Customer-Specific Advanced Buyer (Industrial Machinery)

Why Kendall Howard?

We’re a growing manufacturer serving the IT infrastructure field, with a no-nonsense attitude: stay humble, work hard, and take on challenges head-first. Around here, you won’t just “do your job” — you’ll be part of a team that builds, solves, and delivers products we’re proud to put our name on. The benefits and pay are solid, but the real perk is being part of something that matters alongside people who care just as much as you do.

Our Benefits

We know benefits matter, and we’ve got you covered. Full-time employees enjoy:

• Medical, Dental & Vision coverage
• Supplemental insurance options
• 401(k) with company match
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Paid holidays
• Online apparel store

Position Overview

We are seeking a Customer-Specific Advanced Buyer for our industrial machinery manufacturing division. In this role, you will lead the strategic procurement of specialized components and custom configurations for dedicated client accounts. You will manage the entire sourcing lifecycle for high-engineered machinery projects, ensuring component availability aligns with production schedules while meeting custom performance specifications and strict cost targets.

Work Structure

• Fully Onsite: This position requires full-time physical presence at our manufacturing facility.

Key Responsibilities

• Project Procurement: Drive early-stage sourcing for custom machinery builds from initial engineering design through production release.
• Target Cost Management: Execute total cost of ownership (TCO) and Bill of Materials (BOM) analyses to ensure customized machine builds meet profitability margins.
• Milestone Alignment: Coordinate lead times for capital equipment components and long-lead assemblies to eliminate production assembly bottlenecks.
• Supplier Quality Validation: Collaborate with quality teams to oversee initial sample inspections and compliance standards specific to industrial machinery regulations.
• Account Coordination: Act as the technical procurement liaison between internal product engineering, sales account managers, and external specialized component vendors.

Qualifications & Skills

• Experience: 3–5 years of advanced buying or program procurement experience specifically within capital equipment or industrial machinery manufacturing.
• Analytics: High proficiency in ERP systems (Infor Visual, Epicor) and advanced data analysis using Microsoft Excel.
• Technical Knowledge: Strong understanding of assembly machinery components, heavy-duty parts, and automated system integrations.
• Engineering Literacy: Proficiency in reading complex multi-level assembly blueprints, geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T), and technical Bills of Materials.
• NPI Execution: Demonstrated success working within New Product Introduction (NPI) frameworks and product lifecycle management tools.
• Supply Contract Expertise: Experience negotiating tooling ownership, development costs, and strict service-level agreements (SLAs) for custom machinery parts.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Technology, or a relevant business-technical field.

Kendall Howard provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, or disability. We are dedicated to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants with disabilities.