Principal Buyer

Boston Scientific•Arden Hills, MN

6d•$85,000 - $161,500•Hybrid

About The Position

Join the Materials Management team at Boston Scientific in Arden Hills, MN as a Principal Buyer within the Purchasing department. Boston Scientific is a global medical device manufacturer delivering millions of medical solutions annually. Arden Hills produces sterilized finished goods and sub-assemblies that support the broader plant network, creating a dynamic, high-complexity environment for Materials Management. The Principal Buyer will serve as a purchasing leader responsible for ensuring supply continuity, supplier execution, inventory health, and material availability for critical product families and capital equipment needs. This role requires a highly analytical, proactive buyer who can manage complex supplier relationships, identify and mitigate supply risk, influence cross-functional partners, and communicate clear recommendations to leadership in a highly regulated manufacturing environment. The ideal candidate operates with strong ownership and urgency in a high-complexity manufacturing environment, anticipates supply risk before it impacts production or service commitments, uses data to drive supplier accountability, and balances service, inventory, cost, and compliance in daily purchasing decisions. This role supports purchasing activities for capital equipment in Arden Hills, MN, with direct ownership for key business growth families. Key responsibilities include partnering with Production Planning, Manufacturing, Quality, Engineering, Finance, and Global Sourcing to align material availability with committed build plans, repair demand, OEM parts, tooling, services, and field service material requirements.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Operations, Industrial Engineering, or related field
Minimum of 7 years' of experience in purchasing, supply chain, inventory management, materials management, or production planning
Demonstrated experience managing high-complexity commodities, critical suppliers, or supply-constrained product families
Experience operating in a highly regulated manufacturing environment
Strong ERP/MRP experience with the ability to interpret demand, supply, inventory, and purchasing signals
Advanced Excel and Microsoft Office proficiency, including the ability to manipulate, analyze, and compare complex data sources
Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to clearly communicate risks, tradeoffs, recommendations, and business impacts to all levels of the organization and external suppliers
Proven ability to influence cross-functional partners, lead through ambiguity, and drive accountability without direct authority

Nice To Haves

Experience in medical device, life sciences, or other regulated manufacturing environments
Experience supporting capital equipment, service parts, OEM components, tooling, or repair material flows
Experience with advanced planning systems such as Kinaxis RapidResponse
Experience supporting SI&OP, inventory optimization, supplier recovery, or supply risk mitigation processes
Experience with data visualization, digital analytics, AI-enabled tools, machine learning applications, or digital twin modeling in supply chain

Responsibilities

Own material availability for assigned commodities, suppliers, and product families; proactively identify supply constraints, assess business impact, develop mitigation plans, and escalate risks with clear options and recommendations.
Manage supplier relationships to drive delivery, quality, responsiveness, and accountability; resolve supplier-related issues through root-cause analysis, corrective action, and cross-functional engagement with Global Sourcing, Quality, Engineering, and Manufacturing.
Generate, adjust, and expedite purchase orders based on MRP, authorized spend, production priorities, repair requirements, and field service needs; track open orders, communicate constraints, and ensure timely follow-through on supplier commitments.
Manage moderate- to high-complexity commodities and expense items to balance service, inventory investment, safety stock, and total cost; identify and disposition expired, excess, and obsolete materials in alignment with business and compliance requirements.
Partner with Production Planning, Manufacturing, Quality, Engineering, Finance, and Global Sourcing to align material plans with build schedules, supplier capabilities, engineering changes, service requirements, and business priorities.
Maintain accurate purchasing master data, approved vendor lists, source records, and supplier information; use ERP/MRP, reporting tools, and advanced planning systems to monitor supply chain performance, support SI&OP processes, and improve decision-making.
Analyze key supply chain metrics, including supplier delivery performance, forecast alignment, inventory DIOH, service level, backorders, and EE&O exposure; identify improvement opportunities and support process adherence across purchasing and planning workflows.
Leverage data analytics and planning tools to improve visibility, accuracy, and efficiency in purchasing workflows; support adoption of digital capabilities, including Kinaxis RapidResponse and emerging analytics or AI-enabled solutions where applicable.