Senior Buyer

Kagwerks; Vancouver (WA); On-site; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

15 days PTO per year

Federal holidays observed

401k with employer match

Employee Assistance Program

Flexible core hours

Job summary

Kägwerks in the United States is seeking a Senior Buyer to manage procurement for critical materials and services supporting manufacturing. You will maintain ERP/MRP data, manage purchase orders, and secure reliable supplier commitments to meet customer timelines.

You will collaborate with Production, Planning, Engineering, and Quality to optimize inventory, reduce risk, and push cost reductions while upholding ethical and quality standards across the supply chain.

Qualifications

• Minimum 3-5 years purchasing experience in manufacturing.
• Proficiency in ERP/MRP and purchasing systems.
• Experience conducting RFQs and negotiating supplier pricing/terms.
• Ability to interpret engineering drawings and BOMs.
• Strong MS Office skills (Excel, Outlook, Teams) and data analysis.
• Excellent organizational and communication skills.
• Knowledge of purchasing, inventory management and supply-chain best practices.
• CPSM, CPIM, CSCP or similar certification preferred.

Responsibilities

• Manage procurement of materials, commodities, suppliers, and services to support production and inventory needs.
• Create and manage purchase orders; maintain ERP/MRP data including pricing, quantities, lead times and deliveries.
• Monitor open POs and resolve shortages, late deliveries, pricing issues, and other supply risks.
• Conduct RFQs, evaluate quotations, and negotiate lead times, MOQs, terms.
• Monitor supplier performance across delivery, quality, cost, and responsiveness; drive corrective actions.
• Collaborate with Production, Planning, Engineering, and Quality on changes and new product introductions.
• Identify supply risks and implement mitigation strategies including alternate sourcing.
• Identify cost-reduction and procurement process improvements.
• Support inventory optimization through appropriate purchasing quantities and timing.
• Execute purchasing activities per procedures, contracts, and QMS requirements.
• Support continuous improvement of purchasing processes and QMS changes as assigned.
• Track and report purchasing KPIs; maintain MRP understanding and BOM requirements.

Skills

ERP/MRP proficiency

RFQ negotiation

Engineering drawings interpretation

Data analysis (Excel)

Communication & time management

Supply chain best practices

Education

Bachelor's in supply chain, manufacturing, or related

Tools

ERP/MRP software

Microsoft Excel

Supplier management software

Job description

About The Role

Join Kägwerks, a global technology business experiencing significant growth and developing advanced communications products for some of the world’s most demanding environments. As a Senior Buyer you’ll play a key role in shaping the next generation of Kägwerks’ high-tech military communications products, leading the architecture and technical direction of complex electronic and embedded systems. This is a high-impact opportunity to combine deep technical expertise with real influence over future products, technology roadmaps and engineering capability.

Job Summary

The Senior Buyer manages procurement activities for assigned commodities, suppliers, materials, and services to support manufacturing requirements, inventory objectives, and customer commitments. The role is responsible for accurate ERP/MRP execution, purchase order management, supplier commitments, and purchasing data integrity. The Senior Buyer independently manages supplier relationships and collaborates with Production, Planning, Engineering, and Quality to maintain material availability, mitigate supply risk, improve supplier performance, and support cost and operational objectives.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage procurement of assigned materials, commodities, suppliers, and services to support production requirements, inventory objectives, and customer commitments.
• Create and manage purchase orders and maintain accurate ERP/MRP data, including pricing, quantities, lead times, due dates, acknowledgments, reschedules, cancellations, and supplier commitments.
• Monitor open purchase orders and proactively resolve shortages, late deliveries, pricing discrepancies, quality issues, and other supply risks.
• Conduct RFQs, evaluate supplier quotations, and negotiate pricing, lead times, minimum order quantities, payment terms, and other commercial conditions.
• Monitor supplier performance across delivery, quality, cost, and responsiveness; lead supplier follow-up, escalation, and corrective actions as appropriate.
• Partner with Production, Planning, Engineering, and Quality on manufacturing requirements, engineering changes, new product introductions, supplier qualification, and nonconforming material issues.
• Identify supply risks and implement mitigation strategies, including alternate sourcing, supplier escalation, rescheduling, and inventory actions.
• Identify and execute cost-reduction, cost-avoidance, lead-time reduction, and procurement process improvement opportunities.
• Support inventory optimization through appropriate purchasing quantities, order timing, supplier commitments, and management of excess or at-risk inventory.
• Execute purchasing activities in accordance with approved procedures, contractual requirements, company policies, ethical standards, and the company's Quality Management System (QMS).
• Support continuous improvement of purchasing processes and participate in associated QMS change-control activities as assigned.
• Track and report purchasing KPIs and maintain working knowledge of manufacturing processes, Bills of Materials (BOMs), engineering requirements, and supply-chain constraints.

Qualifications

• Minimum 3-5 years of purchasing or procurement experience, preferably in a manufacturing environment, with experience independently managing suppliers, purchase orders, and supply issues.
• Proficiency in ERP/MRP and purchasing systems, with demonstrated attention to data accuracy and transactional discipline.
• Experience conducting RFQs, evaluating quotations, and negotiating supplier pricing and terms.
• Ability to interpret engineering drawings, Bills of Materials (BOMs), specifications, and related technical documentation.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, Outlook, and Teams, with the ability to analyze purchasing and supplier-performance data.
• Strong organizational, analytical, problem-solving, communication, and time-management skills with the ability to manage competing priorities and time-sensitive supply issues.
• Working knowledge of purchasing, inventory management, supplier management, and supply-chain best practices.
• CPSM, CPIM, CSCP, or similar supply-chain certification preferred.

Benefits And Culture

• Our staff receive 15 days accrued paid time off per year, 10 Federal holidays, an opportunity to join our sponsored health plan, a generous 401k plan with immediate vesting and a matching employer contribution, an Employee Assistance Program, and more.
• Additionally, we offer flexible core working hours and we take a personal approach to training and development.