Senior Buyer

Senior Buyer – Material Handling

Onsite in Hamilton, Ohio Monday-Friday.

Purpose of the Role:

The Senior Buyer is responsible for sourcing and procuring electro-mechanical components and engineered systems that power automated material handling solutions. This includes panel assemblies, industrial controls, sensors, and precision-machined assemblies. The role partners closely with Engineering, Manufacturing, and Product Management to ensure supply readiness, cost competitiveness, and high supplier performance to support customer projects.

Key Responsibilities

• Source and manage a strategic commodity portfolio including panels,motors/gearboxes, actuators, power distribution components, drives, PLCs/HMIs, sensors, pneumatics, motion control equipment, and custom mechanical assemblies.
• Work with engineering on new product introductions and customer-specific systems to ensure early supplier involvement, manufacturability, and competitive sourcing.
• Lead supplier selection, qualification, and ongoing performance management utilizing scorecards, audits, and corrective actions aligned with ISO 9001 standards.
• Negotiate pricing, contract terms, and supply agreements that support margin targets, lead-time reduction, and long-term continuity of supply.
• Maintain and monitor critical market trends which may affect lead times and availability
• Support project procurement by securing long-lead items, managing delivery schedules, and coordinating expedited solutions to meet installation milestones.
• Collaborate with Operations and Inventory Control to optimize safety stock,and forecast for high-mix/low-volume and build-to-order production.
• Drive cost-out initiatives through value engineering, competitive sourcing, leveraging volume, and market intelligence.
• Ensure ERP/MRP system accuracy for BOM pricing, supplier data, demand signals, and contract terms.

Qualification requirements

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, or equivalent professional experience.
• 5–8+ years procurement experience in automation, industrial equipment, robotics, or material handling integration.
• Strong understanding of electro-mechanical systems and ability to interpret engineering drawings, schematics, and technical specs.
• Proven negotiation, supplier management, and contract development experience.
• ERP/MRP proficiency and strong analytical capability. (Epicor)

Preferred

• Certifications: CPSM, CPIM, CSCP.
• Global supplier sourcing experience for automation components.
• Familiarity with UL, CE, NFPA 79, and other controls compliance requirements.
• Familiarity with environmental compliance (Reach, RoHs, Prop 65)

Key Competencies

• Strong technical and business acumen.
• Cross-functional collaboration with engineering and project teams.
• Strategic thinking and supplier relationship leadership.
• Effective prioritization within project-driven deadlines.
• Continuous improvement mindset and root-cause problem solving.

Physical & Work Requirements

• Office and manufacturing/warehouse floor exposure.
• Travel to suppliers and project sites as needed (5–10%)

Core Competencies

• Safety – Observes and enforces safety procedures; reports potentially unsafe conditions.
• Quality- Strives to eliminate errors, accurate work is a priority, seeks opportunities to improve a process that is implemented
• Productivity - Manages workload, works efficiently, meets goals and objectives
• Employee Engagement – Passionate about job and company, committed to the company and puts discretionary effort into work

The preceding job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. The description is not designed to contain or to be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required to employees assigned to this job.