Senior Buyer

Description

Balanced Body is hiring! We are looking for an experienced Senior Buyer to take on a leadership role within our fast-paced, dynamic purchasing department. Our products are designed and manufactured at our Sacramento location. This is a step above a standard buyer position: the Senior Buyer owns strategic supplier relationships, leads sourcing decisions with greater autonomy, and mentors other members of the purchasing team, while still working closely with Production, Engineering, Finance, Sales, and Marketing.

The ideal candidate brings 8+ years of purchasing experience in a manufacturing environment, including experience leading negotiations, managing supplier performance, and guiding less experienced buyers. Experience with machine and fabrication shops is a plus, as is prior experience with new product introduction (NPI) sourcing.

This role carries a higher level of ownership than our Buyer position — you will be trusted to make sourcing recommendations, resolve escalated supplier issues, and represent Purchasing in cross-functional and leadership discussions. You should be comfortable operating with significant autonomy in a fluid environment where project priorities shift often. This is an exciting opportunity to take on a senior role with an industry leader that is strong, stable, and environmentally sensitive. The functions of this position demand sound judgment, consistency, high attention to detail, and strong organizational and leadership skills. Other duties may be assigned.

What you'll do:

Strategic Sourcing & Procurement

• Leads sourcing strategy and negotiates pricing, terms, and long-term supply agreements for:
• Raw materials and hardware components
• Maintenance, Repair, and Operational (MRO) supplies
• Professional services
• Leads sourcing and procurement for new product introductions and product changes, partnering with Engineering to evaluate suppliers and negotiate lead times, non-recurring engineering (NRE) costs, and tooling for specialized technology, software, and equipment.
• Identifies and leads cost-saving initiatives, evaluates low-cost markets and alternate sourcing regions, and tracks realized savings against targets.
• Develops category strategies for assigned commodities, balancing cost, quality, lead time, and supply risk.

Supplier & Quality Management

• Owns supplier performance management for assigned categories, including scorecards, business reviews, and improvement plans.
• Leads investigations into supplier non-conformances in partnership with the Quality team, driving root cause analysis and corrective/preventive action (CAPA) to closure.
• Leads the First Article Inspection (FAI) process for new or revised parts, reviewing and approving reports and coordinating cross-functional sign-off with Quality and Engineering.
• Resolves complex or escalated price, quantity, and quality discrepancies with suppliers, including disputes requiring negotiation.
• Establishes, deepens, and maintains strategic relationships with current and potential vendors, including supplier qualification, onboarding, and contract negotiation.

Planning, Systems & Inventory

• Owns and audits MRP system parameters — lead time, re-order point, MOQ, and min-max — across an expanded supplier and category portfolio, ensuring data accuracy and driving continuous improvement.
• Oversees past-due and open-order reports and vendor returns for assigned suppliers, and reports risk and status to the Purchasing Manager and leadership.
• Owns inventory strategy for assigned categories, including safety stock levels, excess/obsolete material management, and material flow.
• Directs expediting efforts for critical materials and services, including supplier escalation and contingency sourcing when needed.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Serves as a mentor and technical resource to Buyers — supporting purchase order execution, supplier issue resolution, and onboarding of new team members.
• Acts as a primary point of contact across departments
• Provide product and part availability and flag supply risk proactively
• Lead service-level improvement initiatives
• Identify and qualify alternate sources for key products
• Oversee procurement of marketing materials
• Support Engineering with current and new product introductions
• Resolve complex quantity, price, and invoice issues with Accounting
• Represents Purchasing in cross-functional and leadership discussions on sourcing strategy, supply risk, and vendor performance.
• May lead special projects — such as ERP/process improvements, supplier consolid