NPI Buyer/Planner

Figure•San Jose, CA

18h

About The Position

Figure is an AI robotics company developing autonomous general-purpose humanoid robots for home and commercial markets, with headquarters in San Jose, California. The NPI Buyer/Planner owns material readiness for new product introduction PCBAs and components from early prototypes through EVT/DVT, pilot builds, and the handoff to mass production. The role connects Engineering and Supply Chain by translating immature BOMs and changing build schedules into purchase orders, supplier commitments, and build kits that arrive on time. It combines tactical purchasing, prototype planning, and cross-functional issue resolution in a fast-changing design environment. The role works daily with Design Engineering, NPI, Manufacturing, Global Supply Chain, Quality, and Logistics teams to ensure pilot builds are clear to build. Responsibilities include time-phased material planning, BOM scrubs, shortage and risk management, prototype purchasing and expediting, engineering-change disposition, inventory and item-master accuracy, build support, production handoff, and improvement of NPI material-flow processes.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Engineering, or a related field, or applicable industry experience.
3–5 years of experience in buying, planning, or materials management, including at least 2 years supporting NPI or prototype builds.
Background in complex electromechanical hardware, such as robotics, aerospace, medical devices, automotive, or consumer electronics.
Direct experience buying against immature BOMs and managing engineering changes during an active build.
Proficiency with ERP/MRP systems such as SAP, Oracle, or NetSuite, and PLM tools such as Arena or Enovia.
Advanced Excel skills, including XLOOKUP, pivot tables, and shortage and coverage modeling.
Working fluency in reading BOMs and comfort discussing tolerances, finishes, and component specifications with engineers.
Strong follow-through and urgency, including the ability to close loops without repeated prompting.
Comfort operating with incomplete information and changing priorities.
Clear, direct communication with engineers and suppliers, including translating slipped ETAs into actionable schedule impacts for leadership.
Strong attention to detail with revisions, dates, and quantities.

Nice To Haves

SQL or BI tooling experience.

Responsibilities

Convert engineering build plans and prototype schedules into time-phased material requirements for EVT, DVT, PVT, and pilot builds.
Plan against incomplete and changing BOMs; conduct BOM scrubs with Engineering to resolve gaps in part numbers, revisions, quantities, and reference designators.
Identify long-lead and single-source parts and drive risk-buy or bridge-buy decisions with Global Supply Managers.
Maintain the NPI shortage list and publish clear-to-build status and recovery dates for each build event.
Plan build-specific overages using historical data on attrition, engineering and test consumption, and reliability samples.
Manage the RFQ-to-PO cycle for prototype and pilot materials, including requesting quotes, placing POs, confirming acknowledgments, and tracking delivery ETAs.
Expedite or de-expedite orders as schedules change and escalate supplier commitment risks with clear impact statements.
Manage purchases of unreleased or non-standard parts, including drop-in samples, distributor spot buys, and authorized broker sourcing.
Reconcile pricing, MOQs, NRE, and tooling charges, and flag cost drivers ahead of production quoting.
Own material disposition for NPI program ECOs and deviations, including scrap, rework, use-as-is, or run-out decisions.
Maintain accurate BOM item-master data, CTB and planning trackers, lead times, and costs in defined tools, supporting transition to ERP as parts mature for production.
Partner with GSMs on consignment materials required for each build.
Maintain inventory accuracy for NPI stock at quick-turn suppliers and reconcile Figure-consigned material.
Hand off part-level history, supplier commitments, lead times, and planning parameters to production planning at ramp.
Provide EAU forecasts and demand signals to Global Supply Management to support supplier capacity and long-term agreements.
Identify recurring NPI material-flow failure points and implement improvements to reporting, planning, and cross-functional handoffs.
Improve build-readiness reporting so risks are mitigated early.