Strategic Sourcing Lead – Manufacturing

Starrett; Athol (MA); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The L.S. Starrett Company in Athol, MA is seeking a Strategic Sourcing Buyer to own sourcing for assigned commodities and collaborate with Operations, Engineering, Quality, and Finance.

You will lead RFQs/RFPs, negotiate terms, analyze market data, and develop supplier strategies to improve quality, delivery, and total cost of ownership.

This hybrid role offers the opportunity to influence sourcing decisions, manage supplier performance, and contribute to business continuity.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain or related field required.
• 5+ years of experience in strategic sourcing in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience sourcing raw materials and production-related services.
• Experience negotiating supplier agreements and managing supplier relationships.
• Experience using ERP or MRP systems.
• Strong understanding of strategic sourcing, supplier management, and total cost of ownership.
• Advanced analytical and Microsoft Excel skills.
• Ability to create professional reports, dashboards, graphs, and data visualizations.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead strategic sourcing plans.
• Identify new suppliers and develop strong supplier partnerships.
• Lead RFQs, RFPs, supplier evaluations, negotiations, and contract discussions.
• Negotiate pricing, payment terms, lead times, and service agreements.
• Analyze market conditions, supplier costs, tariffs, freight, inflation, and industry trends.
• Identify opportunities to reduce costs and improve supply chain performance.
• Evaluate and reduce supplier, capacity, financial, logistics, and single-source risks.
• Develop alternate-source, dual-source, recovery, and business-continuity plans.
• Support new product introductions, engineering changes, and supplier transitions.
• Partner with Operations and Planning to maintain material availability and optimize inventory.
• Lead supplier scorecards, business reviews, corrective actions, and improvement plans.
• Issue purchase orders and maintain accurate purchasing and supplier information.
• Track cost savings, cost avoidance, inventory improvements, and other business results.
• Create dashboards and reports that clearly communicate supplier performance and sourcing results.
• Present recommendations and key insights to leadership.
• Support responsible sourcing, supplier compliance, quality requirements, and company purchasing policies.

Skills

Strategic sourcing

Negotiation

Supplier relationship management

Data-driven decision making

Cross-functional collaboration

Analytical thinking

Contract negotiation

Education

Bachelor’s degree in related field

Tools

ERP/MRP systems

Power BI/Tableau

Job description

The L.S. Starrett Company in Athol, MA is seeking a Strategic Sourcing Buyer to own sourcing for assigned commodities and collaborate with Operations, Engineering, Quality, and Finance.

You will lead RFQs/RFPs, negotiate terms, analyze market data, and develop supplier strategies to improve quality, delivery, and total cost of ownership.

This hybrid role offers the opportunity to influence sourcing decisions, manage supplier performance, and contribute to business continuity.