Sr. Program Purchasing Buyer

ZF Group•Farmington Hills, MI

5d•Hybrid

About The Position

The team supports end to end program purchasing by working closely with engineering, manufacturing, and suppliers to ensure on time launches, cost competitiveness, and supply continuity. They drive sourcing excellence, manage risks, and continuously improve cost, quality, and delivery performance across the product lifecycle.

Requirements

Bachelors degree required
A minimum of 6+ years of experience in purchasing or supplier development
Good communication and interpersonal skills, Good at spoken English
Structured and organized, outspoken personality
Advanced skills in Excel/Word/PowerPoint) and SAP
High assertiveness and negotiation skills
Continuous improvements mind set
Experience in automotive electronics business
Knowledge of automotive APQP/PPAP and Gate review process

Responsibilities

Act as the purchasing representative for assigned programs, leading sourcing and procurement activities to support successful new product launches and program execution.
Coordinate cross‑functionally with Engineering, Project Management, Logistics, Plants, and shared services to ensure timely deliveries, supplier readiness, and transparent communication and execution.
Manage Bill of Material (BOM) cost, drive cost‑reduction initiatives, and implement VA/VE, localization, tariff mitigation, and productivity improvement actions.
Take a leading role in providing purchasing input to the CQA (Customer Quote Analysis) team, driving alignment of product BOM costs with cross‑functional stakeholders through a forward‑looking cost strategy.
Lead supplier sourcing, evaluation, nomination, and performance management to meet Quality, Cost, and Delivery (QCD) targets throughout the product lifecycle.
Support sourcing preparation, RFQs, negotiations, contracts, tooling, prototypes, and capacity planning in alignment with commodity and purchasing strategies.
Monitor program and supplier risks, including capacity constraints, material shortages, engineering changes, and lifecycle topics such as CRB (Change Review Board), LTB (Last Time Buy / Bridge), and make‑versus‑buy decisions.
Track sourcing status, savings, and program metrics; maintain purchasing documentation, support continuous improvement, and ensure compliance with policies and processes.