HIRE TALENT  /  PROJECT DELIVERY  /  BUYER
Industrial & Aerospace Purchasing Recruiting

Hire Buyers

Hire Buyers — sometimes titled Purchasing Agent, Procurement Buyer, or Buyer/Planner — who execute the purchasing behind a defense-hardware, space, or gigafactory production line: MRP-driven PO release, supplier follow-up and expediting against build dates, price and lead-time negotiation on repeat buys, ITAR-controlled part handling, and inventory targets held. PO volume and on-time delivery results reference-verified, not just ERP access.

Hire Buyers →How it works
Buyer - iRecruit.coExample profile
Lorena M.
Vetted Specialists
Project Delivery
Buyer
APICS CPIM · CPSM · SAP MM
Sectors
Defense, space and advanced manufacturing
Defense-tech and space hardware, gigafactory, semiconductor, robotics, launch and test sites
Role scope
MRP signal through dock receipt
PO execution, supplier follow-up, expediting, price and lead-time negotiation, inventory targets
Geography
US-wide
Industrial, defense and mission-critical network
Placement warranty
Replacement guarantee
Every model, every placement
How It Works

Hire Buyers in 3 steps

A structured process for the hire that keeps the line fed — where an MRP exception message nobody actioned, a machined housing released without its ITAR flag, or a connector on 26-week lead time that got expedited the week it was due is how a build slips a month one part at a time.

Step 01

Talk to our team

30-minute call. Align on the commodity mix the seat carries (machined and sheet-metal parts, electronics and connectors, raw material, castings, MRO), weekly PO and line-item volume, ERP (SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, Odoo, or similar), ITAR and DFARS exposure, rate-ramp plans, reporting line, and start date.

Step 02

Review hand-selected talent

Within 2 weeks we introduce 3–5 Buyers with verified execution history on comparable production programs — PO volume they ran clean, supplier on-time delivery they moved, lead times they negotiated down, and inventory targets they held. References from purchasing managers and production planners included.

Step 03

Hire with confidence

Every placement carries a replacement guarantee. If the hire fails within the warranty window, we run a no-fee replacement search.

Why iRecruit.co for Buyer Hires

What makes our Buyer shortlist different

A Buyer on a missile-seeker line or a battery module plant is the person who clears 60 MRP exception messages before the morning production meeting, knows which machine shop will actually hit the date and which one is quoting hope, and gets a 20-week connector to 12 without paying a premium on every line. Generic procurement recruiters screen for ERP keywords; we screen for executed volume and supplier delivery results.

01

MRP-driven PO execution verified

Every candidate has documented weekly PO and line-item volume converted from MRP planned orders — exception messages worked (reschedule in, reschedule out, cancel), order quantities aligned to lot sizes and MOQs, and POs released against the master schedule rather than the loudest engineer. We confirm volume and error rate with the purchasing manager, not just the resume.

02

Supplier follow-up and expediting results

Reference-verified open-order management: weekly supplier confirmations, past-due reports worked to zero, expedites escalated before the build date rather than after, and alternate-source or lot-split actions when a supplier slips. We ask what on-time delivery was when they took the commodity and what it was a year later.

03

Negotiation and compliance depth

Verified price and lead-time negotiation on repeat buys — blanket orders, volume tiers, cost-down against should-cost, and lead-time reduction through forecast sharing — plus clean handling of ITAR-controlled drawings, DFARS flow-downs, AS9100 supplier approvals, and certificates of conformance at receipt.

Meet Vetted Buyers

The caliber of Buyer you’ll interview

Every candidate is credential-verified, reference-checked, and matched to your production environment. Anonymized examples below reflect real placement profiles.

Vetted SpecialistsMale Buyer - defense hardware plantExample profile

Andre A.

Senior Buyer, Machined & Fabricated Parts
  • Ran 180–220 PO lines a week across 40 machine shops and sheet-metal suppliers for a munitions-component line in SAP MM, sub-1% PO error rate at internal audit
  • Moved supplier on-time delivery on the machined commodity from 71% to 94% in 14 months through weekly open-order reviews and a second-source program on 26 critical part numbers
  • Negotiated blanket orders with volume tiers on 60 repeat part numbers, cutting average lead time from 14 to 9 weeks and unit cost 8% against should-cost
SAP MMMachined partsOpen-order management
Vetted SpecialistsFemale Buyer - space hardware factoryExample profile

Ramon G.

Buyer/Planner, Electronics & Connectors
  • Owned electronics, connectors, and harness components for an avionics build in Oracle EBS — 1,100 active part numbers, 30 ITAR-controlled, every drawing release logged and access-restricted
  • Cut a 26-week connector family to 13 weeks by placing a 12-month forecast with the distributor and converting spot buys to scheduled releases
  • Held raw and WIP inventory to a 45-day target through a 3x rate ramp by resetting safety stock and MOQs part by part instead of buying to the old lot size
Oracle EBSITAR partsLead-time reduction
Vetted SpecialistsMale Buyer - gigafactoryExample profile

Tyler J.

