Sr. NPI Sourcing Specialist

Generac Power Systems•Waukesha, WI

About The Position

The Senior New Product Introduction (NPI) Sourcing Specialist provides senior-level sourcing, supplier-management, procurement, and material-readiness leadership for assigned new product programs from early development through launch and stabilization. The role independently drives complex sourcing strategies, supplier selection, commercial negotiations, material readiness, and supply-risk mitigation, connecting cross-functional teams to ensure materials are available at the right cost, quality, capacity, and timing. The Senior Specialist leads complex workstreams, influences cross-functional decisions, coaches less-experienced team members, and establishes best practices that improve NPI sourcing and launch execution. The role operates with a high degree of autonomy and proactively identifies risks, drives resolution, and escalates issues appropriately. Responsibilities span sourcing and supplier management; material readiness and procurement execution; cost and commercial management; supplier risk and program leadership; coaching and team development; and systems, data, and process excellence. The role also supports successful transition of materials and supplier relationships to Production Purchasing after PPAP and launch stabilization.

Requirements

Significant experience in NPI sourcing, procurement, materials, purchasing, supply chain, supplier management, or a related discipline.
Strong understanding of RFQs, supplier selection, commercial negotiations, TCO, POs, BOMs/CBOMs, PPAP, engineering changes, and NPI processes.
Demonstrated ability to independently lead complex sourcing and supplier-management activities with limited direction.
Strong understanding of supplier capacity, lead times, delivery performance, cost structures, quality, and supply risk.
Demonstrated ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders and drive decisions in complex, ambiguous situations.
Strong negotiation, problem-solving, analytical, and decision-making skills.
Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional projects or workstreams and drive issues to resolution.
Ability to coach, mentor, and develop less-experienced team members.
Strong communication and presentation skills, including the ability to communicate complex sourcing and supply risks to leadership.
Strong organization and follow-through in a fast-paced, multiple-program environment.
Ability to balance strategic sourcing considerations with tactical material execution and launch requirements.

Nice To Haves

Experience with SAP, Ariba, or similar ERP/procurement systems.
Experience in a manufacturing, industrial, engineering, or complex product-development environment.

Responsibilities

Lead sourcing activities for complex NPI programs, including RFQ strategy, supplier evaluation, quote analysis, negotiations, supplier selection, and commercial recommendations.
Develop and execute sourcing strategies that consider total cost, capacity, quality, lead time, technology, supplier capability, geographic risk, and long-term supply resilience.
Lead sourcing of fabricated components, electrical components, assemblies, enclosures, and other materials required for NPI programs.
Identify, evaluate, and qualify new, alternate, and dual-source suppliers.
Lead supplier negotiations using TCO, should-cost, market, volume, capacity, and competitive data.
Establish supplier relationships and hold suppliers accountable to cost, quality, delivery, capacity, and launch-readiness commitments.
Lead supplier design reviews and sourcing discussions to influence functionality, manufacturability, cost, quality, and launch timing.
Partner with Commodity Management to align NPI sourcing decisions with commodity strategies and supplier agreements.
Maintain and support Approved Vendor Lists (AVL), supplier documentation, sourcing records, and commercial agreements.
Own material readiness across prototype, development, validation, pilot, and production-launch milestones.
Lead NPI purchase-order execution, order confirmations, supplier commitments, delivery schedules, and changes.
Establish and maintain supplier material commitments aligned with program build plans and launch requirements.
Identify and resolve shortages, past-due orders, quality issues, capacity constraints, and schedule risks.
Lead PPAP ordering, inspections, engineering approvals, and material-readiness activities through production release.
Develop material forecasts based on build plans, demand, supplier lead times, and capacity constraints.
Partner with Planning, Purchasing, Operations, and Program Management to ensure material requirements are accurately reflected in ERP systems and program plans.
Lead expediting, risk buys, advanced purchases, supplier recovery actions, and other recovery strategies when required.
Transition materials and supplier relationships to Production Purchasing following PPAP and launch stabilization.
Evaluate supplier pricing, tooling, NRE, logistics, tariffs, payment terms, and other commercial inputs.
Maintain accurate Costed BOMs (CBOM), standard costs, sourcing data, and commercial assumptions.
Identify and execute cost-saving opportunities through negotiation, alternate sourcing, volume leverage, VA/VE, design collaboration, and process improvements.
Challenge supplier cost structures and develop fact-based recommendations for program and sourcing leadership.
Resolve PO, invoice, pricing, and commercial discrepancies with suppliers, Purchasing, and Finance.
Support cost and sourcing analysis for engineering changes, material transfers, localization, and sustaining/EOL activities.
Identify opportunities to incorporate cost productivity and sourcing improvements early in product development.
Lead supplier risk assessments covering capacity, lead time, quality, financial, geographic, tariff/trade, and supply continuity risks.
Develop and drive mitigation plans for single-source, constrained, long-lead, and high-risk components.
Lead alternate/dual sourcing, supplier contingency planning, capacity expansion, and other supply-resilience initiatives.
Represent Supply/Sourcing as a senior contributor on NPI core teams, program gates, build-readiness reviews, and launch activities.
Communicate material status, supplier commitments, commercial considerations, risks, and recommended actions to influence cross-functional decisions.
Independently lead resolution of complex cross-functional issues that may affect cost, quality, capacity, or launch timing.
Escalate significant supplier, material, commercial, or launch risks with recommendations and recovery plans.
Provide sourcing leadership and subject-matter expertise for high-visibility or strategically important NPI programs.
Coach and mentor junior and developing NPI Sourcing Specialists and other team members in sourcing strategy, supplier management, negotiation, material readiness, and NPI processes.
Serve as a day-to-day resource and escalation point for less-experienced team members.
Lead knowledge-sharing sessions, lessons-learned reviews, and development of sourcing and material-readiness best practices.
Help establish consistent standards, tools, processes, and expectations across NPI Sourcing.
Provide informal leadership to cross-functional teams and project workstreams without direct people-management responsibility.
Lead working sessions and drive teams toward clear decisions, owners, and actions.
Support onboarding and development of new team members and contribute to organizational capability-building.
Maintain accurate material, supplier, PO, cost, and sourcing information in SAP, Ariba, and other applicable systems.
Ensure NPI project documentation, sourcing records, risk assessments, supplier commitments, and mitigation plans are complete and current.
Establish and improve standard work for sourcing, supplier management, material readiness, and launch execution.
Lead process improvements that improve sourcing effectiveness, launch readiness, cost, and supply resilience.
Develop and use data, dashboards, and reporting to improve visibility to sourcing, material, supplier, and launch risks.
Support development and implementation of NPI sourcing tools, templates, governance, and best practices.
Ensure procurement documentation supports company policies, quality requirements, and internal audit expectations.