Strategic Buyer

Eaton; Grand Rapids (MI); On-site; USD 76,000 - 126,000; Full time

Job summary

Eaton’s IS AER FMC division in Grand Rapids, MI is seeking a Strategic Buyer to manage the procurement of complex, custom parts and services, including non-standard and ITAR-related programs.

The role focuses on supplier engagement, capacity commitments, and compliance, coordinating with engineering and commercial teams to meet customer demands with adherence to risk and performance metrics.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution.
• Minimum of two years experience in manufacturing, supply chain, or related fields.
• U.S. person per export regulations; eligible to work in the United States.
• No relocation benefit; candidates within 50-mile radius of Grand Rapids, MI preferred.

Responsibilities

• Procure parts and services with complex or custom requirements.
• Drive part deactivation/reactivation to meet customer demands.
• Collaborate in aftermarket quoting processes with commercial teams.
• Manage producibility decisions for the plant (dormant parts / unknown suppliers).
• Oversee on-site supplier movements and ramping with risk management.
• Handle ITAR and other undisclosed programs' procurement activities.
• Validate engineering specs with Engineering support for ITAR programs.
• Engage suppliers in tender preparation and capacity commitments.

Skills

Analytical skills

Problem solving

Matrix environment

Communication skills

Planning & organization

Influence through relationships

Executive presentation

MS Office (Excel/Word)

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

SAP

Job description

Eaton’s IS AER FMC division is currently seeking a Strategic Buyer. This position will be located at our Grand Rapids, MI facility.

The Supply Chain orchestration from customer to supplier requires a strong operational partner to manage, measure and maintain business relations with external supply chain partners. The Buyer is responsible for complex procurement of custom products and services and related supply chain aspects such as purchase orders, inbound volumes, spend, procurement volumes, forecast and capacity commits and supplier performance and compliance, with a focus on non-standard, non-repeat buying, including stranger / alien programs. The Buyer’s focus lies on new and defined suppliers for a range of products procured from outside of Eaton.

The expected annual salary range for this role is $86000 - $126000 a year.

Please note the salary information shown above is a general guideline only. Salaries are based upon candidate skills, experience, and qualifications, as well as market and business considerations.

What You’ll Do

• Procure parts and services with complex or custom requirements, with a focus on non-standard, non-repeat buying, including stranger / alien programs.
• Drive the part deactivation and reactivation processes to include obsolescence as required to meet customer demands.
• Collaborate in Aftermarket quoting process with commercial teams.
• Accountable for managing the producibility decision process for the plant (dormant parts / “none” process / supplier unknown).
• Manage in-site transitions (supplier movement / gate processes / ramp up / ramp down) based on risk matrix.
• Manage all technical procurement activities associated with ITAR & Other undisclosed programs.
• Receive, validate and communicate Engineering Specs for parts with support of Engineering –ITAR & Other undisclosed programs.
• Engage suppliers in tender preparation and align on responsibilities for delivery.
• Manage Material Forecast collaboration and receive capacity commits from suppliers.

Qualifications

Required (Basic) Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.
• Minimum of two (2) years experience in manufacturing, supply chain, engineering, operations or combination of these functions.
• Eaton will not consider applicants for employment immigration sponsorship or support for this position. This means that Eaton will not support any "CPT, OPT, or STEM OPT plans, F-1 to H-1B, H-1B cap registration, O-1, E-3, TN status, I-485 job portability, etc.".
• This position requires access to export-controlled information. To conform to U.S. Government export regulations applicable to that information, applicant must be a U.S. person, defined as a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (green card holder), (iii) refugee under 8 U.S.C. 1157, or (iv) asylee under 8 U.S.C. 1158.
• No relocation benefit is being offered for this position. Only candidates within a 50-mile radius of Grand Rapids, MI will be considered. Active-Duty Military Service member candidates are exempt from the geographical area limitation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering or Supply Chain from an accredited institution.
• Minimum of two (2) years procurement or supply chain experience within a manufacturing environment.
• Minimum of two (2) years experience with SAP.
• Minimum of two (2) years experience working in a high mix, low volume manufacturing environment.

Skills

• Proven analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work in a matrix environment, get results and drive change through others.
• Effective oral and written communication skills as well as planning and organizational skills.
• Ability to manage by influence through solid relationships and process focus.
• Ability to effectively present results and recommendations to senior-level executive team.
• Proficiency with Microsoft applications (Outlook, Excel, Word, etc.).

All positions may require participation in video and in-person interviews as part of the hiring process. All candidates will be evaluated based on job-related competencies, and all candidates’ privacy rights and data security will be protected in accordance with applicable laws.

We are committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities for all job applicants and employees. Employment decisions are based upon job-related reasons regardless of an applicant's race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, marital status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by law.

Eaton believes in second chance employment. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction history will be considered regardless of their arrest or conviction history, consistent with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the California Fair Chance Act and other local laws.

You do not need to disclose your conviction history or participate in a background check until a conditional job offer is made to you. After making a conditional offer and running a background check, if Eaton is concerned about conviction that is directly related to the job, you will be given the chance to explain the circumstances surrounding the conviction, provide mitigating evidence, or challenge the accuracy of the background report.

To request a disability-related reasonable accommodation to assist you in your job search, application, or interview process, please call us at 1-800-836-6345 to discuss your specific need. Only accommodation requests will be accepted by this phone number.

We know that good benefit programs are important to employees and their families. Eaton provides various Health and Welfare benefits as well as Retirement benefits, and several programs that provide for paid and unpaid time away from work. Click here for more detail: Eaton Benefits Overview. Please note that specific programs and options available to an employee may depend on eligibility factors such as geographic location, date of hire, and the applicability of collective bargaining agreements.