Senior Procurement & Supply Chain Specialist

Shift5•Arlington, VA

5h•Onsite

About The Position

Shift5 is seeking a hands-on Senior Buyer & Strategic Sourcing Specialist to manage and scale procurement and supply chain operations. The role owns day-to-day purchasing and strategic sourcing and partners with Engineering, Hardware, Manufacturing, Finance, and Program teams to ensure materials and components are sourced at the right cost, quality, and time. The specialist anticipates supply risks, builds supplier relationships, negotiates commercial terms, and improves procurement structure and predictability in a fast-moving environment. The position covers end-to-end purchasing, strategic sourcing, supply chain risk management, procurement operations, and supplier quality and compliance. It includes supporting production and new product introductions, monitoring material availability and supplier performance, shipping production hardware and support equipment when needed, and building scalable procurement practices as Shift5 grows. The role is expected to work regularly from Shift5's headquarters in Rosslyn, Virginia because of shipping and receiving activities.

Requirements

5+ years of experience in purchasing, procurement, strategic sourcing, supply chain, or a related function.
Experience purchasing technical components, electronics, hardware, or manufactured goods.
Strong supplier management and negotiation experience across pricing, lead times, commercial terms, and performance.
Experience working with bills of materials (BOMs), purchase orders, inventory, and ERP/MRP or procurement systems.
Ability to understand technical requirements and partner effectively with Engineering and Production teams.
Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills, with exceptional attention to detail.
Ability to identify risks early and operate with a high degree of ownership and urgency.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to work cross-functionally across technical, operational, and business teams.
Comfort operating in a fast-paced, high-growth environment where priorities can shift quickly.
Ability to regularly work from Shift5's headquarters in Rosslyn, Virginia owing to shipping and receiving activities.

Nice To Haves

Experience in aerospace, defense technology, government contracting, manufacturing, or another regulated industry.
Experience with NetSuite and Jira.
Experience managing RFPs, RFQs, supplier bidding processes, and commercial proposal evaluations.
Experience sourcing electronic components, PCBAs, mechanical components, contract manufacturing, or other hardware-related materials.
Familiarity with FAR/DFARS requirements and government contracting procurement practices.
Experience with AS9100 supplier quality, supplier audits, or supplier performance programs.
Experience managing DMSMS and component obsolescence.
Experience building or improving procurement processes within a scaling organization.
Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Operations, Engineering, or a related field.

Responsibilities

Own end-to-end purchasing of hardware, components, materials, and other operational needs, from requisition through delivery.
Source, evaluate, negotiate with, and manage suppliers to optimize cost, quality, lead times, and availability.
Lead RFP and RFQ processes for strategic sourcing, major components, and contract manufacturing.
Negotiate pricing, lead times, payment terms, minimum order quantities, and other commercial terms.
Manage purchase orders, order confirmations, delivery schedules, expedites, and supplier follow-up.
Partner with Engineering, Program, and Production teams on bills of materials, production schedules, engineering changes, and upcoming material needs.
Support new product introductions by addressing sourcing and material requirements early in the process.
Identify supply constraints, long-lead items, component obsolescence, and vendor risks, and develop mitigation strategies.
Monitor DMSMS and develop mitigation strategies, including alternative sourcing and lifetime buys.
Monitor inventory requirements and purchasing trends to improve material availability while minimizing excess and obsolete inventory.
Develop and track supply chain metrics, including supplier performance, lead times, on-time delivery, purchase price variance, and material availability.
Partner with Finance to align purchasing decisions with budgets, forecasts, and approval processes.
Ship production hardware and support equipment to customers and field teams as needed.
Maintain accurate procurement and supplier data across company systems.
Improve purchasing workflows, documentation, reporting, and operating processes; identify and improve manual or inefficient processes.
Build scalable procurement and strategic sourcing practices and improve visibility and predictability around material availability, supplier performance, and supply chain risk.
Support supplier selection, qualification, performance management, and ongoing relationship management.
Partner with quality and contracting organization to ensure required certifications are addressed from sourcing through purchasing and receiving.
Ensure purchase orders include required Supplier Quality Requirements (SQRs) and applicable flowdowns.
Ensure procurement activities comply with applicable company, customer, contractual, and regulatory requirements.