoice discrepancies, receiving discrepancies, overages, shortages, and damaged shipments.
• Handle new supplier setup and related procurement documentation.
• Contribute to the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of procurement and materials management policies, procedures, systems, and standard work.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in related field preferred or equivalent experience.
• 3+ years’ experience in purchasing, procurement, or supply chain (biotech or life sciences preferred)
• Experience with ERP/MRP or purchasing systems, including purchase order management, planning parameters, item/vendor master data, and replenishment methods.
• Experience evaluating supplier quotations, negotiating commercial terms, and managing supplier relationships and performance.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including data analysis, lookups, pivot tables, and reporting.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills with internal and external partners.
• Strong organizational and decision-making skills, with the ability to independently prioritize multiple competing demands in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to use data to identify supply risks, purchasing trends, and process improvement opportunities.
• Ability to analyze data, identify process improvement opportunities, and support continuous improvement initiatives.

We are an equal opportunity employer. We thrive on diversity and collaboration.