Purchasing Specialist
Location: Germantown, MD, US, 20876 Business Unit: Ophthalmic & Precision Solutions
As a Purchasing Specialist, you will play a key role in ensuring the uninterrupted flow of materials and services that support manufacturing and business operations. You will partner with suppliers and cross-functional teams to procure quality products at competitive costs, maintain inventory accuracy, support compliance requirements, and contribute to continuous improvement initiatives. This role is ideal for a detail-oriented professional who enjoys solving problems, managing priorities, and building effective supplier relationships.
Responsibilities:
In this role, you will:
Execute daily procurement activities, including purchase order creation, order placement, lead time verification, pricing validation, order acknowledgment review, rescheduling, and supplier follow-up.
Support procurement strategies aligned with quality, cost, delivery, and inventory objectives.
Build and maintain supplier relationships and participate in pricing, sourcing, and contract discussions.
Monitor and evaluate supplier performance, including quality, delivery, reliability, responsiveness, and compliance.
Identify supplier and supply chain risks and support mitigation efforts.
Partner with cross-functional teams to understand sourcing requirements and support supplier selection and qualification activities.
Maintain accurate purchasing records, supplier documentation, and system data.
Investigate and resolve purchasing, supplier, inventory, receiving, and invoice-related issues in a timely manner.
Track, analyze, and report purchasing metrics, including cost savings, supplier performance, delivery performance, and inventory trends.
Recommend and support continuous improvement initiatives related to purchasing processes, inventory management, and supplier performance.
Support inventory accuracy by coordinating the receipt, organization, and issuance of materials while maintaining appropriate inventory controls and resolving inventory discrepancies.
Participate in cycle counts and physical inventory activities to ensure inventory accuracy and resolve discrepancies.
Follow applicable quality procedures and support compliance with regulatory requirements, industry standards, and company policies.
Perform other duties as assigned.
Required Qualifications:
To be successful in this role, you will have:
An Associate degree in Business, Supply Chain, Operations, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Two to five years of experience in purchasing, procurement, supply chain, inventory management, manufacturing operations, or a related field.
Strong attention to detail, organizational skills, and follow-through.
Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to analyze data and support business decisions.
Experience building supplier relationships and supporting pricing, sourcing, or negotiation activities.
The ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
Proficiency with ERP systems and Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel.
Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
Demonstrated ability and willingness to use AI tools to improve productivity, decision-making, work quality, and cost efficiency. You must be able to identify appropriate AI use cases and critically evaluate AI-generated outputs.
Preferred Qualifications:
Experience in a regulated manufacturing environment. Medical device industry experience. Experience using ERP systems, Ariba, Qlik, or similar procurement and analytics tools. Knowledge of inventory control, material planning, and supply chain best practices. Professional purchasing or supply chain certification, such as APICS, CPIM, CSCP, CPSM, or an equivalent credential. Compensation Employee Type: Salaried Currency: USD Salary Minimum: 65,000 Salary Maximum: 85,000 Incentive: No
