Position Summary

The Buyer is responsible for sourcing, negotiating, and procuring materials, components, and services required for solar panel manufacturing production. This role ensures suppliers meet quality, cost, and delivery requirements, while supporting continuous improvement and cost reduction initiatives. The Buyer works closely with production, engineering, quality and supply chain teams to maintain consistent material availability and optimize inventory levels.

Key Responsibilities

• Source, evaluate, and select suppliers for raw materials, components, and equipment used in solar panel manufacturing.
• Issue purchase orders, maintain order accuracy, and ensure materials are delivered on time.
• Monitor supplier performance related to quality, cost, delivery, and responsiveness.
• Engage with production and support teams to help resolve any material related issues on shop floor ensuring quality, productivity and safety targets are meet.
• Build and maintain strong supplier relationships; support supplier audits and corrective actions.
• Negotiate pricing, terms, contracts, and volume agreements to achieve cost savings.
• Collaborate with production planning to support material forecasting, inventory optimization, and lead time reduction.
• Resolve supplier issues including shortages, delays, quality discrepancies, and invoice mismatches.
• Maintain purchasing data, pricing records, and material master information in ERP systems
• Support new product introductions (NPI) and engineering changes by ensuring timely procurement of new materials.
• Monitor market trends, pricing fluctuations, and risks related to supply availability.
• Ensure purchasing practices comply with organizational policies and regulatory requirements.

Qualifications

Required: Bachelor’s degree in supply chain, Business, Engineering, or related field, or equivalent experience.

• 3+ years of purchasing or supply chain experience in a manufacturing environment (solar, electronics, semiconductor, or related industries preferred).
• Strong negotiation, communication, and supplier management skills.
• Experience with ERP/MRP systems (SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, etc.).
• Understanding of manufacturing bill of materials (BOM), lead times, and inventory control.
• Ability to analyze data, identify cost saving opportunities, and solve supplier issues.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities under tight deadlines.
• Certification such as CPSM, CPIM, or similar is preferred

Work Environment

• Onsite in College Station, Texas Manufacturing environment with occasional supplier visits.
• Fast paced, deadline driven, and collaborative team culture.

We offer a competitive salary, robust benefits, paid time off and growth opportunities.