Senior Buyer Chassis

Slate Auto•Troy, MI

11d

About The Position

Slate is seeking a Senior Buyer to own sourcing strategies for complex, high-value, or multiple commodity categories. The role leads sourcing and negotiations for production and service parts, tooling, and services, while partnering with Engineering, Quality, Program Management, Cost Estimating, and Finance to meet cost, quality, delivery, supplier-readiness, and launch targets. The Senior Buyer serves as a category expert and trusted advisor, resolving supplier issues and ensuring adherence to Slate Global Terms and Conditions. The position independently negotiates and administers complex supply agreements, blanket orders, consignment programs, NDAs, PPAs, and other supplier contracts. It oversees design-phase change management and purchase-order updates, and manages contract-based raw-material pricing adjustments. The Senior Buyer develops supplier relationships and category strategies, leads competitive sourcing and business-case preparation, and drives supplier qualification, performance management, and corrective action. The role owns category cost-reduction targets and supply-chain risk mitigation, monitors commodity markets, supports forecasts and budgeting, and aligns material pricing with project estimates. It operates autonomously, keeps Procurement leadership informed, mentors Buyer I and Buyer II colleagues, and informally leads category teams.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Engineering, or a related field preferred.
10+ years of combined experience in Procurement/Supply Chain Management or Engineering.
5+ years of automotive-industry experience, with deep specialization in one or more commodity categories.
Demonstrated ownership of complex, high-value, or multiple categories, including setting category strategy.
Experience independently negotiating complex, multi-million-dollar supply contracts.
Track record of delivering enterprise-level cost-reduction targets across categories.
Experience driving commodity strategy and risk mitigation, such as forward contracting and index-linked pricing.
Knowledge and experience with ERP/MRP systems such as SAP, Plex, Oracle, or NetSuite.
Advanced Microsoft Excel skills for data analysis, cost modeling, pivot tables, and reporting.
Intermediate-or-higher skill in using AI tools to enhance procurement workflows and analytics.
Strong analytical, strategic-thinking, and interpersonal skills, including the ability to build and present business cases to senior leadership.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills for cross-functional, executive, and supplier interactions.
Ability to mentor Buyer I and Buyer II team members and informally lead category teams.
Ability to identify process issues and drive improvements to operational efficiency.
High integrity and ability to thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced start-up environment.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Engineering, or a related field.
CPSM, CPM, or equivalent professional certification.

Responsibilities

Set sourcing strategies for complex, high-value, or multiple commodity categories to meet cost, quality, delivery, and Job 1 launch targets.
Lead RFIs, RFQs, RFPs, competitive bid analysis, and commercial negotiations for production parts, service parts, tooling, and services.
Partner with Engineering, Quality, Program Management, Cost Estimating, and Finance on sourcing strategy, supplier readiness, risk mitigation, and launch timing.
Resolve cost, quality, and delivery issues independently and ensure adherence to Slate Global Terms and Conditions.
Negotiate and administer complex supply agreements, including pricing, payment terms, lead times, and quality specifications.
Manage long-term supply agreements, blanket orders, consignment programs, NDAs, GTCs, PPAs, and other supplier contracts throughout their lifecycle.
Oversee design-phase change management and purchase-order updates, and manage raw-material pricing adjustments under contract terms.
Develop category strategies aligned with cost, quality, and capacity needs, and prepare business cases to support sourcing decisions.
Manage strategic supplier relationships through business reviews and performance scorecards covering on-time delivery, quality, pricing, and service.
Drive supplier development, qualification, and onboarding with Quality and Engineering teams.
Resolve supplier escalations involving supply disruptions, quality escapes, and delivery issues; hold suppliers accountable through corrective action plans.
Deliver enterprise-level, year-over-year cost reductions across categories and drive commodity strategy, including forward contracting and index-linked pricing.
Own supply-chain risk mapping and mitigation for critical categories, including sub-tier visibility.
Monitor commodity markets and price trends; provide commodity forecasts and cost models for annual budgeting.
Liaise with Purchasing and Cost Estimating to align material prices with project estimates and review estimated versus actual costs.
Use spend analysis and reporting to identify savings opportunities and prepare period-end procurement reports.
Operate autonomously while informing Procurement leadership about category performance, risks, and savings.
Mentor Buyer I and Buyer II team members, informally lead category teams, and promote early procurement involvement in new program launches.