Global Buyer & Planner

Vital Lyfe • Los Angeles, CA

1d • $105,000 - $127,000 • Onsite

About The Position

Vital Lyfe is seeking a proactive, detail-oriented Buyer/Planner to manage sourcing, planning, and procurement for new product introductions and ongoing production. The role supports continuity of supply while optimizing cost, quality, and delivery, and collaborates across engineering, supply chain, production, and reliability teams. The position is 100% onsite in Torrance, California; remote and hybrid work are not considered. Travel for supplier visits and assessments is required.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• At least 4 years of experience in procurement, planning, and supplier management in a production or manufacturing environment.
• Strong negotiation, contract management, and cost analysis skills.
• Familiarity with BOM management, MRP systems, and supply chain risk assessment.
• Excellent cross-functional communication and project management skills.
• Ability to travel for supplier visits and assessments.
• Ability to work 100% onsite in Torrance, California; remote or hybrid work is not considered.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute inventory strategies aligned with business and production goals, tracking metrics and results end to end.
• Maintain accurate bills of materials (BOMs), lead times, and inventory levels, including spares, to prevent production shortages.
• Place and manage MRP-driven and ad hoc purchase orders, resolving discrepancies and invoice issues as needed.
• Support logistics optimization and redistribution policies for assigned parts.
• Build and maintain a robust domestic and international supply base, ensuring supplier capability, capacity, and financial health.
• Negotiate contracts, RFIs, RFPs, and RFQs to support continuity of supply and competitive costs.
• Partner with suppliers to develop cost management strategies, improve performance, and mitigate sole- or single-source risks.
• Conduct supplier visits and assessments to validate equipment, technical expertise, and quality systems.
• Serve as the primary interface between engineering, production, supply chain, and reliability teams for sourcing and planning decisions.
• Support design-for-manufacturability reviews, trade studies, and should-cost modeling with engineering and supplier quality teams.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives to optimize sourcing strategies, improve supplier performance, and adopt low-cost, low-risk parts.
• Provide leadership with status updates and proactively communicate critical supply issues.
• Perform risk analysis incorporating historical supplier performance, demand and supply balance, and lead-time analysis.
• Drive value engineering initiatives to improve part quality and reduce costs.
• Monitor global industry trends and supplier technology roadmaps to identify and mitigate potential supply chain risks.
• Manage costs to align with program budgets and present value propositions and cost strategies to executives.

Benefits

• Opportunity to work on high-impact problems with global relevance.
• Opportunity to help scale technology in water security and climate resilience.
• Early ownership in a high-growth, engineering-led startup.
• Join a close-knit, mission-driven team in a fast-paced environment.
• Build long-term career equity as the company grows.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level