Senior Buyer / Procurement Specialist – Manufacturing Mr. Steam | Long Island City, New YorkFull-Time | Fully Onsite | Monday–FridayBuild Broader Procurement Experience in a Hands-On Manufacturing Environment Mr. Steam, a manufacturing business within the American Bath Group organization, is seeking a Senior Buyer / Procurement Specialist to join its Long Island City operation. This position is designed for a procurement professional who already has direct supplier experience, practical negotiation capability, and a working understanding of purchasing, inventory, and material planning. It is not an entry-level training position, a people-management role, or a narrowly transactional purchasing job. The Procurement Buyer / Planner will manage an assigned portfolio of suppliers and materials while working closely with production, quality, engineering, warehouse, inventory, finance, and other internal partners. You will support the complete material lifecycle—from the initial purchasing requirement through delivery, inventory use, quality disposition, return, credit, or final resolution. As you develop product knowledge, supplier familiarity, and sound business judgment, you will be expected to take increasing ownership of routine procurement decisions and demonstrate readiness for broader responsibility.
What You Will Do:
Manage an assigned portfolio of materials and suppliers.
Create and maintain accurate purchase orders, quantities, pricing, delivery dates, acknowledgements, and supporting documentation.
Solicit supplier quotations and compare pricing, lead times, terms, and other commercial considerations.
Negotiate routine pricing, delivery, lead-time, minimum-order-quantity, expedite, and supplier-recovery matters.
Interpret demand, inventory levels, open purchase orders, supplier commitments, lead times, and production priorities.
Identify material shortages, late deliveries, changing requirements, and supplier risks before they disrupt production.
Communicate directly with suppliers regarding order status, commitments, delivery concerns, pricing discrepancies, and issue resolution.
Coordinate returns, rework, replacement materials, credits, supplier corrective actions, and return material authorizations.
Participate directly in cycle counts and inventory-discrepancy resolution.
Work with production, quality, engineering, receiving, and warehouse employees to investigate material and supplier issues.
Identify possible alternate sources and participate in supplier evaluation and sourcing discussions.
Document cost savings, cost avoidance, improved terms, alternate-source opportunities, and supplier-performance improvements.
Escalate higher-risk or nonstandard issues with a clear analysis and recommended course of action.
What Success Looks Like:
During your first several months, you will learn Mr. Steam’s products, materials, suppliers, ERP/MRP processes, purchasing routines, inventory practices, cycle-count procedures, quality processes, and internal operating workflows. As you gain experience in the operation, you will independently manage routine supplier communication, purchase-order activity, material shortages, changing production requirements, inventory discrepancies, returns, credits, and supplier recovery matters. By the end of your first year, you should be operating with substantial independence across your assigned portfolio while appropriately escalating higher-risk decisions. The broader operating environment includes approximately 1,500 SKUs, with the assigned portfolio potentially fluctuating around 500 to 700 items.
Required Qualifications:
Candidates should be able to demonstrate:
Direct supplier communication and relationship ownership.
Personal responsibility for RFQs, quotation comparisons, or routine negotiations.
Experience negotiating or resolving pricing, delivery, lead-time, minimum-order-quantity, expedite, terms, or supplier-recovery matters.
An understanding of how demand, inventory, lead times, open purchase orders, and supplier commitments influence purchasing decisions.
Ownership of supplier or material issues from identification through follow-up and closure.
The ability to act independently on routine matters.
The judgment to recognize when higher-risk matters require escalation.
The ability to summarize an issue, complete the necessary analysis, and recommend a course of action.
Willingness to work fully onsite in Long Island City.
Willingness to participate in hands-on inventory, RMA, quality, warehouse, and production-support activities.
Preferred Qualifications:
The following experience would be helpful:
Approximately three to five years of relevant buying, procurement, buyer/planner, materials, or closely related experience.
Purchasing experience in manufacturing or a manufacturing-adjacent environment.
Experience with electrical components, controls, HVAC, plumbing, building products, metals, fabrication, industrial equipment, durable goods, contracting, or another complex material environment.
Experience using ERP or MRP systems.
Inventory-control and cycle-count experience.
Experience with RMAs, supplier quality, corrective actions, returns, rework, replacement materials, and credits.
Cost-savings or cost-avoidance experience.
Alternate-source identification or supplier-sourcing experience.
Experience working with overseas suppliers or extended lead-time materials.
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
Demonstrated procurement capability, supplier ownership, learning agility, and sound operating judgment are more important than a specific degree.
The Work:
Environment
This is a fully onsite, individual-contributor position in a small, hands-on manufacturing environment where priorities can change quickly.
You must be comfortable balancing planned purchasing work with urgent operational needs, including:
Supplier delays and changing commitments.
Material shortages.
Pricing discrepancies.
Inventory inaccuracies.
Damaged, incorrect, or out-of-specification materials.
Returns, rework, credits, and RMAs.
Production-schedule changes.
Urgent requests from internal operating teams.
Success in this position requires more than processing purchase orders. You must be willing to contact suppliers directly, question information that does not make commercial or operational sense, and work with the employees closest to an issue.
At times, this will require leaving your desk and working directly with production, quality, engineering, receiving, inventory, or warehouse personnel to understand and resolve a problem.
Schedule and Location
Location: Long Island City, New York
Work Arrangement: Fully onsite
Employment Type: Full-time
Schedule: Monday–Friday
Typical Hours: 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Compensation Starting at $76,000 Annually
Benefits:
Midical VisionDentalLTD/STD401K with Company MatchLife Insurance Employee Assistance Programs Employee Discounts
Why Join:
Mr. Steam?
This position provides the opportunity to own a meaningful portion of the procurement operation rather than working within a narrow purchasing lane.
You will have:
Direct ownership of suppliers and materials.
Visible influence on production continuity, inventory accuracy, supplier performance, and operating results.
Exposure to the complete material lifecycle.
Regular interaction with manufacturing and technical stakeholders.
Opportunities to expand your decision-making authority as you establish credibility.
The opportunity to demonstrate readiness for potential future progression into a Senior Buyer position.
This role may be a strong next step for a successful Buyer I, Buyer II, Procurement Specialist, Manufacturing Buyer, Materials Buyer, Purchasing Specialist, or Buyer/Planner who wants broader operating ownership while remaining closely involved in day-to-day execution.
Equal Employment Opportunity:
American Bath Group is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. ABG does not sponsor employment visas now or in the future. ApplyApply today if you are a hands-on procurement professional who can manage supplier relationships, negotiate routine commercial matters, maintain purchasing and inventory discipline, and work across manufacturing functions to keep materials and production moving.
