Sr. Buyer/ Planner

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Job Title:

Sr. Buyer/ Planner

Reporting To:

Manager, Operations

Work Schedule:

Onsite – Sunnyvale, CA

Position Summary

Moog’s Space & Defense Group is seeking an experienced Sr. Buyer/Planner to support its Mountain View operation. This role owns purchasing and material-planning activities for assigned programs in a high-mix, low-volume aerospace manufacturing environment. The Sr. Buyer/Planner converts approved program demand into executable purchase and production plans, manages supplier commitments and performance, and provides accurate material status so Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, and Program teams can meet cost, quality, and schedule commitments.

The successful candidate is equally comfortable working in an ERP/MRP system, negotiating with suppliers, resolving shortages, and communicating clear recovery plans. This is a hands-on individual-contributor role requiring sound judgment, strong follow-through, and regular interaction with the production floor and supply base.

Key Responsibilities

Material Planning and Schedule Execution

• Analyze program demand, bills of material, inventory, open supply, lead times, and capacity constraints to develop practical material and production plans.
• Maintain accurate ERP/MRP planning parameters, including lead times, order policies, lot sizes, minimums/multiples, and required dates for assigned parts and suppliers.
• Convert authorized demand into purchase requisitions, purchase orders, work orders, and kit requests in accordance with company processes and approval limits.
• Create clear material-status, shortage, line-of-balance, and clear-to-build reporting; provide reliable completion and delivery dates to internal stakeholders.
• Expedite, de-expedite, reschedule, or cancel supply as demand changes to protect program schedules while reducing excess, obsolete, and premature inventory.

Procurement and Supplier Performance

• Manage the end-to-end purchase-order lifecycle for raw material, components, commercial items, tooling, outside/special processing, and other production-related goods and services.
• Issue RFQs, evaluate bids, document source-selection rationale, perform price analysis, and negotiate price, lead time, delivery, and commercial terms within delegated authority.
• Develop and execute sourcing approaches for assigned commodities or programs using approved suppliers; coordinate new-supplier evaluation and onboarding with Quality and Engineering.
• Obtain timely supplier acknowledgments and commitments, monitor open orders and past-due items, lead routine status reviews, and escalate risks before they affect program milestones.
• Monitor supplier on-time delivery, quality, responsiveness, and cost performance; coordinate recovery plans, returns, nonconformance resolution, and corrective actions with Quality and other functions.
• Identify long-lead, constrained, and single-source risks and develop mitigation plans, including alternate-source or schedule-recovery options when appropriate.

Compliance, Data, and Cross-Functional Execution

• Ensure purchase orders accurately include the current drawing/specification revision, quality requirements, contractual flowdowns, delivery requirements, and required supplier documentation.
• Maintain complete and accurate procurement records, approvals, pricing support, supplier correspondence, and system data in accordance with company and applicable customer/government requirements.
• Assess the supply-chain impact of engineering and configuration changes, including cost, lead time, existing inventory, open orders, and supplier implementation dates.
• Partner with Program Management, Project/Program Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Receiving/Inventory, and Finance to resolve shortages, receiving discrepancies, invoice issues, and competing priorities.
• Use data and trend analysis to improve supplier performance, planning accuracy, inventory health, and procurement cycle time; participate in Lean and continuous-improvement activities.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Operations, Analytics, Engineering, or a related field and at least 5 years of relevant procurement/planning experience; OR an associate degree in a related field and at least 8 years of relevant experience; OR an equivalent combination of education and directly related experience.
• Demonstrated experience using an ERP/MRP system to manage demand, purchase orders, inventory, planning parameters, material shortages, and/or work orders in a manufacturing environment.
• Working knowledge of procurement fundamentals, including RFQs, bid evaluation, purchase-order administration, supplier negotiations, price analysis, and supplier performance management.
• Ability to work from bills of material, technical drawings/specifications, part revisions, and quality or contractual requirements with strong attention to detail.
• Strong Excel skills and the ability to organize, analyze, and communicate material and supplier data clearly.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, make sound decisions with incomplete information, meet commitments, and escalate issues with a clear recommended action.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, professional supplier-management skills, and a consistent sense of urgency.
• Ability to access U.S. export-controlled information.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in aerospace, defense, space, or another regulated high-mix, low-volume manufacturing environment.
• Experience purchasing precision-machined parts, electromechanical components, raw materials, and outside/special processes.
• Working knowledge of AS9100, FAR/DFARS requirements, U.S. export controls, configuration control, and supplier-quality flowdowns.
• Experience with Moog Business Systems (MBS), Power BI, or similar planning and analytics tools.
• Ability to read technical drawings and understand basic GD&T.
• APICS CPIM/CSCP, ISM CPSM, or similar supply-chain certification.
• Experience supporting Lean manufacturing and structured continuous improvement.

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Salary Range Transparency:

Sunnyvale, CA $115,000.00–$150,000.00 Annually

Salary Range Disclaimer

The base salary range represents the low and high end of the Moog salary range for this position in the given work location. Actual salaries will vary depending on factors including but not limited to location, experience, and performance. The range(s) listed is just one component of Moog's total compensation package for employees. Other rewards may include annual bonuses, employee stock purchase plan, an open paid time off policy, and many region-specific benefits. 

This position requires access to U.S. export-controlled information.

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