Category Buyer - Cowl Systems

Brunswick Corporation • Fond du Lac, WI

134d • $72,000 - $115,300

About The Position

The Category Buyer is a key individual contributor in Mercury’s global direct material procurement organization, focused on highly engineered and complex cowl systems. Reporting to the Category Manager, the Category Buyer helps develop and execute sourcing and supplier management strategies to continuously improve cost competitiveness, quality, delivery, and innovation to support Mercury’s global manufacturing operations and product development efforts.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Engineering, Business, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience in supply chain management or engineering.
• Strong technical understanding of highly engineered components.
• Proven negotiation skills and experience managing complex supplier relationships.
• Proficiency in ERP systems (e.g., SAP), sourcing tools, and data analytics platforms.
• Excellent communication, project management, and stakeholder engagement skills.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with global sourcing and supplier development.
• APICS, CPSM, CPIM or Six Sigma certification.

Responsibilities

• Proactively build and maintain constructive business relationships with suppliers and internal customers.
• Support the Category Team in strategy development, execution, and communication.
• Visit current and potential suppliers to audit capabilities and build personal category expertise.
• Conduct in-person business reviews with suppliers to drive engagement and execution of continuous improvement activities.
• Facilitate Requests for Quote, analyze quotations, and build supplier selection recommendations.
• Obtain supplier quotations and robust component feasibility input for new or changing component designs.
• Execute purchase orders, requisitions, and appropriation requests for tooling, components, and services.
• Drive continuous improvement in supplier performance for quality, delivery, and cost.
• Manage projects in a collaborative, thorough, and detail-oriented manner.
• Utilize effective project management tools to ensure timely delivery of responsibilities.
• Develop, align, monitor, and communicate project schedules with suppliers and internal stakeholders.
• Conduct in-depth analysis of supplier proposals to ensure alignment with contractual terms.
• Manage tooling lifecycle and costs with assigned suppliers.
• Negotiate to obtain the best possible commercial outcome for Mercury.
• Support accurate reporting of financials with timely and accurate forecasting.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision insurance.
• Paid vacation.
• 401k (up to 4% match).
• Health Savings Account (with company contribution).
• Well-being program.
• Product purchase discounts.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees