Senior Buyer, Powertrain and Chassis

Australian Blue Bird Brand Pty Ltd; Troy (MI); On-site; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental & Vision insurance

401(k) matching

Job summary

Blue Bird, a leader in school buses, seeks a Senior Buyer for Powertrain & Chassis Systems to drive strategic sourcing, contract negotiations, and lifecycle management for critical powertrain and chassis components. This role ensures supply continuity, cost optimization, and supplier performance in a high‑demand manufacturing environment.

The Senior Buyer will lead cross-functional teams, manage LTAs, and work closely with engineering and operations to support new product introductions and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in supply chain, engineering, or related field.
• 7+ years of supply chain, purchasing, operations, planning, or supplier management experience.
• 3+ years strategic sourcing, commodity management, supplier management, or purchasing experience within automotive/heavy manufacturing environments; powertrain/chassis preferred.
• 3+ years leading projects, crisis management initiatives, or operational teams.
• Manufacturing experience required.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute sourcing strategies for powertrain & chassis to optimize total cost of ownership, quality, and delivery.
• Lead supplier risk & crisis management and escalation for critical components.
• Negotiate multi-million-dollar contracts and LTAs with major suppliers.
• Monitor on-time delivery and quality, lead 8D investigations and corrective actions.
• Conduct supplier capacity reviews and risk mapping for supply continuity.
• Support new product introduction and supplier transitions, including APQP/PPAP and production launches.

Skills

Powertrain knowledge

Sourcing & Negotiation

ERP & Excel skills

Crisis management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain/Engineering

Tools

SAP/Oracle/Infor ERP

Job description

Blue Bird (NASDAQ: BLBD)isrecognized as a technology leader and innovator of school buses since its founding in 1927. Our dedicated team members design,engineerand manufacture school buses with a singular focus on safety, reliability, and durability. School buses carry the most precious cargo in the world –25 million childrentwice a day – making them the most trusted mode of student transportation. The company is the proven leader in low- and zero-emission school buses with more than 25,000 propane, natural gas, and electric powered buses sold. Blue Bird is transforming the student transportation industry through cleaner energy solutions. For more information on Blue Bird’s complete product and service portfolio, visit www.blue-bird.com .

JOB SUMMARY:

Reporting to the Senior Manager,Purchasing, the Senior Buyer, Powertrain & Chassis Systemsis responsible forleading the strategic sourcing, contract negotiation, and operational lifecycle management for powertrain, chassis, and assigned heavy mechanical and structural commodities. This role serves as the primary commercial and operational owner for critical components and systems, including engine and powertrain systems, transmissions and driveline, steering, braking, suspension, axles,wheelsand tires, and assigned structural/mechanical systems. The position balances long-term cost optimization and supplier relationship management with aggressive hands‑on risk mitigation, serving as the ultimate escalation point for production shortages, supplier recovery, and supply continuity planning to ensure uninterrupted vehicle assembly.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Commodity Strategy & Sourcing: Develop and execute comprehensive sourcing strategies for the Powertrain & Chassis Systems portfolio tooptimizetotal cost of ownership (TCO), quality, and delivery.
• Supplier Risk & Crisis Management: Lead operational risk management, serve as the primary escalation point for critical chassiscomponentshortages, andestablishcross-functional crisis management teams to resolve supplier delivery failures.
• Contract & Cost Negotiation: Lead multi-million-dollarcontract negotiations, long-term agreements (LTAs), and pricing reviews with major tier-1 automotive and heavy-duty commercial vehicle suppliers.
• Supplier Performance & Technical Recovery: Monitor On-Time Delivery (OTD) and quality governance; lead 8D root-cause investigations and corrective action plans directly with supplier manufacturing plants when quality or delivery targets aremissing.
• Capacity & Vulnerability Mapping: Conduct regular supplier capacity reviews, tooling and manufacturing assessments, sub-tier dependency reviews, and vulnerability mapping to identify capacity constraints, long-lead components, and other supply continuity risks.
• Program Launch & Supplier Transition: Lead purchasing activities supporting new product introduction and supplier transition, including sourcing readiness, commercial closure, tooling, capacity validation, APQP/PPAP execution, early supplier engagement (ESI), and production launch readiness.
• Resilience Planning: Drive dual-sourcing and manufacturing contingency initiatives for high-risk, single-sourced components and systems.
• Operational Discipline: Develop KPI dashboards, manage material cost variance reporting, and mentor junior buyers and operational specialists within the purchasing team.

REQUIREDKNOWLEDGE,SKILLSAND ABILITIES:

• Strong knowledge of automotive or commercial vehicle powertrain, chassis, driveline, and/or heavy mechanical systems.
• Advanced Sourcing & Negotiation: Proventrack recordof managing high-spend portfolios, executing complex supplier agreements, and navigating raw material (steel/aluminum) indexing.
• Operational Recovery:Demonstratedexperience leading supplier recovery efforts and managing business continuity in high-pressure manufacturing environments.
• Quality & Engineering Literacy: Strong understanding of automotive quality standards, APQP, PPAP, blueprint reading, and geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T).
• Influence & Collaboration: Ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders (Engineering, Quality, Operations) without direct authority.
• Systems Proficiency: Highproficiencyin ERP systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, or Infor) and advanced Microsoft Excel data analysis capabilities.

EDUCATION ANDEXPEREINCE

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, Operations Management, or related field
• 7+ years of supply chain, purchasing, operations, planning, or supplier management experience
• 3+ years of strategic sourcing, commodity management, supplier management, or purchasing experience within automotive, commercial vehicle, heavy truck, aerospace, or similar complex manufacturing environments; powertrain or chassis commodity experience preferred.
• 3+ years leading projects, crisis management initiatives, or operational teams
• Manufacturing experiencerequired
• Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident

PREFERRED EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• MBA preferred
• Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt preferred
• APICS/ASCM certification preferred
• PMP certification preferred
• Experience leading supply chain transformation initiatives
• Experience supporting executive leadership reviews
• Automotive or commercial vehicle experience strongly preferred

WE VALUE

• Strategic thinking with operational execution capability
• Leadership during crisis situations
• Ability to influence and build relationships
• Strong analytical skills
• Strong customer and production support focus

INCLUDES

• Benefits including medical, dental and vision insurance, 14 paid holidays, vacation time and 401k matching

WORK CONDITIONS

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonableaccommodationmay be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Local travel 30%
• Office environment and production environment
• Must work in manufacturing environment with exposure to heat,coldand noise
• Fast pacedproduction area with moving objects and sheet metal
• Occasional periods of standing or sitting for extended periods of time
• Must wearappropriate PPEwhen and whererequired
• Frequent weeks working 40+ hours
• Frequent communication with people throughout the day

*The specific statements shown in each section of this description are not intended to be all-inclusive. Theyrepresenttypical elements and criteria necessary to successfully perform the job. Reasonableaccommodationsmay be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions

Blue Bird is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisionson the basis ofmerit. We strive to have the best available talent in every job based on the Knowledge,Skillsand Abilities each person brings. Blue Bird is committed to compliance with all applicable lawsprovidingequal employment opportunities. This commitment applies to allpersonsinvolved in Company operations and prohibits unlawful discrimination in all forms.

All candidates must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Candidates mustbe authorized towork in the United States and willbe requiredto provide proof of employment eligibility at the time of hire.

#LI-Onstite

Qualifications

Education

Required

Bachelors or better in Business Administration or related field.

Experience

Required

3 years:

Leading projects, crisis management initiatives, or operational teams

7 years:

Supply chain, purchasing, operations, planning, or supplier management experience

Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.