Procurement Specialist in Kansas City, Missouri at DIT-MCO International

Procurement Specialist

Kansas City, MO

Description

Procurement Specialist – Innovation in Aerospace & Defense

Location: Kansas City, MO

Date: 10/2026

Job Type: Full-Time

Industry: Aerospace, Defense, and Industrial Test Systems

Citizenship Requirement: U.S. Citizenship Required

Build Something That Matters

DIT-MCO International has been a trusted leader in wire harness testing and aerospace innovation for more than 75 years. We design and manufacture advanced test equipment used by aerospace, defense, and industrial customers around the world. We're looking for a hands-on Manufacturing Engineering Technician who enjoys solving problems, improving manufacturing processes, and working closely with production teams to keep operations running efficiently. If you thrive in a fast-paced manufacturing environment and enjoy troubleshooting, process improvement, and supporting production, we'd love to meet you.

Why Join DIT-MCO?

· Work for a stable, employee-focused company with more than 75 years of success

· Be part of a collaborative engineering and manufacturing team

· Make a direct impact on production quality, efficiency, and continuous improvement

· Work on sophisticated aerospace and electronic manufacturing products

· Competitive pay, excellent benefits, and opportunities for growth

About the Role

The Procurement Specialist leads strategic sourcing and procurement activities supporting DIT-MCO International’s manufacturing operations. You'll be responsible for developing sourcing strategies, evaluating and qualifying suppliers, negotiating pricing and commercial terms, identifying cost-reduction opportunities, monitoring supplier performance and supply risk, and developing strategic supplier relationships. The Procurement Specialist serves as a senior procurement resource and provides functional guidance and support to the Purchasing Agent while working cross-functionally to support company goals.

Primary Job Duties

· Develop and execute sourcing strategies for materials, components, supplies, and services.

· Identify, evaluate, qualify, and develop suppliers based on quality, cost, delivery, capability, reliability, and business requirements.

· Lead competitive sourcing activities, including requests for quotation, proposal analysis, supplier comparisons, and sourcing recommendations.

· Negotiate pricing, lead times, payment terms, commercial terms, and supplier agreements to achieve favorable business outcomes.

· Develop long-term supplier strategies to strengthen supply continuity, capacity, competitiveness, and overall supply-chain resilience.

· Analyze procurement spend, pricing trends, supplier costs, and market conditions to identify cost-reduction and value-improvement opportunities.

· Develop and maintain strategic relationships with key suppliers and serve as the escalation point for significant supplier issues.

· Monitor supplier performance related to quality, delivery, cost, service, and responsiveness and coordinate improvement actions as needed.

· Identify supply-chain risks, long-lead materials, single-source dependencies, and potential shortages and develop mitigation strategies.

· Develop alternate and secondary sources to improve supply continuity, competitiveness, and flexibility.

· Partner with Engineering, Quality, Production, Finance, and Operations on sourcing decisions, supplier changes, and material strategies.

· Review inventory and purchasing trends to identify opportunities to improve material availability, lead times, and working capital.

· Provide functional guidance, expertise, and support to the Purchasing Agent on complex purchasing and supplier matters without assuming direct supervisory responsibility.

· Support continuous improvement of purchasing and procurement processes, procedures, systems, and reporting.

· Ensure procurement activities adhere to company policies, contractual obligations, and applicable regulatory requirements and maintain accurate documentation.

What You'll Bring

· Associate degree in business or related field, or equivalent experience.

· U.S. Citizen

· Five or more years of progressively responsible purchasing, procurement, sourcing, or supply chain experience.

· Experience with Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, and Outlook) and ERP/MRP systems.

· Experience sourcing electronic components and developing supplier relationships within the electronics manufacturing industry preferred.