Procurement Manager in Torrance, California at Eravant

Responsibilities

1. Purchasing Team Leadership

• Lead, supervise, and develop the purchasing team; establish priorities, assign workloads, and monitor follow-through on supplier commitments.
• Set clear expectations for RFQ turnaround, purchase order placement, order acknowledgements, supplier follow-up, and escalation of delivery risks.
• Provide hands-on support with negotiations, complex purchases, supplier issues, and critical shortages.
• Develop training, standard work, and cross-training to improve purchasing accuracy, accountability, and team performance.

2. Supplier Sourcing and Cost Management

• Identify, evaluate, and develop suppliers capable of meeting technical, quality, delivery, and capacity requirements.
• Negotiate pricing, quantity breaks, payment terms, lead times, minimum order quantities, and delivery schedules within approved authority.
• Compare supplier quotations and total purchasing costs, including tooling, freight, quality issues, and inventory exposure.
• Develop alternate sources with Engineering and Quality to reduce single-source risk and address recurring supplier limitations.
• Establish documented purchase price baselines, track realized savings separately from cost avoidance, and partner with Finance to validate financial results and impacts on material costs.
• Evaluate supplier cost drivers, including raw materials, precision machining, plating, labor, tooling, yield, freight, and order volume economics; challenge price increases using fact based analysis.

3. Vendor Performance and Supplier Development

• Establish and maintain supplier scorecards covering on-time delivery, quality, and follow-through on corrective actions.
• Conduct supplier performance reviews, communicate expectations, and obtain recovery plans for late deliveries or recurring issues.
• Assess supplier capacity and delivery commitments against production needs; escalate significant risks with clear recovery actions.
• Coordinate supplier qualification, approval, periodic reevaluation, and corrective action with Quality under applicable AS9100 procedures.

4. Purchasing Execution and Material Availability

• Oversee purchase order accuracy, approvals, acknowledgements, promised dates, and timely updates in the ERP system.
• Partner with Planning and Inventory to align purchases with production demand, reorder requirements, lead times, and inventory objectives.
• Monitor open purchase orders, overdue lines, and critical shortages; expedite deliveries and communicate realistic recovery dates.
• Review order quantities and delivery schedules to limit excess inventory and material shortages; coordinate changes with affected departments.

5. Process Improvement and Cross Functional Condition

• Improve purchasing workflows, ERP data accuracy, reporting, and controls to reduce manual effort and prevent recurring errors.
• Develop and report purchasing KPIs, explain trends, and recommend actions, resources, or supplier changes to improve results.
• Support internal and external audits by maintaining purchasing records and implementing assigned corrective actions.
• Communicate supplier, cost, and material risks to Operations leadership with clear ownership and action plans.

Eravant also offers an annual potential bonus and a rich benefits package that includes:

• 4 Medical plan options
• 2 Dental options
• Vision
• Basic Life and AD&D
• Long-Term Disability
• Health Savings Account
• 8 Paid Holidays + 1 Birthday Holiday
• PTO
• 401(k) with match
• Eligibility for a quarterly and annual bonus

Required Qualifications

• Five or more years of progressive purchasing or procurement experience in a manufacturing environment, including team leadership or supervision.
• Demonstrated success negotiating supplier pricing and terms, improving delivery performance, and resolving supplier issues.
• Experience managing purchase orders, supplier commitments, shortages, and competing production priorities.
• Strong understanding of purchasing practices, supplier evaluation, lead times, inventory considerations, and total purchasing cost.
• Proficiency with ERP purchasing functions and Excel for data analysis, supplier reporting, and performance tracking.
• Ability to learn technical products, review purchasing requirements, and coordinate technical questions with Engineering and Quality.
• Strong communication, organization, analytical, and problem-solving skills, with consistent follow-through and accountability.
• Willingness to perform hands-on purchasing work while supervising and developing the team.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Operations, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience in RF, microwave, electronics, aerospace, or defense manufacturing.
• Experience supporting high-mix, low-volume manufacturing and purchases of custom components or outsourced assemblies.
• Familiarity with ISO 9001 and/or AS9100 purchasing and supplier controls.
• Experience using NetSuite, including purchasing reports and saved searches.
• Experience with supplier development, alternate sourcing, and purchasing process improvement.