Purchasing Specialist

North-Shore-Steel; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

North Shore Steel is seeking a driven Purchasing Specialist to secure steel materials and MRO supplies, balancing availability, cost, and service across the supply chain. You will analyze market conditions, negotiate with mills and distributors, and collaborate with sales, production, and logistics to optimize inventory and costs.

The role emphasizes market intelligence, supplier relationships, and operational decision-making to support profitability and procurement excellence in a dynamic steel

Qualifications

• 0–3 years of experience in purchasing, procurement, inventory management, supply chain, steel distribution, manufacturing, or a related field.
• Associate’s or bachelor’s degree preferred.
• Exposure to steel, metals, manufacturing, industrial distribution, or commodity purchasing is strongly preferred.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to evaluate pricing, inventory, market information, and supplier performance.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to develop effective supplier and internal business relationships.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced operational environment.
• Demonstrated ability to take ownership of projects and follow initiatives through completion.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel; experience working within an ERP or purchasing system is preferred.
• Interest in developing deeper knowledge of steel commodities, sourcing strategy, supplier negotiations, and inventory management.

Responsibilities

• Manage purchasing activities for assigned steel commodities and MRO categories, from identifying requirements and sourcing suppliers through negotiation and purchase execution.
• Build and maintain productive relationships with steel mills, service centers, distributors, and MRO suppliers to support competitive pricing, quality, availability, and service.
• Monitor steel market conditions, including plate, sheet, HRC, scrap, freight, mill lead times, and import activity, and translate market movement into actionable purchasing insights.
• Partner with sales, production, maintenance, warehouse, logistics, and operations teams to anticipate material requirements and maintain appropriate inventory levels.
• Analyze purchasing history, inventory position, supplier performance, business demand, and market trends to support sourcing and inventory decisions.
• Identify opportunities to reduce cost, improve supplier terms, optimize inventory, and strengthen procurement processes.
• Support supplier negotiations involving pricing, rebates, freight, payment terms, lead times, availability, and service expectations.
• Evaluate supplier performance and help resolve delivery delays, shortages, quality concerns, invoice discrepancies, and other supply-related issues.
• Maintain accurate purchasing, pricing, supplier, contract, and inventory information within company ERP systems.
• Collaborate with Quality, Finance, Receiving, Logistics, Production, and other Purchasing team members to ensure procurement activities support broader company objectives.
• Support inventory reconciliation and optimization initiatives while maintaining appropriate material availability for the business.
• Ensure purchasing activities and documentation comply with company policies and applicable industry and regulatory requirements.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Organized

Commercial awareness

Data literacy

Negotiation

Communication

Time management

Education

Associate’s degree

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Excel

ERP system

Microsoft Office

Job description

Purchasing Specialist

North Shore Steel is seeking a driven and commercially minded Purchasing Specialist to join our team. This role plays an important part in ensuring our operations have the right materials, at the right time, at the right cost, while helping the business navigate a dynamic steel and supply market.

The Purchasing Specialist will support the sourcing and procurement of both direct steel materials and indirect MRO supplies, working closely with suppliers and internal operations to balance material availability, inventory investment, cost, and service.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone who enjoys combining market intelligence, supplier relationships, negotiation, analytics, and operational decision-making. The successful candidate will develop a strong understanding of steel commodities, including plate, sheet, hot rolled coil (HRC), and structural products, and use that knowledge to support purchasing decisions that directly impact operational performance and company profitability.

What You’ll Do

• Manage purchasing activities for assigned steel commodities and MRO categories, from identifying requirements and sourcing suppliers through negotiation and purchase execution.
• Build and maintain productive relationships with steel mills, service centers, distributors, and MRO suppliers to support competitive pricing, quality, availability, and service.
• Monitor steel market conditions, including plate, sheet, HRC, scrap, freight, mill lead times, and import activity, and translate market movement into actionable purchasing insights.
• Partner with sales, production, maintenance, warehouse, logistics, and operations teams to anticipate material requirements and maintain appropriate inventory levels.
• Analyze purchasing history, inventory position, supplier performance, business demand, and market trends to support sourcing and inventory decisions.
• Identify opportunities to reduce cost, improve supplier terms, optimize inventory, and strengthen procurement processes.
• Support supplier negotiations involving pricing, rebates, freight, payment terms, lead times, availability, and service expectations.
• Evaluate supplier performance and help resolve delivery delays, shortages, quality concerns, invoice discrepancies, and other supply-related issues.
• Maintain accurate purchasing, pricing, supplier, contract, and inventory information within company ERP systems.
• Collaborate with Quality, Finance, Receiving, Logistics, Production, and other Purchasing team members to ensure procurement activities support broader company objectives.
• Support inventory reconciliation and optimization initiatives while maintaining appropriate material availability for the business.
• Ensure purchasing activities and documentation comply with company policies and applicable industry and regulatory requirements.

What We’re Looking For

We are looking for someone who is analytical, curious, organized, and commercially aware. You should be comfortable working with data while also building relationships and communicating across multiple areas of the business.

Qualifications

• 0–3 years of experience in purchasing, procurement, inventory management, supply chain, steel distribution, manufacturing, or a related field.
• Associate’s or bachelor’s degree preferred.
• Exposure to steel, metals, manufacturing, industrial distribution, or commodity purchasing is strongly preferred.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to evaluate pricing, inventory, market information, and supplier performance.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to develop effective supplier and internal business relationships.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced operational environment.
• Demonstrated ability to take ownership of projects and follow initiatives through completion.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel; experience working within an ERP or purchasing system is preferred.
• Interest in developing deeper knowledge of steel commodities, sourcing strategy, supplier negotiations, and inventory management.

Why This Role Matters

Purchasing at North Shore Steel goes beyond issuing purchase orders. The team helps determine what we buy, when we buy it, who we buy it from, and how those decisions affect inventory, operations, customer service, and profitability.

For someone looking to build a career in strategic purchasing within the steel industry, this position provides meaningful exposure to commodity markets, supplier negotiations, inventory strategy, operational decision-making, and the commercial side of the business.