Role Summary
The Raw Material Buyer owns the commercial relationship, sourcing strategy, and contract execution for key manufacturing categories (such as structural steel, raw metals, hardware, and acoustic insulation). This role acts as the upstream anchor of our supply chain pod. Working dynamically with our Logistics Coordinator and Procurement Expeditor, the Buyer negotiates the pricing, lead-time frameworks, and compliance terms that the Expeditor enforces and the Logistics Coordinator executes.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Sourcing & Category Management
- Manage direct spend for high-volume commodities including structural steel, insulation, and custom fabrications.
- Negotiate commercial terms covering baseline pricing, volume rebates, blanket orders, and guaranteed lead times.
- Qualify new suppliers to expand supply chain depth, mitigate sole-source risks, and boost capacity.
- Responsible for sourcing and managing MRO (maintenance, repair, and operations) materials to ensure uninterrupted plant operations at optimal cost and service levels.
- Monitor market trends regarding steel pricing, tariffs, and indexes to hedge against cost volatility.
- Issue complex RFQs and analyze total cost of ownership (TCO) including landed cross-border expenses.
Dynamic Supply Chain Pod Integration
- Onboard vendors cleanly by embedding the Customs and HS code requirements defined by the Logistics Coordinator into master service agreements.
- Intervene on systemic supplier issues escalated by the Procurement Expeditor, holding vendor management accountable for recurring quality or schedule slips.
- Incorporate feedback from the Expeditor regarding vendor production accuracy to adjust future allocation metrics.
- Review freight-cost data with the Logistics Coordinator to evaluate if changing vendor supply nodes optimizes total landed costs.
Operational Support & ERP Optimization
- Maintain ERP accuracy by updating master data, vendor lead times, and contract pricing in Microsoft Dynamics 365.
- Partner with Engineering to identify cost-saving material substitutions or standardizations early in the design phase.
- Track supplier performance using KPIs focused on price variance, quality yields, and on-time delivery.
Skills and Qualifications
- Experience: 3–5 years of procurement or commodity management experience within steel fabrication, heavy manufacturing, or industrial construction.
- Commercial Acumen: Strong negotiation, contract drafting, and financial analysis skills.
- Synergistic Focus: Proven history working in a pod structure alongside logistics and expediting functions.
- Technical Skills: Advanced proficiency in ERP systems (D365 preferred) and data-driven Excel forecasting.
- Industry Knowledge: Deep familiarity with steel grades, metal markets, raw material manufacturing processes, and mill test reports (MTRs).
- Communication: Highly strategic, persuasive, and relationship-oriented communicator.
About Parklane
As one of North America’s leading providers of turnkey mechanical noise control and VIRS solutions, Parklane is on a constant search for top industry talent. Every day we help clients with their sound attenuation and vibration challenges. We do it by leveraging an agile approach to engineering, product manufacturing and implementation.
As an organization, we live and breathe our core values:
1. Challenge Accepted
2. Work Hard & Play Hard
3. Share the Wins & Own the Losses, and
4. Built Together, Grow Together
By sharing ideas and supporting each other at every turn, we’ve built a reputation both for service excellence and the strength of our workplace culture. Put simply, our team is committed to doing whatever it takes to help our customers succeed—and that’s why we need professionals with the experience and expertise to solve complex problems.
Pay: $75,000.00-$90,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company events
- Dental care
- Disability insurance
- Extended health care
- Life insurance
- On-site parking
- Paid time off
- Vision care
Work Location: In person