Sr. Buyer (Aerospace)
Virgin Galactic, Mesa, AZ, United States
As a Sr. Buyer, you will be responsible for coordinating activities involved with procuring, tracking, and expediting goods and services such as raw materials, equipment, tools, parts and supplies at a competitive price, delivery, and quality via the issuance of a purchase order The Senior Buyer identifies varied sources of commodities and services, assists Commodity Managers with evaluating bids for RFPs, establishes purchase orders, maintains contact with vendors, and maintains comprehensive descriptions of available products and current prices. The Sr. Buyer expedites the ordering and delivery process for commodities or services and assures invoice payment by monitoring the process from initiation of a purchase order through the receipt of the goods or services and billing from the vendor or supplier.
The Sr. Buyer may be required to train and assist Buyers on the procurement processes including ERP/MRP systems and provide guidance related to the supply chain policy. He/She should be capable of working independently with minimal supervision and should have at least 5 + years of purchasing experience.
This person is required to work from our new Mesa/Gateway office 3x per week.
Responsibilities
- Track and manage purchase orders from award of procurement to receipt, including Aircraft On Ground (AOG) and expedited requests
- Work with accounting to reconcile vendor accounts and invoices, ensuring there is a 3-way or 2-way match
- Issue purchase orders in accordance with contracts or agreements
- Develop and maintain relationships with assigned vendors and suppliers
- Manages and reports to Supervisor for metrics including on-time delivery, quality ratings, purchase price variances.
- Research and analyze buying trends, markets, styles, and products, and assessing the financial risks of purchases
- Track and analyze data to identify trends and recommend purchasing strategies
- Maintain records in accordance with established policies, procedures, and audit guidelines
- Ensure company and supplier compliance to Non-Disclosure Agreements, Export Compliance, and Contracts
Required Skills and Experience
- Knowledge of the industry and aerospace manufacturing
- Minimum 5 years procurement experience in a dynamic environment.
- Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution or a combination of education and work experience, preference given to supply chain or business degrees
- Energetic, passionate and organized team member ready to support complex factory and operational procurement activities
- Able to manage multiple tasks simultaneously and thrive in a complex product development environment with multiple priorities as well as a disciplined production setting
- Experience with IMP/IMS, risk management, configuration management, requirements management processes
- Understanding of Product Lifecycle Management, Configuration Management, Configuration Control, ERP and MRP systems.
- Excellent verbal and written communication, excellent computer skills including Microsoft Word, Excel, Project and PowerPoint.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a high attention to detail.
- Team player with excellent organizational and interpersonal skills.
- Experience with Oracle or ERP/MRP demand management systems
- Working knowledge of global supply chain management issues and practices.
- Strong ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing with various internal and external stakeholders.
- Knowledge of negotiation practices/methodology for commodities.
- Ability to handle multiple tasks while maintaining attention to detail and accuracy and working under tight time deadlines.
- Ability, willingness to travel 25-30% depending on business needs and engage with suppliers
Preferred Skills and Experience
- A general understanding of Aerospace drawings, specifications, and manufacturing processes
- Six Sigma Certification
- CPSM
- PMP Certification