Senior Buyer, Strategic Components

Position Overview

Ultimate Staffing Services is actively seeking an experienced Senior Buyer, Strategic Components for an exciting opportunity in Santa Cruz, California. This on-site position offers a competitive salary range and the chance to work within a fast-growing, employee-owned technology company. The company specializes in designing and manufacturing advanced control hardware for mission-critical OEM process machinery used in high-technology industries, such as semiconductor, metrology, display, and solar.

Responsibilities

• Manage strategic electronic components, commodities, suppliers, and distributor relationships to support cost, quality, delivery, and inventory objectives.
• Develop and execute sourcing strategies that reduce supply chain risk and support business, customer, and production needs.
• Lead supplier selection, qualification support, negotiations, and long-term sourcing initiatives.
• Monitor market conditions, component availability, lead times, pricing trends, and supply constraints to identify risks and opportunities.
• Lead End-of-Life, Product Discontinuance, and Last Time Buy projects for electronic components and strategic materials.
• Utilize SiliconExpert or similar lifecycle management tools to identify obsolescence risks and recommend mitigation strategies.
• Create, manage, and maintain purchase orders within the ERP system, including Syspro or similar ERP/MRP systems.
• Serve as the primary procurement contact for assigned customer programs, providing updates on component availability and material risks.
• Develop strong working relationships with manufacturers, distributors, and strategic suppliers.
• Identify opportunities to improve procurement processes, ERP/MRP accuracy, supplier communication, and purchasing efficiency.

Qualifications

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Engineering, Operations, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• Typically 8+ years of progressive purchasing, strategic sourcing, commodity management, or supply chain experience.
• Experience supporting electronics manufacturing, OEM manufacturing, EMS, contract manufacturing, or high-mix/low-volume production environments preferred.
• Demonstrated experience managing strategic electronic components, suppliers, distributors, and supply chain risk.
• Experience leading or supporting End-of-Life, Product Discontinuance, Last Time Buy, and component obsolescence initiatives.

Skills and Competencies

• Strong negotiation, supplier management, and relationship-building skills.
• Solid understanding of ERP/MRP purchasing systems; Syspro experience preferred.
• Knowledge of electronic component lifecycle management, obsolescence risk, and supply continuity planning.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• Strong customer service mindset and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• High attention to detail and strong follow-through.

Required Work Hours

Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Benefits

The position offers competitive pay, with a salary range from $120,000 to $155,000 per year, and the opportunity to work in a supervisory role within a dynamic and innovative company.

Additional Details

This job is a supervisor position, with a focus on strategic sourcing and procurement within a high-technology manufacturing environment.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, age, ancestry, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, or military or veteran status. We consider all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with state and local laws, including the California Fair Chance Act, City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, and Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance.