Senior Buyer – Manufacturing & Supply

Lab37•Pittsburgh, PA

5d•Onsite

About The Position

Lab37 Robotics is a technology company developing and deploying robots for direct-to-customer food production. The Senior Buyer – Manufacturing will own day-to-day purchasing activities that support the company's growing production operations. The role ensures materials are ordered when needed, suppliers are actively managed, and changes or risks are quickly mitigated or escalated. This hands-on individual-contributor role involves purchasing a broad range of mechanical, electrical, and electromechanical components for complex robotic systems. The Senior Buyer works closely with Engineering, Manufacturing, Inventory, and Program Management, balancing tactical purchasing execution with strategic supplier management in a fast-paced and evolving manufacturing environment. The role is based in Lab37's Pittsburgh office. Office-based teams work onsite five days a week.

Requirements

At least 5 years of purchasing, procurement, sourcing, or supply-chain experience in manufacturing, robotics, hardware, industrial automation, or a similarly complex environment.
Experience purchasing both mechanical and electrical/electronic components in a BOM-driven production environment.
Strong understanding of the purchasing lifecycle, from RFQ and supplier selection through purchase order, delivery, receipt, and issue resolution.
Ability to read and understand BOMs, engineering drawings, specifications, and other technical purchasing documentation.
Strong supplier relationship-management and negotiation skills, including the ability to hold suppliers accountable while maintaining productive partnerships.
Ability to manage multiple suppliers, purchase orders, projects, and internal stakeholders while maintaining accuracy and follow-through.
Strong prioritization skills and ability to work with urgency as production schedules, engineering requirements, and supplier conditions change.
Experience with ERP/MRP systems and strong proficiency with spreadsheets and operational data.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate supplier status, material risks, priorities, and recovery plans across the organization.
High ownership mentality, strong attention to detail, and ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced environment where products, processes, and priorities evolve.

Responsibilities

Own production purchasing execution, including RFQs, purchase-order placement, supplier acknowledgments, delivery management, expedites, changes, and discrepancy resolution.
Develop and continuously improve purchasing processes, supplier-management practices, reporting, and operational tools as the company scales.
Purchase mechanical and electrical components and other production materials, including machined and fabricated parts, sheet metal, motors, sensors, electronics, PCBAs, cables, connectors, and hardware.
Translate BOM demand, inventory levels, lead times, and production schedules into timely purchasing actions.
Manage supplier performance across delivery, quality, responsiveness, cost, lead time, and capacity.
Identify material shortages, long-lead components, supplier constraints, and other supply risks; communicate impacts and drive recovery plans before production is affected.
Partner with Program Management, Engineering, Manufacturing, and Inventory to align purchasing priorities with production requirements and resolve material-related issues.
Maintain accurate purchasing and supplier data in the ERP system, including purchase orders, pricing, lead times, and delivery commitments.
Support qualification and development of new suppliers as production requirements evolve.