Senior Buyer, CNC Machined Parts & Assemblies

Castelion Corporation•Torrance, CA

About The Position

As a Senior Buyer on Castelion’s Strategic Sourcing team, focused on CNC machined parts and assemblies, you will source and procure complex metallic and non-metallic components in a fast-paced aerospace and defense environment. You will work closely with engineering, manufacturing, quality, planning, and finance to secure capable suppliers, execute competitive commercial strategies, and ensure material is available for development, qualification, testing, and production. The role calls for practical knowledge of CNC machining, including materials, tolerancing, inspection, finishing, and assembly processes, along with the judgment and execution skills to resolve supplier issues and build a resilient, cost-effective supply base while maintaining quality, schedule, compliance, and configuration-control standards. The position may require periodic travel to supplier and company locations, including Torrance, California, and Allen, Texas. Access to classified information or restricted U.S. Government sites, systems, or information may be required depending on the position designation. The role requires access to export-controlled information, and employment is contingent on the candidate's ability to access applicable information without additional export licensing.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in supply chain, business, engineering, manufacturing, operations, or a related discipline.
At least 5 years of experience in purchasing, strategic sourcing, supply chain, supplier management, or a related role in aerospace, defense, space, automotive, or another complex manufacturing environment.
Demonstrated experience sourcing CNC machined parts and/or assemblies, including metallic and non-metallic materials.
Experience interpreting engineering drawings, specifications, GD&T, bills of material, and manufacturing or inspection requirements.
Experience with RFQs, supplier negotiations, purchase orders, supplier performance management, and cross-functional problem solving.
Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment with shifting priorities, incomplete information, and aggressive development and production schedules.
Active U.S. Government security clearance or ability to obtain one, as required by the role.
Ability to access applicable export-controlled information without additional export licensing.

Nice To Haves

Hands-on proficiency with CNC machining of metallic and non-metallic parts, including milling, turning, multi-axis machining, fixturing, programming, and process planning.
Knowledge of material specifications and processes such as heat treatment, anodize, plating, passivation, coating, chemical processing, NDT, and other special processes.
Experience with complex machined assemblies, tight-tolerance components, low-to-medium volume production, prototype/NPI builds, flight hardware, or high-reliability aerospace products.
Understanding of inspection methods and quality systems, including CMM, first article inspection, AS9100, ISO 9001, AS9102, source inspection, and root-cause/corrective-action methods.
Experience managing tooling, fixtures, gauges, supplier-owned or customer-owned assets, and non-recurring engineering costs.
Experience with MRP/ERP systems and ownership of bills of material, work orders, purchase orders, supplier master data, and lead-time information.
Experience negotiating MSAs, LTAs, capacity agreements, buffer stock, VMI, and other supply continuity arrangements.
APICS, CPSM, Six Sigma, or similar certification.
Strong analytical skills using Excel, SQL, or advanced analytics tools.
Experience with ITAR/EAR-controlled hardware, defense procurement, government contracting requirements, or related compliance obligations.

Responsibilities

Source, qualify, and manage suppliers for CNC machined parts, machined assemblies, and related processes across metallic and non-metallic materials.
Work with engineering and manufacturing to translate drawings, models, specifications, GD&T, special-process and inspection requirements, and assembly needs into sourcing and purchasing strategies.
Develop supplier strategies that balance quality, technical capability, capacity, lead time, total cost, schedule risk, geography, and scalability.
Lead RFQs and competitive bidding; evaluate supplier quotes, should-cost drivers, tooling and NRE, setup charges, material assumptions, outside processing, freight, payment terms, and escalation provisions.
Negotiate pricing, lead times, capacity commitments, terms and conditions, quality requirements, warranties, tooling ownership, intellectual property protections, and other commercial terms in purchase orders and agreements.
Manage purchase-order execution and supplier follow-through, including demand signals, acknowledgments, delivery dates, expedites, changes, shortages, and recovery plans.
Facilitate design-for-manufacturability and design-for-supply-chain reviews during NPI to identify machining risks, tolerance challenges, material or process alternatives, second sources, standardization opportunities, and cost-reduction options.
Work with Supplier Quality Engineering and suppliers to resolve nonconformances, improve first-pass yield, implement corrective actions, and prevent recurrence of rejected or late material.
Assess supplier manufacturing capacity and process capability, including CNC equipment, fixturing, programming, inspection, surface treatment, heat treatment, non-destructive testing, special processes, and assembly capability.
Coordinate with planning and operations to maintain accurate MRP/ERP data, bills of material, supplier records, purchase orders, lead times, minimum order quantities, and related master data.
Monitor supplier performance and provide updates to program and functional leadership on critical supply issues, recovery plans, cost, quality, and schedule.
Identify and mitigate supply-chain risks through dual sourcing, capacity reservations, buffer strategies, supplier development, business continuity planning, and early escalation.
Ensure sourcing and procurement comply with company policies, contractual requirements, ITAR/EAR and other export-control obligations, government regulations, quality standards, and customer requirements.
Build trusted relationships with suppliers and internal stakeholders, and travel periodically to supplier and company locations as business needs require.
Maintain assigned supplier on-time delivery at or above program targets and provide timely recovery plans for missed targets.
Improve and sustain supplier first-pass acceptance and reduce recurring nonconformances, escapes, and corrective-action aging.
Deliver measurable cost savings, cost avoidance, and should-cost improvements while protecting technical and schedule requirements.
Establish qualified capacity and executable sourcing plans for new and existing CNC machined parts before required dates.
Maintain accurate ERP/MRP and purchase-order data, provide timely acknowledgments, and promptly close expedites and action items.
Identify high-risk suppliers, parts, processes, and capacity constraints early and implement documented mitigation plans.
Provide concise, accurate status updates and escalate issues with clear options and impacts.