Technical Buyer

Sulzer; Pretoria; On-site; ZAR 500 000 - 700 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading manufacturing company in Pretoria is seeking an experienced Technical Buyer to manage the procurement of castings, forgings, and fabricated components. This critical role involves overseeing technical processes, negotiating with suppliers, and improving procurement strategies. The ideal candidate has significant experience in engineered equipment procurement and strong analytical skills. Join a dynamic team to support innovative manufacturing solutions.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in procurement of engineered equipment, castings and forgings.
• Proven track record in supply chain environments.
• Strong technical aptitude to interpret drawings, tolerances, and casting methods.

Responsibilities

• Source, negotiate, and procure castings and forgings.
• Oversee company's pattern inventory and documentation.
• Collaborate with engineering and quality teams on technical specifications.

Skills

Negotiation skills

Analytical skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Supplier Relationship Management

Adaptability

Time Management

Education

Technical or commercial qualification

Tools

SAP

MS Office

Job description

Technical Buyer - Castings, Forgings and Fabrications

Sulzer offers you a wealth of opportunities to drive your career into the direction that you want, depending on your skills and interests. We invite you to apply if you are ready to take the next step.

Location: Elandsfontein

Company: Sulzer Pumps South Africa – Services Division

Employment Type: Full-Time

Join our Procurement Department to support our Service Centres in South Africa as Technical Buyer – SPZA to help us take our services to the next level.

Job Summary:

Sulzer is looking for an experienced Technical Buyer, to manage and optimise the procurement of castings, forgings, and fabricated components with a strong technical focus on pattern management and patternless casting strategies. The role bridges technical expertise and commercial accountability, ensuring cost-effective, high-quality, and timely supply of critical components. This role is essential to maintaining technical oversight of foundry processes and patterns while driving innovation through the adoption of patternless technologies to reduce lead times and improve procurement value.

In this role, you will be accountable for:

Procurement – Castings, Forgings & Fabrications

• Source, negotiate, and procure castings, forgings, and fabricated items in alignment with production and engineering requirements.
• Evaluate and manage supplier performance with regard to cost, quality, delivery, technical compliance, and responsiveness.
• Analyse market trends and cost drivers in the casting and fabrication space to identify cost-saving opportunities.
• Maintain a reliable supplier base for critical components, including risk mitigation strategies to reduce single-source dependency.
• Execute purchase orders and contracts in accordance with company policy and engineering specifications.

Foundry & Pattern Technical Oversight

• Oversee and manage the company’s pattern inventory and associated documentation, including pattern ownership registers and condition reports.
• Review and approve technical drawings and specifications in collaboration with engineering and quality teams.
• Audit foundries for technical capability, pattern storage conditions, and compliance with company casting requirements.
• Support root cause investigations into casting-related quality issues and assist in implementing corrective actions with foundries.
• Act as the central liaison between engineering, operations, and foundries on all pattern and tooling matters.

Patternless Casting Strategy Development

• Identify cast components suitable for patternless casting methods based on cost, lead time, and technical feasibility.
• Work with existing and new suppliers to pilot patternless casting projects, including additive manufacturing or CNC-machined mould strategies.
• Track and report on the % of casting spend converted to patternless manufacturing, with target progression toward 10–15% over 24 months.
• Develop technical and commercial benchmarks for evaluating patternless casting performance and ROI.
• Create and maintain a roadmap for patternless strategy adoption across product lines and supplier capabilities.

Cross functional Collaboration

• Collaborate closely with Engineering, Quality, and Planning departments to align casting procurement with product development and production schedules.
• Participate in design for manufacturability (DFM) reviews with engineering to influence casting-friendly designs early in the process.
• Prepare monthly reports on casting procurement KPIs, including cost savings, supplier performance, and patternless adoption metrics.
• Lead supplier technical workshops to communicate product changes, tolerance expectations, and future technology roadmaps.
• Support CAPEX or R&D initiatives related to casting improvements or new patternless production technologies.

To succeed in this role, you will need:

• Technical or commercial qualification
• Significant experience of working in an international matrix organization
• Significant experience in the procurement of engineered equipment, castings and forgings.
• Proven track record in supply chain environments
• Strong negotiation skills
• Analytical skills and structured work
• Good MS Office skills and knowledge of relevant IT solutions, in particular SAP
• Technical aptitude with a strong ability to interpret technical drawings, tolerances and casting methods
• Negotiation & Commercial acumen
• Analytical Thinking to analyse cost structures, lead time trends and supplier performance data.
• Problem Solving
• Cross-functional collaboration
• Communication
• Supplier Relationship Management
• Adaptability
• Time Management

No visa or work permit support can be provided for this role.

Do you have a question about the role?

Reach out to the talent acquisition team at the following email address: [e-mail]. We are looking forward to hearing from you!

You apply with your employee profile in SuccessFactors, make sure you complete the relevant sections before submitting your application.

We are looking forward hearing from you!