Buyer/Material Specialist

Gravitics•Seattle, WA

43d•Onsite

About The Position

Gravitics is looking for a Buyer/Material Specialist to support the procurement and material planning needs of our mechanical and structural hardware supply chain. You will be responsible for sourcing components, managing supplier relationships, and maintaining the Bills of Material (BOM) and aligning with production scheduling to keep our build programs on track. This is a hands-on, cross-functional role that works closely with Engineering, Production, and Finance to ensure the right parts arrive on time, at the right cost, and at the right quality to support our aggressive hardware development timelines. As the Buyer/Material Specialist, you'll be the bridge between Engineering, Production, and our supplier base — translating technical designs and requirements into sourced, scheduled, and delivered hardware. You will own the procurement lifecycle from issuing the purchase order through material receipt, proactively mitigating supply chain risks to maintain uninterrupted production schedules.

Requirements

5+ years in supply chain, procurement, or materials planning (aerospace/defense/hardware manufacturing preferred)
Experience with technical procurement of mechanical/structural commodities
Ability to read engineering drawings and manage BOMs
Strong negotiation and cross-functional communication skills
Comfortable in a fast-paced, ambiguous startup environment
Able to travel to suppliers (~25%)
Must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering, or a related field
ERP/MRP or SQL experience
AS9100 or NPI environment experience

Responsibilities

Source mechanical, structural, and related hardware across Gravitics' space structure and habitat programs, often on expedited or compressed lead times
Issue and manage purchase orders, RFQs/RFPs, and supplier quotes, ensuring alignment with technical specifications and drawings
Negotiate pricing, terms, and contracts with suppliers to drive year-over-year cost reductions and favorable payment/delivery terms
Own supplier onboarding, qualification, and performance management, with Quality department support, including on-site visits to monitor supplier health, capacity, and quality
Serve as the primary point of contact between suppliers and internal stakeholders, resolving delivery, quality, and invoicing issues quickly
Own and maintain Bills of Material (BOM) for mechanical and structural assemblies within your commodity area
Partner with Engineering and Production to lead clear-to-build reviews and ensure long-lead items are flagged and managed proactively
Track inventory levels and flow of materials to prevent shortages or excess while supporting high-mix, growing production volume
Build and maintain internal reporting/analytics (spend, on-time delivery, lead times) to track supply chain performance and surface risks early