Summary The Purchasing Manager - Assembly provides leadership to the Purchasing team at the Wallingford, CT location. Essential Duties and Responsibilities + Drive Strategic procurement activities + Support the GM and the Executive team in the gathering and analysis of spend and investment for key programs and ensure alignment with vision of company business and growth strategies + Be up to speed on upcoming programs and opportunities to ensure best procurement decisions are made early in the process + Maintain close alignment with Engineering to ensure the procurement aspect of "design for manufacturing" is considered and integrated into future designs + Collaborate with other departments to close operational gaps + Place PO's & expedite materials + Drive total cost of ownership TCO reduction, through joint process improvements with suppliers + Create process to Identify and lead implementation of sourcing strategies such as vendor consolidation, annual contracts, and contracted volume-based price reductions + Develop formal Commodity Strategies such as spot buys, forward buys or forward contracting + Measure and identify commodity risk profile of key suppliers. Provide updates to the Executive team + Perform periodic vendor audits to ensure supplier quality, on-time delivery, and continuous supplier base improvements are being achieved + Develop RFP's and negotiate new contracts with commodity suppliers to ensure cost reduction and service improvements + Research and Identify potential new suppliers + Identify areas where single source supply is a risk + Develop and review AVL - Quality + Handle communications and negotiations with suppliers + Develop and maintain matrix showing key suppliers and associated supply agreement status + Create a core process to ensure strategic procurement includes the proper due diligence and integration needed for long-term master contracts + Create standardized metrics that are shared with suppliers on a regular basis with targets and action log + Create and report on TCO metrics for key suppliers + Provide the necessary management, tracking and reporting on supplier quality programs Qualifications/Requirements + High-level leadership and decision-making skills + Strong leadership presence to motivate, influence, and train + Lean practices and tools - able to move from the theoretical to practical implementation + Able to interact with a variety of company functions and a diverse group of personalities + Solid interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal, including the ability to interact well with suppliers + Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, high growth industry; willing to be hands-on and take initiative + Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills + High sense of urgency + Proficient in MS Office suite + Proficient with ERP software and reporting tools; Oracle preferred Equal Opportunity Employer - Disability and Veteran Times Microwave Systems is an equal opportunity employer M/F/D/V.