PAE- Senior Buyer

Pro-Active Engineering; Town of Sun Prairie (WI); On-site; USD 90,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, vision insurance

Life insurance

Short and long-term disability

Retirement plan with company match

FSA

Paid vacation & holidays

Gain Sharing bonuses

Job summary

Pro-Active Engineering seeks a Senior Buyer to lead the purchasing team and ensure timely procurement of electronic components, PCBs, and assemblies in alignment with customer production schedules.

You will develop supplier relationships, balance inventory with cost, and drive continuous improvement across ERP/MRP processes and cross-functional teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Operations Management or related field.
• Seven+ years of purchasing experience within electronics, EMS, or PCBA contract manufacturing.
• Previous experience leading or mentoring buyers preferred.
• Strong knowledge of electronic components and global supply chains.
• Experience with MRP/ERP systems.
• Strong understanding of inventory management principles.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Outlook, PowerPoint, and Excel.

Responsibilities

• Lead the purchasing team and mentor buyers to meet production schedules.
• Procure electronic components, PCB fabrication, assemblies, mechanical components, and services.
• Review MRP recommendations and base decisions on demand, lead times, and inventory strategy.
• Monitor supplier performance and manage purchase orders, changes, and cancellations.
• Develop and maintain strategic supplier relationships and conduct business reviews.
• Negotiate pricing, terms, lead times, and long-term supply agreements.
• Balance inventory investment with customer service, monitor obsolescence and stock levels.
• Collaborate across Planning, Engineering, Manufacturing, and Accounting.
• Identify opportunities to improve purchasing efficiency and ERP/MRP processes.

Skills

Technical capacity

Coaching/mentoring

Problem solving/analysis

Negotiation

Communication

Attention to detail

Organization & prioritization

Decision making

Teamwork oriented

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Equivalent purchasing experience considered

Tools

MRP/ERP systems

MS Outlook

PowerPoint

Excel

Job description

We are seeking a Senior Buyer to serve as the lead purchasing professional within the Purchasing Department, providing daily guidance, mentoring, and technical support to the buying team while partnering closely with the Purchasing Manager. This role is responsible for ensuring the timely procurement of electronic components, bare printed circuit boards (PCB fabrication), custom mechanical components, customer-specific parts, fabricated assemblies, and outside services required to support customer production schedules.

The Senior Buyer is expected to lead by example, develop best practices, improve purchasing processes, build strong supplier relationships, and ensure material availability while balancing inventory, cost, quality, and delivery performance.

Essential Functions

Team Leadership

• Serve as the lead buyer and primary mentor for the purchasing team.
• Provide daily guidance, coaching, and training to buyers.
• Support onboarding and development of new buyers.
• Promote purchasing best practices and standardized procedures.
• Act as the Purchasing Manager's delegate during periods of absence.

Purchasing & Planning

• Procure electronic components, PCB fabrication, assemblies, mechanical components, and outside processing services.
• Review MRP recommendations and make purchasing decisions based on demand, supplier performance, lead times, and inventory strategy.
• Analyze material requirements and consolidate demand where appropriate to optimize purchasing efficiencies.
• Monitor supplier acknowledgments and ensure purchase orders support customer production schedules.
• Manage purchase order placement, confirmations, revisions, and cancellations.
• Expedite critical materials to prevent production shortages.
• Resolve material shortages and proactively identify supply chain risks.

Supplier Management

• Develop and maintain strategic supplier relationships.
• Evaluate supplier performance including:
  • On-Time Delivery
  • Quality
  • Responsiveness
  • Cost Competitiveness
• Lead supplier business reviews and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Negotiate pricing, payment terms, lead times, and long-term supply agreements.
• Identify and qualify alternate suppliers to reduce supply chain risk.
• Support supplier corrective actions with Supplier Quality.

Inventory Management

• Balance inventory investment with customer service requirements.
• Monitor excess, obsolete, and slow-moving inventory.
• Recommend inventory reduction strategies while maintaining material availability.
• Review safety stock recommendations and supplier stocking programs.
• Support cycle count investigations and inventory accuracy initiatives.

Cross Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with: Planning, Production Control, Engineering, Program Management, Manufacturing, Supplier Quality and Accounting.
• Support Engineering Change Orders (ECOs) and material transitions.
• Assist in New Product Introduction (NPI) sourcing activities.
• Participate in customer meetings related to material availability and supply chain concerns.

Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities to improve purchasing efficiency and material flow.
• Develop purchasing metrics and reporting.
• Drive supplier performance improvements.
• Support ERP/MRP process improvements.
• Recommend automation and standardization initiatives.

Competencies

• Technical Capacity
• Coaching/Mentoring
• Problem Solving/Analysis
• Negotiation Skills
• Communication & Relationship Management Skills
• Attention to Detail
• Organizational & Prioritization Skills
• Decision Making
• Teamwork Oriented

Required Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Operations Management or related field; equivalent purchasing experience may be considered in lieu of degree.
• Seven+ years of purchasing experience within electronics, EMS, or PCBA contract manufacturing,
• Previous experience leading or mentoring buyers preferred.
• Strong knowledge of electronic components and global supply chains.
• Experience with MRP/ERP systems.
• Strong understanding of inventory management principles.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Outlook, PowerPoint, and Excel.

Compensation and Benefits

Pro-Active Engineering offers a competitive wage based on experience and a generous benefits package to include health, dental, vision, life insurance, short and long-term disability, retirement plan with a company match, FSA, paid vacation, sick days, holidays and Gain Sharing bonuses.

Pro-Active Engineering is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or any other category protected by law.