Senior Buyer Direct Materials for Automotive Manufacturing

Plastic Omnium SA; Elkhart (IN); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

OPmobility is seeking a Senior Buyer to support direct-material purchasing and production suppliers at our Elkhart manufacturing site. This hands-on, plant-facing role emphasizes supplier ownership and cost-improvement initiatives that directly affect production.

You will manage PO creation, lead-times, and supplier data in SAP, while collaborating with Planning, Production, Engineering, Quality, and Finance to ensure material availability and continuity.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of purchasing or supply-chain experience in manufacturing.
• Experience managing suppliers and negotiating commercial agreements.
• SAP or comparable ERP purchasing experience.
• Strong Excel, analytical, organization, and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage purchasing activities for assigned direct materials, commodities, and production suppliers.
• Create and maintain purchase orders, pricing, lead times, and supplier data in SAP.
• Monitor deliveries, forecasts, and supplier commitments to prevent shortages and production disruptions.
• Lead supplier recovery and escalation efforts when material or capacity issues arise.
• Manage supplier performance across cost, quality, delivery, capacity, and responsiveness.
• Issue RFQs, evaluate supplier proposals, and negotiate pricing, terms, and commercial conditions.
• Identify cost-reduction, localization, and supplier-improvement opportunities.
• Support engineering changes, inventory objectives, and supplier APQP/PPAP activities as needed.

Skills

Purchasing experience

Supplier negotiations

Cross-functional collaboration

Analytical skills

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Finance, Engineering, or related field

Tools

SAP

ERP systems

Job description

OPmobility is seeking a Senior Buyer to support direct-material purchasing and production suppliers at our Elkhart manufacturing site. This hands-on, plant-facing role emphasizes supplier ownership and cost-improvement initiatives that directly affect production.

You will manage PO creation, lead-times, and supplier data in SAP, while collaborating with Planning, Production, Engineering, Quality, and Finance to ensure material availability and continuity.