Purchasing Assistant Jobs in Zachary, LA (NOW HIRING)

Purchasing Manager

Company: Safe Air Technology
Location: On-Site
Job Type: Full-Time
Department: Supply Chain / Operations

Position Summary

Safe Air Technology is seeking an experienced and highly organized Purchasing Manager to lead and manage the company’s purchasing activities in support of our growing manufacturing operations.

The Purchasing Manager is responsible for ensuring materials, components, and services are purchased at the right cost, quality, quantity, and timing to support production schedules and customer commitments. This position will work closely with Supply Chain, Engineering, Production, Project Management, Quality, and Accounting to proactively identify material needs, manage supplier performance, resolve shortages, and reduce purchasing-related delays.

This is a hands-on leadership role in a fast-paced manufacturing environment. The successful candidate must be proactive, detail-oriented, comfortable managing multiple priorities, and able to create accountability with both suppliers and internal teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage day-to-day purchasing activities for materials, components, equipment, and services required to support manufacturing operations.
• Lead and support the purchasing team, establishing clear priorities, expectations, and accountability.
• Review production requirements, project schedules, inventory levels, and material demand to ensure purchasing activities align with operational needs.
• Issue and manage purchase orders and ensure pricing, quantities, specifications, delivery dates, and terms are accurate.
• Proactively monitor open purchase orders and supplier commitments to identify potential shortages or delays before they impact production.
• Expedite critical materials and develop recovery plans when supplier delays or shortages occur.
• Maintain regular communication with suppliers regarding order status, lead times, capacity, quality concerns, and changing production requirements.
• Develop and maintain strong supplier relationships while holding vendors accountable for quality, cost, and on-time delivery.
• Negotiate pricing, payment terms, lead times, freight terms, and other commercial conditions when appropriate.
• Identify opportunities for cost savings, supplier consolidation, improved purchasing terms, and strategic sourcing.
• Assist with identifying and qualifying alternate suppliers to reduce supply-chain risk and improve material availability.
• Coordinate closely with Engineering regarding specifications, approved components, substitutions, revisions, and new material requirements.
• Work with Production and Operations to understand upcoming material needs and address shortages that could affect manufacturing schedules.
• Collaborate with Quality to address supplier quality issues, nonconforming materials, and corrective actions.
• Coordinate with Accounting to resolve invoice discrepancies, pricing differences, receiving issues, and other purchase-order-related concerns.
• Maintain accurate purchasing information, supplier records, lead times, pricing, and purchase-order data within the company ERP system.
• Monitor purchasing KPIs, including supplier on-time delivery, purchase price variance, open purchase orders, shortages, lead times, and supplier performance.
• Provide regular updates to leadership regarding critical material risks, supplier concerns, purchasing priorities, and corrective actions.
• Develop and improve purchasing procedures, controls, and standard work to support continued company growth.
• Ensure purchasing activities comply with company policies, approval requirements, and internal controls.
• Support inventory optimization efforts while balancing material availability with working-capital objectives.
• Participate in production planning, project, and supply-chain meetings as required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Operations, Engineering, or a related field preferred.
• 5+ years of purchasing, procurement, or supply-chain experience, preferably within a manufacturing environment.
• Previous experience supervising or leading purchasing/procurement employees preferred.
• Strong understanding of purchasing processes, supplier management, inventory, manufacturing requirements, and material planning.
• Experience working with ERP or MRP systems required; experience with Sage 100 is a plus.
• Strong negotiation, vendor-management, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to read and understand bills of materials, part specifications, drawings, and other technical purchasing requirements.
• Strong Microsoft Excel and data-analysis skills.
• Excellent organizational skills with the ability to manage a high volume of purchase orders, suppliers, projects, and competing priorities.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively across Engineering, Production, Quality, Accounting, Project Management, and other departments.

Key Competencies

• Sense of Urgency: Recognizes material risks early and acts quickly to prevent production delays.
• Accountability: Takes ownership of purchasing commitments and follows issues through resolution.
• Planning & Organization: Effectively prioritizes purchasing activities based on production and project requirements.
• Supplier Management: Builds productive supplier relationships while maintaining clear performance expectations.
• Problem Solving: Develops practical solutions to shortages, delays, pricing issues, and supply-chain disruptions.
• Communication: Provides timely and accurate information regarding material status, risks, and purchasing priorities.
• Attention to Detail: Maintains accurate purchase orders, pricing, quantities, dates, and ERP information.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Works effectively with internal teams to support production and customer requirements.
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Performance Expectations

Success in this position will be measured by the Purchasing Manager’s ability to:

• Maintain material availability to support scheduled production.
• Reduce material-related production delays and shortages.
• Improve supplier on-time delivery and responsiveness.
• Maintain accurate purchase orders, lead times, pricing, and ERP data.
• Identify material risks early and communicate them to the appropriate teams.
• Improve purchasing processes, controls, and accountability.
• Achieve measurable cost savings and favorable purchasing terms without sacrificing quality or delivery.
• Build a purchasing function capable of supporting Safe Air Technology’s continued growth.

About Safe Air Technology

Safe Air Technology designs and manufactures specialized HVAC equipment for mission-critical and demanding applications. Our continued growth requires a strong, responsive supply chain capable of supporting increasingly complex production requirements and customer schedules.

Our team operates around three core values: Integrity, Precision, Empowerment