Senior Buyer

Position Overview:

The Senior Buyer owns strategic and tactical procurement activities for critical materials, contract manufacturing partners, and services. This role goes beyond PO execution to include supplier strategy, commercial negotiations, cost optimization, contract management, risk mitigation, and cross-functional leadership in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end procurement for assigned commodities, including sourcing strategy, supplier selection, negotiations, and execution
• Lead complex supplier negotiations focused on cost, lead time, quality, and risk reduction
• Lead contract and commercial negotiations, including NDAs, GTCs, SOWs, and Production Supply Agreements
• Drive cost-reduction and value-engineering initiatives in partnership with Engineering and Operations
• Serve as escalation point for supplier performance, delivery issues, and quality concerns
• Manage CM relationships through regular operational reviews, including weekly build-readiness and capacity meetings with supplier leadership
• Develop and maintain supplier scorecards; lead corrective action and continuous improvement efforts
• Ensure materials availability to support production plans while optimizing inventory investment
• Analyze supplier cost breakdowns, execute RFQs/RFPs, evaluate proposals, and manage price book updates and PPV reporting
• Maintain and improve purchasing data integrity in ERP/MRP systems (pricing, lead times, MOQ)
• Support make/buy decisions and new product introduction (NPI) sourcing activities
• Partner with Quality, Engineering, and Logistics to manage ECOs, monitor build readiness, and resolve invoice or delivery discrepancies
• Mentor junior buyers or planners as needed in a small-team environment
• Contribute to supply chain policies, controls, and process improvements

Qualifications

Required:

• 5-8+ years of procurement or buying experience in manufacturing
• Proven experience leading supplier negotiations and managing strategic suppliers
• Strong understanding of supply chain risk, inventory economics, and cost structures
• Advanced proficiency in ERP/MRP systems and Excel (analysis, scenario modeling)
• Ability to operate autonomously and make decisions with incomplete information
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills

Preferred

• Experience in high-mix, low-volume or regulated manufacturing environments
• APICS, CPSM, or equivalent certification
• Experience supporting NPI or rapid-scale production

What Success Looks Like

• Stable supply of critical materials with reduced expediting
• Measurable cost savings and improved supplier performance
• Strong supplier partnerships aligned to company growth
• Proactive identification and mitigation of supply risks

$90,000 - $120,000 a year

About the Company:

Velo, Velo3D, Sapphire and Intelligent Fusion are registered trademarks of Velo3D, Inc. Without Compromise, Flow, Flow Developer, and Assure are trademarks of Velo3D, Inc.

With the only SupportFree laser powder bed fusion capability, we enable on-demand manufacturing of production quality Titanium, Inconel, and Aluminum parts with an unprecedented degree of design freedom and quality control. The VELO3D award-winning solution includes an integrated offering of hardware and software: Sapphire metal AM production printer, Flow print preparation software, Assure quality assurance and control system, and an integrated manufacturing process that runs throughout the printing operation.

Our team enjoys excellent benefits including healthcare coverage and 401(K) employer contributions. We believe in transparency and recognizing exceptional efforts through our monthly all-hands meetings and team member appreciation awards.

Our job titles may span more than one career level. The starting base salary for this full-time position is between $100,000 and $120,000. This salary range reflects the minimum and maximum target for this position in the U.S. The actual base pay is dependent upon many factors, such as work experience, job-related skills, related education, work location, and market demands. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. In addition to a competitive base salary and a comprehensive benefits package, this position may be eligible for other forms of compensation such as participation in a bonus and equity program, as applicable.

Velo3D provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to, and prohibits discrimination and harassment based on, race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability, medical condition, genetic information, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.