Purchasing Agent

Position Summary: The Purchasing Agent is responsible for the timely, accurate, and commercially effective procurement of materials and equipment required to support assigned projects and manufacturing operations. The Purchasing Agent owns assigned purchase requirements from requisition through delivery, including sourcing, commercial evaluation, purchase order execution, supplier acknowledgment, expediting, change management, delivery tracking, discrepancy resolution, and closeout. The Purchasing Agent works closely with Project Management, Engineering, Manufacturing/Operations, Receiving, Accounts Payable, and suppliers to ensure material requirements are accurate, critical and long-lead materials are identified early, project need dates are protected, and procurement risks are proactively identified, communicated, and resolved.

Role Responsibilities: Own assigned project and operational purchasing requirements from approved requisition through receipt, reconciliation, and closeout. Review requisitions, bills of material (BOMs), specifications, drawings, part numbers, quantities, need dates, and supporting documentation for completeness and reasonableness before purchase. Identify questionable quantities, duplicate requirements, missing information, or conflicting requirements and obtain clarification before committing company funds. Obtain competitive quotations when appropriate and in accordance with procurement policy. Evaluate total value, including price, lead time, freight, payment terms, quality, supplier performance, warranty, and project schedule requirements rather than price alone. Use established agreements, preferred suppliers, negotiated pricing, and strategic sourcing arrangements whenever applicable. Document appropriate justification for sole-source, OEM, emergency, or noncompetitive purchases. Negotiate pricing, delivery, freight, payment terms, storage, product releases, returns, cancellation terms, and other commercial conditions within delegated authority. Create accurate purchase orders in the Company ERP/procurement system, including correct supplier, part number, description, quantity, pricing, project/cost coding, delivery location, required date, freight terms, and supporting documentation. Maintain current visibility of assigned material status, including requisitioned, quoted, ordered, acknowledged, scheduled, shipped, received, backordered, and at-risk items. Coordinate with Engineering and Project Management when purchasing information, approvals, specifications, or decisions are required. Establish a clear response deadline based on project urgency and escalate missed deadlines through the appropriate management chain. Manage purchasing changes after PO issuance, including quantity, scope, specification, price, delivery date, release schedule, cancellation, and substitution changes. Maintain appropriate documentation and communicate impacts to affected stakeholders. Coordinate with Receiving and warehouse personnel to resolve shortages, overages, damaged shipments, unidentified material, missing packing slips/BOLs, incorrect deliveries, and other receiving discrepancies. Coordinate with Accounts Payable to resolve PO-to-invoice discrepancies, including pricing, quantities, freight, taxes, credits, duplicate invoices, and other three-way-match issues. Maintain accurate supplier information and support supplier onboarding, qualification, and performance management as required. Maintain organized purchasing records and documentation sufficient to support project controls, financial reconciliation, audit requirements, and management reporting. Participate in project procurement meetings and provide clear status updates, risks, required decisions, and recovery actions for assigned materials.

Qualifications: Bachelor's degree with 3+ years of relevant experience, or an equivalent combination of education, skills, and experience. Works under general supervision, exercising independent judgment in day-to-day purchasing decisions; consults with supervisor on complex or non-routine matters. Receives guidance primarily on overall objectives, priorities, and policy-related issues. Acts as a liaison with internal teams and external partners, independently managing matters related to assigned purchasing responsibilities. Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to present data in a clear, actionable manner. Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities with strong attention to detail. Proficiency in Microsoft Excel (e.g., pivot tables, formulas, lookup functions) preferred.

Benefits: RK Industries offers competitive benefits to support your growth and well-being: Benefits & Rewards Philanthropy: RK Industries not only builds our community through our projects, but also invests in it by supporting local services for over a decade through the RK Foundation: RK Foundation Development: Through RK University, we provide hands-on training and development opportunities that empower employees to advance their careers and grow within the company, to include leadership and technical learning opportunities, we well as our accredited apprentice program: RK University & RK Apprenticeship Program Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis. RK Industries, LLC is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status or any other status protected by applicable law