Buyer II
Advanced Reentry Technologies
Who We Are:
Inversion is an aerospace and defense company pioneering advanced reentry technology to enable next-generation capabilities from space. By combining high-performance materials, precision aerodynamics, and mission-driven autonomy, Inversion is transforming reentry into an operational capability for an entirely new class of missions.
The company’s highly maneuverable reentry spacecraft, Arc, is designed for rapid global cargo delivery, hypersonic testing, and other national security missions that require precise, controlled flight through the atmosphere. Arc creates an entirely new transportation domain, unlocking unprecedented speed and global reach.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, Inversion designs, manufactures, and integrates its spacecraft under one roof, enabling the company to move rapidly from concept to flight. The company is backed by leading investors including Y Combinator, Spark Capital, and Lockheed Martin Ventures, with customers across the U.S. government and commercial space industry.
Position Overview:
We are seeking a proactive and detail-oriented Buyer/Planner to join our engineering team. This role will be responsible for managing the purchasing and planning processes for all engineering-related materials, parts, and equipment that require more than just a standard online purchase. The Buyer/Planner will work closely with engineers to understand project needs, source and evaluate quotes from suppliers, ensure timely delivery, and oversee the shipping and receiving of materials. Additionally, this role will involve forecasting upcoming procurement needs to ensure the engineering team is always equipped with the right materials at the right time.
Key Responsibilities:
- Own end-to-end purchasing and material-planning execution for engineering-related materials, parts, equipment, and custom hardware, from demand identification and sourcing through delivery, receiving, and inventory updates.
- Partner closely with engineering teams to understand technical requirements, specifications, quantities, schedules, and upcoming program needs.
- Source, evaluate, and obtain competitive supplier quotations, considering cost, quality, technical capability, lead time, delivery reliability, and supplier capacity.
- Manage the purchasing process from requisition through purchase order placement, ensuring required approvals, documentation, and commercial terms are complete and accurate.
- Handle non-standard procurement needs, including custom components, fabricated hardware, specialized materials, and equipment that cannot be acquired through standard purchasing channels.
- Track purchase orders, supplier commitments, shipments, and deliveries; proactively identify and resolve schedule delays, quality concerns, quantity discrepancies, and logistics issues.
- Coordinate shipping and receiving activities to ensure materials arrive on time, in acceptable condition, and with appropriate supporting documentation.
- Maintain accurate procurement, delivery, inventory, and supplier records to support engineering execution, cost tracking, reporting, and audit readiness.
- Develop and maintain material forecasts in partnership with engineering teams, identifying future procurement requirements early enough to protect program schedules and avoid material shortages.
- Support inventory planning by helping maintain appropriate stock levels for commonly used engineering materials, parts, and supplies while minimizing excess inventory and obsolescence risk.
- Build and maintain strong working relationships with suppliers and vendors, negotiating favorable pricing, lead times, payment terms, and delivery commitments.
- Monitor and evaluate supplier performance across quality, responsiveness, cost, delivery, and service; drive corrective actions or alternative sourcing when performance does not meet program needs.
- Identify opportunities for cost savings, lead-time reduction, supplier consolidation, process improvement, and improved material availability.
- Ensure purchases comply with company procurement policies, applicable industry regulations, safety requirements, and documentation standards.
- Coordinate priorities across engineering, operations, receiving, finance, and suppliers when schedules are aggressive and requirements are evolving.
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Engineering, Operations, or a related discipline; equivalent relevant experience will also be considered.
- Typically 4+ years of experience as a Buyer/Planner, Supply Chain Coordinator, Procurement Specialist, or in a similar purchasing and planning role.
- Experience supporting engineering, manufacturing, technical operations, or other hardware-focused environments.
- Strong understanding of procurement processes, purchase order management, vendor sourcing, logistics, inventory control, and material planning.
- Demonstrated experience obtaining and evaluating supplier quotes, placing orders, tracking deliveries, and resolving supplier or shipment issues.
- Experience managing multiple concurrent purchasing priorities while maintaining strong attention to detail, documentation accuracy, and schedule discipline.
- Ability to interpret engineering-driven procurement needs, including material specifications, part requirements, quantities, technical documentation, and delivery dates.
- Experience with vendor management, supplier communication, cost negotiation, and commercial terms.
- Strong organizational, analytical, written, and verbal communication skills, with the ability to work effectively with engineers, vendors, operations personnel, and company leadership.
- Proficiency with procurement, inventory-management, enterprise resource planning, or material requirements planning software.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office tools, particularly Excel for tracking, analysis, reporting, and forecasting.
- Comfortable taking ownership in a fast-paced environment with evolving priorities, limited resources, and significant individual responsibility.
- Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government Secret/Top Secret security clearance.
Desired Qualifications:
- Experience supporting aerospace, aviation, defense, robotics, automotive, industrial equipment, or other complex hardware-development industries.
- Experience purchasing custom-machined parts, fabricated hardware, specialized materials, electronics, test equipment, or long-lead engineering components.
- Experience working in a startup, rapid-growth company, or highly accountable engineering organization.
- Experience supporting prototype development, engineering builds, hardware integration, test campaigns, or transitions into recurring production.
- Experience with forecasting tools, demand-planning systems, inventory optimization, or material requirements planning processes.
- Demonstrated ability to analyze purchasing, supplier, lead-time, inventory, and cost data to improve procurement strategies and execution.
- Experience developing alternate sources, mitigating supply-chain risks, and protecting engineering schedules from supplier or material disruptions.
Our office headquarters is located in Playa Vista, CA. This position requires in office presence.
The California annual base salary for this role is currently $85,000-120,000. Pay Grades are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual pay will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: interviews and an assessment of several factors that are unique to each candidate, job-related skills, relevant education and experience, certifications, abilities of the candidate and internal equity.
