Senior Purchaser

Job Summary

We are seeking a Senior Purchaser / Product Development professional for a direct hire opportunity in Norwalk, CA. This role is ideal for an experienced procurement, sourcing, or supply chain professional who understands high-volume food products and wants to make a measurable impact on purchasing strategy, supplier partnerships, and new product growth.

The Senior Purchaser will join a fast-paced, collaborative environment serving wholesale, foodservice, institutional, and industrial customers. This is a strong opportunity for someone who enjoys taking ownership, identifying commercially viable product opportunities, and working closely with leadership, sales, warehouse, logistics, and purchasing teams.

This role offers the chance to influence product expansion, improve sourcing processes, and help shape practical new-item development in a business-driven environment. Candidates who value teamwork, initiative, operational discipline, and long-term career growth will find this opportunity especially attractive.

Key Responsibilities

- Develop and execute procurement strategies that support company goals, supply reliability, cost control, and product availability.
- Source, evaluate, and launch new high-volume food items that align with customer needs, margin targets, and operational capabilities.
- Negotiate with domestic and international suppliers regarding pricing, lead times, specifications, packaging, labeling, documentation, and minimum order quantities.
- Analyze landed cost, volume potential, supplier reliability, inventory risk, shelf stability, packaging format, and margin structure for new and existing products.
- Collaborate with sales, purchasing, warehouse, logistics, and leadership teams to forecast demand, manage inventory levels, and evaluate new product opportunities.
- Monitor market trends, competitor offerings, customer needs, and supplier opportunities to identify cost savings, product improvements, and category expansion potential.

Compensation and Benefits

- Salary range: $120,000 to $150,000 per year.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disabled / Protected Veterans

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For temporary assignments lasting 13 weeks or longer, AppleOne is pleased to offer major medical, dental, vision, 401k and any statutory sick pay where required.

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please contact your staffing representative who will reach out to our HR team.

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We also consider for employment qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements, including, if applicable, the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. Pursuant to applicable state and municipal Fair Chance Laws and Ordinances, we will consider for employment-qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, including, if applicable, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. For Los Angeles, CA applicants: Qualified applications with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.

Additional Skills

Required Qualifications and Skills

- Develop and manage procurement strategies for high-volume food products.
- Source and evaluate new products with strong commercial and operational potential.
- Manage supplier negotiations, vendor relationships, pricing, lead times, and product documentation.
- Partner cross-functionally with internal teams to support inventory planning, product launches, and business growth.

- 6 to 10 years of experience in purchasing, procurement, sourcing, product development, supply chain management, or a closely related field.
- Senior-level purchasing experience with strong negotiation, vendor management, and supplier evaluation skills.
- Strong understanding of landed cost, packaging formats, lead times, supplier reliability, margin structure, inventory risk, and product viability.
- Experience evaluating new items based on sales potential, customer fit, quality, shelf stability, operational requirements, and long-term profitability.
- Ability to work effectively with sales, purchasing, warehouse, logistics, and leadership teams in a fast-paced environment.
- Proficiency with procurement software, inventory systems, and related business tools.
- Strong analytical skills, attention to detail, commercial judgment, and problem-solving ability.
- Bachelor’s degree in business, supply chain management, food industry studies, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

Preferred Qualifications

- Experience in food distribution, food importing, foodservice, wholesale distribution, institutional supply, or Asian food products.
- Experience sourcing or developing practical, high-volume, commodity-oriented, or private-label food items.
- Bilingual ability in Chinese, Vietnamese, or Thai.
- Knowledge of domestic and international food suppliers, import processes, product specifications, packaging requirements, and supplier documentation.
- Background identifying product gaps and expansion opportunities within existing food categories or related commodity food categories.