Senior Buyer - Contract Manufacturing

Midtronics•Willowbrook, IL

4d•$80,000 - $100,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Midtronics has an exciting and challenging opportunity for a Senior Buyer to lead procurement strategy for our Contract Manufacturing (CM) supplier base. This is a highly visible role, reporting to the Supply Chain Manager, with regular interaction across Suppliers, Project Managers, Quality, and Leadership. The Senior Buyer owns the end-to-end health of our assemblies — ensuring parts availability, managing component lifecycle risk, and driving supplier performance — while partnering closely with Production, Quality, and Engineering to keep production running without disruption. Key metrics managed by the Senior Buyer include Vendor Scorecards (Quality, On-Time Delivery, Pricing, Responsiveness), assembly parts availability, and component lifecycle/obsolescence risk. Additional participation in strategic cost savings and supplier risk mitigation activities would also be expected.

Requirements

Bachelor of Science (Engineering, Business, Supply Chain) or equivalent work experience in supply chain / operations required
5+ years of buying/procurement experience in electronics manufacturing, with direct experience managing Contract Manufacturing and/or PCB Assembly suppliers
Strong understanding of electronic component lifecycle management and obsolescence/EOL mitigation
Experience reading and managing multi-level bills of materials (BOMs)
Proven track record partnering cross-functionally with Production, Quality, Engineering, Project Managers, and Leadership
Skilled in RFQ processes, supplier negotiation, and contract terms
Working knowledge of MRP/ERP software (e.g., Epicor, SAP, Oracle) and supplier scorecards
Ability to travel domestically and internationally to vendor/supplier sites as needed
Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with comfort presenting supply status and risk to Leadership

Nice To Haves

APICS / CPSM / CPM certification a plus

Responsibilities

Own the relationship and performance of Contract Manufacturing (CM) suppliers, including pricing, capacity, lead times, and delivery commitments
Monitor and maintain the health of assemblies by tracking parts availability and resolving shortages before they impact production
Perform component lifecycle analysis, proactively flag end-of-life (EOL)/obsolescence risk, and lead efforts to qualify alternates or last-time-buys
Validate multi-level bills of materials (BOMs) for accuracy and work with Engineering on ECOs to assess supply impact of design changes
Partner with Production on build schedules and material readiness
Partner with Quality on supplier NCRs, corrective actions, and audits
Partner with Engineering on component selection, alternates, and new product introduction (NPI) supply readiness
Report on supply health, risks, and key decisions to Project Managers and Leadership
Prepare requests for quote (RFQ’s) and purchase orders (PO’s); negotiate cost, terms, and delivery with CM/PCBA and component suppliers
Track supplier on-time delivery, quality, and responsiveness; drive continuous improvement and cost-down initiatives
Identify long-lead-time items and single-source risk; build mitigation plans (safety stock, dual-sourcing, buffer strategies)