Purchasing Specialist

Star Catcher•Jacksonville, FL

3d•Onsite

About The Position

Star Catcher is powering the future of space by building the world’s first orbital energy grid: the Star Catcher Network. Spacecraft connect into the Star Catcher Network and receive conditioned energy via their existing solar arrays, requiring no retrofit to utilize the first true space-based infrastructure. The Star Catcher Network provides power as needed from tens of Watts to tens of thousands of Watts at concentrations from fractions of a Sun of flux to ten Suns of flux. The Star Catcher Network enables More Uptime, More Bandwidth, and More Mission. Join our team of experienced and passionate space innovators driven to transform and expand humanity’s utilization of space. The creation of space-based power infrastructure is as impactful for space missions in the 2020’s and 2030’s as the advent of low-cost launch services was in the 2010’s. We seek individuals who share our passion for enabling people to do more in space and are not afraid to get their hands dirty to make our vision of the future reality. Star Catcher Industries, Inc. (Star Catcher), located in Jacksonville, FL, has an immediate opening for a Purchasing Specialist. We are seeking a proactive, sharp, and highly organized individual to manage our procurement workflows. As a Purchasing Specialist, you will be responsible for sourcing the critical components and materials required for our aerospace missions, ensuring everything arrives on time and within budget. This role is essential for maintaining our production speed and providing visibility into our spending.

Requirements

1–2 years of experience in a role involving purchasing, inventory management, logistics, or high-volume administrative coordination.
Strong Negotiation & Math Skills: Ability to compare complex quotes and ensure unit pricing and shipping costs align with our budget.
Excellent Communication: Professional and assertive communication style for navigating vendor delays and internal team requests.
Extreme Attention to Detail: A "double-check everything" mindset, particularly when dealing with technical part numbers and quantities.
Time Management: Ability to prioritize urgent "hot" orders while maintaining steady progress on long-lead-time items.
Resourcefulness: A knack for finding hard-to-reach parts or alternative suppliers when a standard vendor is out of stock.
Passion for Space: A desire to contribute to the success of an aerospace company and learn the technical side of the industry.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in related field
File & Calendar Management: Proficiency in Google Workspace (Drive, Docs, Sheets) or Microsoft 365 for tracking orders, managing contracts, and setting follow-up reminders.
Communication Tools: Experience using Slack or similar platforms for real-time internal coordination and status reporting.
Spreadsheet Proficiency: Ability to use Excel or Google Sheets to create trackers, compare vendor pricing, and run basic spend reports.
Startup Experience: Comfort with ambiguity and the ability to build processes from scratch rather than just following a manual.
Logistics Knowledge: Basic understanding of shipping terms (e.g., freight, lead times, and customs) is a significant plus.

Responsibilities

Handle the daily lifecycle of an order by creating Purchase Orders (POs), submitting them to vendors, and tracking every shipment until it is physically received and verified at our facility.
Build and maintain professional relationships with suppliers; negotiate basic terms, request formal quotes, and hold vendors accountable to delivery dates.
Proactively monitor order statuses and alert engineering and leadership of any potential delays that could impact project timelines.
Reconcile invoices with packing slips and POs to ensure we are billed correctly before passing documentation to the finance team.
Work closely with the operations team to monitor stock levels and trigger re-orders for mission-critical supplies before they run out.
Develop and refine digital filing systems and workflows to make the purchasing process more efficient as the company scales.