NPI Buyer/Planner

Figure•San Jose, CA

20h•$120,000 - $180,000

About The Position

Figure is an AI robotics company developing autonomous, general-purpose humanoid robots for home and commercial markets, headquartered in San Jose, California. The NPI Buyer/Planner owns material readiness for new product introduction PCBAs and components, from early prototypes through EVT/DVT and mass production, including handoff to production stakeholders. The role translates evolving engineering BOMs and build schedules into purchase orders, supplier commitments, and kitted builds that arrive on time. Working between Engineering and Supply Chain, this role combines tactical buying, prototype planning, and cross-functional issue resolution. It partners daily with Design Engineering, NPI, Manufacturing, Global Supply Chain, Quality, and Logistics to keep pilot builds ready despite rapid design changes.

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.
Ability to read BOMs and discuss tolerances, finishes, and component specifications with engineers.
Strong follow-through, urgency, and ability to close loops without repeated prompting.
Comfort working with incomplete information and changing priorities.
Clear, direct communication with engineers and suppliers, including translating a slipped ETA into actionable schedule impacts.
Strong attention to detail regarding revisions, dates, and quantities.

Nice To Haves

SQL or business intelligence 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, and conduct BOM reviews with Engineering to resolve part numbers, revisions, quantities, and reference designators.
Identify long-lead and single-source parts and work with Global Supply Managers on risk-buy or bridge-buy decisions.
Maintain the NPI shortage list and publish clear-to-build status and recovery dates for each build event.
Plan build-specific overages using historical program data, including attrition, engineering and test consumption, and reliability samples.
Own the RFQ-to-PO cycle for prototype and pilot materials, including requesting quotes, placing purchase orders, 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 for 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.
Manage 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 into ERP as parts mature to production status.
Partner with GSMs on consignment materials required for each build.
Maintain inventory accuracy for NPI stock at quick-turn suppliers, including reconciliation of Figure-consigned material.
Hand off part-level history, supplier commitments, lead times, and planning parameters to the production planning team 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 can be mitigated early.