NPI Buyer/Planner

As the NPI Buyer/Planner, you own material readiness for new product introduction PCBAs and components. From early prototypes through mass production, EVT/DVT, as well as the handoff to mass production stakeholders. You sit between Engineering and the Supply Chain teams, converting and assessing immature BOMs and shifting build schedules into placed POs, committed dates, and kitted builds that land on time.

This role is equal parts tactical buying, prototype planning, and cross-functional firefighting. You will work daily with Design Engineering, NPI, Manufacturing, Global Supply Chain, Quality, and Logistics teams to ensure pilot builds are clear-to-build in an environment where the design changes rapidly without notice.

• NPI Material Planning

• Convert engineering build plans and prototype schedules into time-phased material requirements for EVT/DVT/PVT and pilot builds.

• Plan against incomplete and rapidly changing BOMs; run BOM scrubs with Engineering to close gaps on part numbers, revisions, quantities, and reference designators before they become shortages.

• Identify long-lead and single-source parts early and drive risk-buy or bridge-buy decisions with Global Supply Managers.

• Build and maintain the NPI shortage list; publish clear-to-build status and recovery dates for each build event.

• Plan for build-specific overages using historical program data including attrition, engineering consumption, test consumption, and reliability samples.

• Tactical Purchasing

• Own the RFQ-to-PO cycle for prototype and pilot material: request quotes, place POs, confirm acknowledgments, and track ETAs to dock.

• Expedite and de-expedite based on schedule movement; escalate supplier commit risk with clear impact statements.

• Manage buys against unreleased or non-standard parts, including drop-in samples, distributor spot buys, and broker sourcing when authorized.

• Reconcile pricing, MOQs, NRE, and tooling charges; flag cost drivers ahead of production quoting.

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