Procurement Lead

Jobtailor; California (MO); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Baseten is seeking an experienced procurement leader to design and implement our first company-wide procurement framework. You will drive policy, governance, and scalable processes across requisitions, approvals, and vendor onboarding for a high-growth tech environment.

You will build cross-functional partnerships with Legal, Security, Compliance, IT, and Finance to manage risk, drive strategic sourcing, and ensure audit readiness. The role requires in-person work in SF or NYC 3+ days weekly.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive procurement experience.
• Experience building or maturing a procurement function at a high-growth technology company.
• Proven experience designing procurement processes, policies, and systems from the ground up.
• Experience running RFPs and vendor selection processes for business stakeholders.
• Experience with strategic sourcing and vendor contract negotiation across multiple spend categories.
• Experience partnering with Security, Compliance, and Legal on vendor risk assessments.
• Comfortable operating with ambiguity and building structure where none exists.
• Strong cross-functional partnership skills with Finance, Legal, Security, Compliance, IT, and business owners.
• Based in San Francisco or New York, with the ability to work in-person 3+ days per week.
• Bonus: Experience with modern procurement and spend management platforms with AI-enabled functionalities.
• Bonus: Experience operating in a high-growth business.
• Bonus: Familiarity with SOX controls and audit requirements related to procurement.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement Baseten's first company-wide procurement process, approval routing, and workflows.
• Establish procurement policies covering spend thresholds, approval authority, and competitive bidding requirements.
• Design scalable purchasing processes and define procurement's operating model and roadmap.
• Build procurement workflows in the existing P2P platform, including requisitions, approvals, and purchase orders.
• Build reporting and visibility into company-wide spend by category, vendor, and department.
• Own vendor onboarding, due diligence, and risk assessment.
• Lead or support strategic sourcing, RFPs, and contract negotiations.
• Build a vendor management framework covering performance, risk, and renewals.
• Partner with Legal, Security, Compliance, IT, Finance, and business owners on purchasing workflows and vendor selection.
• Establish procurement controls supporting audit readiness, SOX compliance, security, and data privacy requirements.

Skills

Procurement Process

Approval Routing

Competitive Bidding

Vendor Onboarding

Risk Assessment

Spend Management

Audit Readiness

Data Privacy

Policy Development

Performance Management

Tools

P2P Platform

Procurement Software

Spend Management Platforms

Job description

• Design and implement Baseten's first company-wide procurement process, approval routing, and workflows
• Establish procurement policies covering spend thresholds, approval authority, and competitive bidding requirements
• Design scalable purchasing processes and define procurement's operating model and roadmap
• Build procurement workflows in the existing P2P platform, including requisitions, approvals, and purchase orders
• Build reporting and visibility into company-wide spend by category, vendor, and department
• Own vendor onboarding, due diligence, and risk assessment
• Lead or support strategic sourcing, RFPs, and contract negotiations
• Build a vendor management framework covering performance, risk, and renewals
• Partner with Legal, Security, Compliance, IT, Finance, and business owners on purchasing workflows and vendor selection
• Establish procurement controls supporting audit readiness, SOX compliance, security, and data privacy requirements

Requirements

• 8+ years of progressive procurement experience
• Experience building or significantly maturing a procurement function at a high-growth technology company
• Proven experience designing procurement processes, policies, and systems from the ground up
• Experience running RFPs and vendor selection processes for business stakeholders
• Experience with strategic sourcing and vendor contract negotiation across multiple spend categories
• Experience partnering with Security, Compliance, and Legal on vendor risk assessments
• Comfortable operating with significant ambiguity and building structure where none exists
• Strong cross-functional partnership skills with Finance, Legal, Security, Compliance, IT, and business owners
• Based in San Francisco or New York, with the ability to work in-person 3+ days per week
• Bonus: Experience with modern procurement and spend management platforms with AI-enabled functionalities
• Bonus: Experience operating in a high-growth business
• Bonus: Familiarity with SOX controls and audit requirements related to procurement

Core Competencies

Demonstrates extensive experience in designing and implementing procurement processes, policies, and systems, with a strong focus on strategic sourcing, vendor management, and compliance. Proven ability to partner cross-functionally with Legal, Security, Compliance, and Finance to ensure effective procurement operations and risk assessments.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• Procurement Process Design
• Strategic Sourcing
• Vendor Contract Negotiation
• RFP Management
• SOX Compliance

ATS Optimization Keywords

Hard Skills

• Procurement Process
• Approval Routing
• Competitive Bidding
• Vendor Onboarding
• Risk Assessment
• Spend Management
• Audit Readiness
• Data Privacy
• Policy Development
• Performance Management

Soft Skills

• Cross-Functional Partnership
• Adaptability
• Leadership

Industry Keywords

• High-Growth Technology
• Vendor Management Framework
• Audit Requirements
• Compliance
• Security

Tools & Technologies

• P2P Platform
• Procurement Software
• Spend Management Platforms