Senior Buyer (Automotive)

Key Responsibilities:

• Manage new Program purchasing activity for assigned commodities, including managing the tooling budget, prototype ordering, terms negotiation, expediting delivery and holding self and others accountable for delivering timely results.
• Create, forecast, and execute sourcing and tooling plans to ensure product launch meets all program targets for quality, cost, and timing.
• Lead the Request for Quote (RFQ) process, ensuring adherence to overall BOM cost targets based on TCO for assigned commodities.
• Deliver clear-to-build status, material coverage, run-out reports and other analyses as needed to plan Engineering Builds.
• Manage new Program supply and quality issues during launch including tracking FAI orders and passing FAI results to ensure timely qualification of parts and supply for SOP.
• Promptly and effectively react to any supply chain concerns or opportunities. Lead Purchasing related work on engineering change orders.
• Hold suppliers accountable to commitments and project deliverables independently and take the appropriate steps to escalate when required.
• Collaborate with Quality in co-leading supplier process/systems and component qualification, to ensure smooth path through developmental phases into production.
• Drive commercial cost negotiations with suppliers to ensure the company receives best possible pricing; leverage cost models and analysis on current market conditions.
• Lead production build logistics, from a procurement standpoint, including issuing all tooling and production material PO's up to 3 months after SOP.
• Monitor current market conditions and technology roadmaps to proactively identify and address any supply challenges and to determine future business opportunities.
• Build and maintain operational partnerships with assigned suppliers. Act as the primary interface with suppliers on delivery status, issues and resolution. Escalate to commercial or technical partners when required (procurement, accounts payable, quality, engineering, etc.).
• Act as functional lead supporting a structured project development process, working in close collaboration with commodity buyers grow strategic supplier relationships during development phase and driving up efficiencies through the entire supply chain.
• Coordinate the qualification and on-boarding of new suppliers.
• Report on supplier performance metrics and systems for supplier scorecards and business reviews
• Follow purchasing policies to ensure a fair, unbiased and consistent sourcing process during the development phase.
• Assure supplier capacity confirmation for all purchased components of a program.
• 3 months Post SOP, coordinate "hand-off" activities from Advanced to Operations Purchasing.