Purchasing Agent

The Purchasing Agent directly supports the Director of Operations for the Columbus facility. This role is responsible for procurement development, organization, and execution across three areas: (i) capital project and equipment procurement in support of company build programs, (ii) ongoing Operations procurement for the Columbus facility, and (iii) procurement in support of commercial activities, including field project procurement, invoice tracking and coding in Bill and NetSuite, vendor setup and management, and sub-contractor PO support for the sales team.

Responsibilities include sourcing, purchasing, and managing the supply chain for components, equipment, and materials required to support company build programs, as well as commercial and field-project needs. This position works with urgency and precision to execute procurement activities that keep company-critical build programs on schedule while supporting Operations and Commercial teams. Strong alignment with the Operations, Sales, and Finance teams is required, including close coordination with Finance for purchasing approvals, invoice processing, and budget tracking. This position reports to the Director of Operations.

Essential Duties

• Planning: Forecast the company's needs based on sales trends, inventory levels, historical usage, and build schedules. Plan for the efficient use of materials or products to minimize waste and cost. Delivery schedule management and production planning remain within the responsibility of the Director of Operations and the Operations team.
• Logistics: Manage carrier and freight vendor relationships, track inbound shipments, and resolve delivery discrepancies to ensure components and materials arrive on time, to the correct location, and at competitive cost. Inventory management, material custody, and warehouse operations are managed by the Director of Operations and the Operations team.
• Purchasing: Lead purchasing activities, including sourcing, negotiation, and supplier selection to ensure cost competitiveness, quality, and reliability. Establish and maintain strong supplier relationships, including performance management and continuous improvement initiatives. Identify alternative sources of supply to mitigate risk and improve supply continuity.
• Risk & Supply Continuity: Proactively identify and mitigate supply chain risks across capital build programs, operations, and field projects. Monitor lead times for critical components, maintain appropriate safety stock, and identify and qualify alternative sources for single-sourced or long-lead items. Track supplier financial health and/or logistics exposures that could impact continuity and develop contingency plans for high-risk categories.
• Systems, Reporting & Continuous Improvement: Utilize ERP systems and financial tools to manage procurement, inventory, and supply chain reporting. Setup and maintain Supplier profiles as needed. Partner cross-functionally to improve supply chain visibility, payment transactions, data accuracy, and decision making. Champion process standardization and continuous initiatives across supply chain functions.
• Commercial & Field Project Support: Support procurement for field projects and customer take-back events. Track and process vendor invoices, ensuring correct coding and assignment in Bill and NetSuite. Manage vendor onboarding, including new vendor setup, W-9 collection, and master data maintenance. Partner with the Sales team to issue and manage sub-contractor purchase orders in support of commercial engagements.
• Contract Management: Manage the full lifecycle of service and vendor contracts, including execution, change order processing, compliance monitoring, and close-out. Scope includes both routine service agreements (e.g., janitorial services, consumables replenishment) and field service vendor contracts associated with commercial engagements. Coordinate with Operations and Legal as needed to ensure contract terms are met and obligations are tracked through completion.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 2-5 years of successful experience within a production planning/materials management position within a manufacturing operation.
• Must demonstrate a solid grasp of production planning principles, Capacity Planning, and ERP understanding.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to participate as a key team member are required. Strong computer skills are required in MS Office programs.
• Curious and analytical with high attention to detail
• Strong interpersonal communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively across the organization and to build strong working relationships with customers, vendors, and sub-contractors
• Lean / Six Sigma experience a plus
• Able to drive on behalf of company business when required
• Must be a U.S. Person, as defined by U.S. export control laws
• This role is Columbus, Ohio based and an in-office position.
• Occasional travel (typically less than 10%) may be required to support customer take-back events or visits to other company facilities as needed