Senior Mechanical Buyer in Lawrence, Massachusetts at Big Belly Solar LLC

Department: Supply Chain / Procurement

Location: Lawrence/Methuen, MA (Production Facility)

Employment Type: Full-Time, On-site

The Senior Mechanical Buyer coordinates our manufacturing production with our direct materials supply partners. Based at our Lawrence (Methuen line), MA production facility, you will manage high-value mechanical commodities, lead supplier negotiations and supply programs, and ensure raw materials and custom components arrive on schedule.

As an on-site procurement expert, you will leverage NetSuite ERP to track purchase orders, analyze material requirements, and maintain clean master data to support our active manufacturing lines. While experience with metal fabrication and plastic molding is highly desirable, a strong foundation in mechanical procurement and ERP systems is key to success in this role.

The Senior Buyer is responsible for the procurement and planning of critical manufacturing materials, such as fabricated sheet metal, specialty mechanical components, and plastic moldings. Key duties include supplier management, monitoring inventory levels via MRP tools and planning analysis, and managing supplier relationships to ensure quality and on-time delivery. The role also involves collaborating with production and warehouse teams to resolve delivery and quality issues as well as Service support requirements.

• Strategic Procurement: Execute purchase orders for custom mechanical components, raw materials, and related direct materials based on NetSuite demand planning.
• On-Site Collaboration: Work directly alongside our Methuen plant floor, quality team, and engineering staff to rapidly resolve material shortages, dimensional discrepancies, or quality issues.
• Direct Materials Management: Optimize NetSuite MRP parameters and demand planning to ensure optimal direct material flow. Comfortable with ad hoc demand planning analysis and demand interpretation.
• Supplier Management: Identify, audit, and onboard supply partners. Manage supplier performance and productivity improvement initiatives.
• Drawing Interpretation: Review engineering drawings and BOMs to assess supplier manufacturing capability, tolerances, and ensure accurate quoting.
• Cost Optimization: Lead supplier negotiations, establish long-term pricing agreements, and execute cost-reduction initiatives to improve gross margins.
• Engineering Alignment: Partner closely with Manufacturing Engineering to manage Engineering Change Orders (ECOs) and prototype sourcing for new product introductions (NPI).

• Education: A Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Experience: 5+ years of experience in a mechanical Purchasing role, ideally in a small to mid-size manufacturing environment.
• ERP Proficiency: Mandatory, hands-on experience utilizing NetSuite or a comparable ERP system for inventory management, procurement workflows, and material tracking.
• Schedule: Ability to work 100% on-site at our Methuen, MA production facility and manage concurrent priorities in a fast-paced, hands-on environment.
• Data Savvy: Advanced Microsoft Excel skills (VLOOKUPs, Pivot Tables) to synthesize data extracted from NetSuite.
• Specific Commodity Expertise: Prior experience purchasing custom sheet-metal fabrications (stamping, welding, laser cutting) and plastic molded components (injection molding, rotomolding, thermoforming) preferred.
• Low-cost Region Sourcing Experience (Particularly Asia and Mexico) preferred.
• Certifications: APICS (CPIM/CSCP) or ISM (CPM/CPSM) designation preferred.