Senior Buyer – Castings, Forgings & Bar Stock

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Sourcing

• Lead sourcing activities for steel castings, investment castings, sand castings, closed-die forgings, open-die forgings, and alloy bar stock.
• Develop and execute commodity sourcing strategies.
• Identify, evaluate, and onboard new suppliers to reduce risk and improve competitiveness.
• Conduct RFQ management, supplier benchmarking, and total cost analysis.

Supplier Development

• Build and maintain strategic relationships with foundries, forging suppliers, and steel mills.
• Conduct supplier capability assessments and audits.
• Drive supplier performance improvements in quality, cost, delivery, and responsiveness.
• Work with suppliers on capacity planning and lead-time reduction initiatives.

Technical Procurement

• Review engineering drawings, material specifications, and BOM requirements.
• Understand ASTM, ASME, DIN, EN, and customer-specific material standards.
• Collaborate with Engineering and Quality teams regarding manufacturing feasibility and supplier capabilities.
• Support alternate material and alternate source qualification projects.

Cost Management

• Negotiate annual contracts and price agreements.
• Monitor commodity trends for steel, alloy steel, stainless steel, duplex, super duplex, and specialty materials.
• Drive value engineering and cost reduction initiatives.
• Analyze purchase price variance (PPV) and develop mitigation plans.

Supply Risk Management

• Monitor supplier capacity and business continuity risks.
• Develop dual-source strategies for critical commodities.
• Proactively identify potential shortages and escalate risks.
• Maintain strategic inventory plans for long lead-time materials.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with:
• SCM & Planning
• SIOP Team
• Engineering
• Quality
• Manufacturing
• Project Management

Candidate Requirements

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or Supply Chain Management.

Experience

• 2-4 years of procurement/sourcing experience in manufacturing or engineered products.
• Minimum 2 years sourcing castings, forgings, and raw materials