Procurement Specialist

Plasmidsaurus; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Plasmidsaurus is building a first-in-class procurement function to support rapid growth across US and international labs. You’ll establish streamlined vendor evaluation, negotiation, and renewal processes that unlock cost savings, reduce risk, and provide visibility into spend with a scalable model.

The role emphasizes cross-functional collaboration with Finance, Operations, and the Labs teams to standardize purchasing, manage POs, and secure high-value contracts that accelerate research

Qualifications

• 4–7 years in procurement, supply chain, lab operations, or a related function.
• Growth-stage biotech, genomics, CRO/CDMO background strongly preferred.
• Bachelor's degree required; science background strongly preferred.
• Vendor negotiation and contract management experience.
• Understanding of life science reagent and consumable supply chains — manufacturers, distributors, GPO programs.
• Procurement software and PO workflow management experience.
• Basic financial literacy: budget tracking, invoice reconciliation, cost-per-unit analysis.
• Comfortable reading and redlining vendor contracts and NDAs.

Responsibilities

• Work vendor and subscription contracts, from initial purchases through renewals.
• Lead or support negotiations, bringing consistent tactics to how the company negotiates.
• Set up primary and backup preferred vendors for high-use consumable categories, consolidating across US and international labs.
• Put a vendor vetting process in place, with preferred backup lists for high-value categories.
• Spot supply chain risks early and put mitigation plans in place.

Skills

Vendor negotiation

Contract management

Spend analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

Process improvement

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Procurement software

PO workflow management

Contract management systems

Job description

Plasmidsaurus is on a mission to accelerate new cures and promote a healthier planet by unlocking a new level of productivity for scientists. Our sequencing services are used daily by thousands of innovators, including Nobel laureates, Fortune 100 pharma, and over 70,000 scientists.

We began by revolutionizing plasmid sequencing, making it exponentially cheaper and faster, with innovative sequencing technologies and a global network of laboratories that turn samples into answers in hours, not weeks.

Now we are expanding that same disruptive model across all of genomics. With the launch of our new RNA-seq service, we are taking a bold step toward our vision to sequence everything, providing scientists everywhere with faster, simpler, and more affordable access to the data that powers discovery.

Every team member at Plasmidsaurus plays a crucial role in driving the future of biotech research. Together, we are building the world’s most efficient sequencing engine that operates overnight, scales globally, and helps scientists make breakthroughs faster than ever before.

Role Overview

As Plasmidsaurus grows, procurement becomes more than placing orders, it becomes a competitive advantage. We're hiring the first Procurement Specialist to build it.

As the company’s first Procurement Specialist, you’ll establish a procurement function at Plasmidsaurus that improves outcomes on our vendor and partner contracts company wide through stronger negotiation, consistent renewal management, and a clear vendor vetting process. Your mission will be to build the lightweight processes that give teams what they need, when they need it, while creating visibility into spend, reducing supply chain risk, and ensuring procurement enables growth instead of slowing it down.

Departments and teams continue to own vendor selection and day-to-day vendor relationships; you’ll add a layer of expertise, consistency, and leverage on top of that, focused on high-value contracts and negotiations across the company.

What You’ll Do

• Work vendor and subscription contracts, from initial purchases through renewals.
• Lead or support negotiations, bringing consistent tactics to how the company negotiates
• Set up primary and backup preferred vendors for high-use consumable categories, consolidating across US and international labs.
• Put a vendor vetting process in place, with preferred backup lists for high-value categories.
• Spot supply chain risks early and put mitigation plans in place.

Process & Tools

Build and maintain the contract/renewal calendar

• Formalize vendor evaluation, set reorder thresholds and approval workflows, and create spend visibility across sites.
• Design reorder and approval steps that reduce friction for lab teams.
• Maintain a contract and renewal tracking system.
• Work procurement/purchasing software, coordinating with the Automation Team and labs, on inventory and reorder tracking.
• Keep vendor contracts and sourcing documentation up to date.

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Work with Finance on payment terms, budgets, PO systems, and cost-savings targets.
• Work with Operations and the Labs to manage the vendor contracts that lab personnel and site managers rely on, and help set up the process behind inventory, ordering, replenishment, and maintenance schedules- sites keep ownership of day-to-day inventory and relationships.
• Support senior leadership on major purchases and vendor decisions.

What Success Looks Like

The First Three Months

There's a documented intake process with thresholds in place, so requests don't rely on informal asks. All active vendor contracts are inventoried, with renewal dates and key terms captured in one place.

Within Six Months

A vendor vetting process and preferred/backup vendor list cover the top 80% of spend categories. The highest-value renewals and opportunities, major subscriptions, payment processing terms, key partner agreements, are identified and in motion, with enough lead time to negotiate as deadlines approach.

Within One Year

Procurement is producing measurable results: cost savings in the 10–15% range across priority vendor and subscription relationships, driven by renegotiation, consolidation, or smarter purchasing. Emergency and last-minute purchases have measurably decreased year-over-year, Lab Managers spend less time on purchase-related tasks, and inventory stays above established minimums. The vendor vetting process is in use company-wide, and department leaders are confident bringing new vendor decisions through it. Ordering is easy and predictable for site managers, inventory and procurement work as one integrated system, vendors are responsive and proactive, and Finance has clear visibility into spend.

What You’ll Bring

• 4–7 years in procurement, supply chain, lab operations, or a related function.
• Growth-stage biotech, genomics, or CRO/CDMO background strongly preferred.
• Bachelor's degree required; science background (biology, chemistry, or related) strongly preferred.
• Vendor negotiation and contract management experience.
• Understanding of life science reagent and consumable supply chains — manufacturers, distributors, GPO programs.
• Procurement software and PO workflow management experience.
• Basic financial literacy: budget tracking, invoice reconciliation, cost-per-unit analysis.
• Comfortable reading and redlining vendor contracts and NDAs.

Ways of Working

Build. You build process from scratch. Comfortable writing the SOP, setting up the tracking sheet, and making the vendor call, all in the same week.

Own. You manage open POs, renewals, approvals, and sourcing projects simultaneously without losing attention to detail. You're equally comfortable negotiating a contract, redesigning a purchasing workflow, or digging into spend data to find the next opportunity. You know when a problem needs escalation (budget overruns, sole-source risks, quality issues) and when it just needs good judgment and decisive action.

Move. Fast and responsive, because you understand procurement delays have real downstream consequences for lab operations.

Participate. You translate lab manager and scientist technical needs into clear vendor requirements and purchasing specs- working across Finance, Engineering, Partnerships, Ops, and Site Managers to get it right.

Inspire. A strong negotiator who builds durable vendor relationships, making procurement a function people want to work with.

Location

Remote-friendly. Preferred hubs: San Francisco, San Diego, or Los Angeles, CA; Eugene, OR; Seattle, WA; Louisville, KY; Boston, MA.

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. If you need additional accommodations to feel comfortable during your interview process, please let us know at [e-mail].