Purchasing Agent, Raw Material & MRO
  • Bought copper foil, separator, and module hardware for a battery cell line in NetSuite — $38M annual spend, 95 suppliers, weekly MRP release to the shop-floor schedule
  • Built the past-due and expedite tracker the production meeting ran from, pulling past-due lines from 210 to under 20 within two quarters
  • Stood up an MRO storeroom min/max program with a vending-supplier consignment that took stockouts on consumables to near zero during commissioning
NetSuiteRaw materialMRO min/max
Buyer Specializations

Match the Buyer specialty to your commodity mix and line

“Buyer” covers several execution seats depending on the commodity, PO volume, and whether the role also carries planning. Below are the specializations we recruit for:

Buyer
MRP-driven PO release, supplier follow-up, expediting
Hire for this specialty
Senior Buyer
Owns a commodity end to end, mentors junior buyers
Hire for this specialty
Buyer/Planner
Purchasing plus material planning for a cell or line
Hire for this specialty
Purchasing Agent
Raw material, MRO, indirect spend
Hire for this specialty
Electronics & Connector Buyer
Long-lead components, distributors, allocation
Hire for this specialty
Machined & Fabricated Parts Buyer
Machine shops, sheet metal, castings, coatings
Hire for this specialty
Aerospace & Defense Buyer
ITAR, DFARS, AS9100 approved-supplier buys
Hire for this specialty
Sourcing Engineer (peer)
New-part sourcing and supplier selection
Hire for this specialty
Expeditor (peer)
Dedicated delivery-tracking seat
Hire for this specialty
Production Planner (peer)
MPS/MRP and build plans the Buyer executes against
Hire for this specialty
Materials Manager (leader)
Purchasing, planning and stores under one leader
Hire for this specialty
Supply Chain Manager (leader)
End-to-end supply chain ownership
Hire for this specialty

Not sure which Buyer specialty fits?

We’ll help you scope the role on the call — commodity mix, PO volume, ERP, ITAR exposure, and whether the seat also plans.

Hire Buyers →
Vetting Criteria

What we verify on every Buyer candidate

Buyer hires live and die on executed PO volume and supplier delivery results, not on which ERP appears on the resume. Below is what every candidate has documented before you meet them:

PO volume and MRP discipline

Verified weekly PO and line-item volume converted from MRP planned orders in SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, Odoo, or similar, with exception messages worked and PO error rate confirmed by the purchasing manager.

Supplier delivery results

Reference-verified open-order management — past-due lines worked down, on-time delivery moved on the commodity they owned, and expedites escalated ahead of build dates rather than after.

Negotiation record

Documented price and lead-time negotiation on repeat buys: blanket orders, volume tiers, cost-down against should-cost, and lead-time reduction through forecast sharing or scheduled releases.

Compliance and controlled-part handling

Verified handling of ITAR-controlled drawings and parts, DFARS flow-downs, AS9100 or ISO 9001 approved-supplier requirements, and certificates of conformance at receipt on defense and space programs.

Credentials verified

APICS CPIM or CSCP, CPSM, or CPP where claimed; supply chain, business, or engineering degree; SAP MM, Oracle, NetSuite, Odoo, and Excel proficiency; US-person status for ITAR seats where claimed — all checked.

Compensation alignment

Buyer, Senior Buyer, and Buyer/Planner comp bands aligned before finalists are introduced, including overtime treatment, bonus, and relocation terms at defense-tech, space, and gigafactory employers.

FAQ

Hiring a Buyer: frequently asked questions

How long does it take to hire a Buyer?

Time to shortlist is typically 2 weeks from scoping call. Total time to placement (shortlist through offer acceptance) is typically 3–4 weeks. Seats that require ITAR eligibility, an active clearance, or relocation to a remote plant or launch site can run a week longer.

What does a Buyer cost in 2026?

Most US Buyers in industrial and aerospace manufacturing land between $65K and $90K base depending on metro, commodity, and PO volume. Senior Buyers and Buyer/Planners at defense-tech, space, and gigafactory employers typically run $90K–$115K, often with a 5–10% bonus. These are market bands; we confirm live market bands during scoping. See our aerospace supply chain salary guide for the wider ladder.

How is a Buyer different from a Sourcing Engineer?

A Sourcing Engineer finds and qualifies the supplier for a new part — reads the drawing, runs the RFQ, works the DFM feedback, and approves the source. The Buyer then runs the repeat buys: converts MRP demand to POs, follows up, expedites, and negotiates price and lead time on parts that already have a source. On a small program one person does both; on a rate program they are separate seats.

How is a Buyer different from an Expeditor or a Production Planner?

An Expeditor is a dedicated delivery-chasing seat that works past-due and critical lines across every buyer’s commodities. A Production Planner owns the build plan and MRP parameters that generate the demand the Buyer executes against. Many plants combine Buyer and Planner into a Buyer/Planner seat per cell; rate programs split all three.

Do you require APICS or a supply chain degree?

No. CPIM, CSCP, and CPSM are useful signals and we verify them when claimed, but reference-verified PO volume and supplier delivery results outweigh the credential. Strong candidates often come from production control, receiving and stores, or a distributor’s inside-sales desk.

Can you recruit Buyers for ITAR-controlled or cleared programs?

Yes. Defense-tech and space programs add ITAR drawing control, DFARS and specialty-metals flow-downs, AS9100 approved-supplier lists, and in some cases clearance requirements to the buyer’s workload. We confirm US-person status and clearance eligibility during scoping and shortlist only candidates who can start on your timeline.

Do you offer a placement guarantee?

Yes. Every Buyer placement carries a replacement guarantee. Guarantee terms are confirmed in writing at engagement start.

Can you build a full purchasing team?

Yes. Multi-hire builds (several Buyers by commodity under a Materials Manager or Supply Chain Manager, plus an Expeditor and a Production Planner) route through embedded recruiting or RPO. Common for employers standing up a new plant or ramping a production rate.

Ready to hire

Talk to an industrial purchasing recruiter

30-minute scoping conversation. We’ll review the Buyer role you need — commodity mix, PO volume, ERP, ITAR exposure, rate-ramp plans — then recommend the right hire path and start sourcing.

Hire Buyers →
Related: Sourcing Engineer hiring  ·  Production Manager hiring  ·  Aerospace supply chain salary guide
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