Buyer 1

Onto Innovation•Wilmington, MA

About The Position

The Buyer 1 role at Onto Innovation is an NPI (New Product Introduction) Planner position that bridges R&D and volume manufacturing. The role coordinates material readiness, capacity planning, and build schedules to help engineering samples and new products transition to mass production smoothly, on time, and within budget. Responsibilities span supply chain and project management, including purchasing and validating materials, piece parts, and subassemblies for R&D and prototype builds; managing raw materials and work in progress (WIP); identifying shortages; and coordinating delivery timelines with suppliers. The role designs and executes build plans, tracks project milestones, assesses manufacturing capacity, and supports scaling from small batches to mass production. The NPI Planner serves as a central contact among R&D, operations, product engineering, and program management, while providing status updates to sales and management, maintaining KPI dashboards, and escalating schedule risks. The role also uses ERP and MRP systems to maintain planning data, set up routings, and generate work orders, and analyzes supply chain data to identify delays and improve NPI workflows.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, supply chain management, or a related field (BA/BS preferred).
Proficiency with ERP systems such as NetSuite, SAP, or Oracle; MRP modules; Excel; and Teams.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to organize and present detailed information at strategic and tactical levels.
Solid understanding of costing concepts, cost reduction, and modeling.
Program management ability to handle the listed tasks and personnel resources.
At least 3 years of experience as a Buyer/Planner in NPI or high-mix, low-volume manufacturing environments.

Responsibilities

Purchase and validate materials, piece parts, and subassemblies needed for R&D and prototype builds.
Manage raw materials and track work in progress (WIP); identify component shortages to prevent build delays.
Communicate timelines and delivery requirements to internal and external suppliers and mitigate vendor constraints.
Design and execute build plans for engineering samples and initial production runs.
Maintain project schedules and track milestones from the conceptual phase through volume ramp-up.
Assess manufacturing capacity and map requirements for scaling from small batches to mass production.
Coordinate across R&D, operations, product engineering, and program management to resolve roadblocks.
Provide status updates to sales and management, maintain KPI dashboards, and escalate timeline risks.
Use ERP and MRP systems to maintain accurate planning data, set up routings, and generate work orders.
Analyze supply chain data to identify root causes of delays, recommend process improvements, and optimize NPI workflows.