NPI/Indirect Buyer
The NPI/Indirect Buyer is responsible for leading sourcing, procurement, and supplier engagement activities that support successful New Product Introduction (NPI) initiatives and indirect procurement programs across CONMED's global operations. This role serves as the primary sourcing liaison between Global Sourcing, R&D, Engineering, Operations, Planning, Supplier Quality, Product Management, and key business stakeholders to ensure supplier capability, material readiness, cost competitiveness, and supply continuity throughout the product development and launch lifecycle.
The NPI/Indirect Buyer supports supplier selection, qualification, commercial negotiations, and procurement execution for both product launch activities and indirect spend categories, including capital equipment, tooling, facilities, MRO, professional services, logistics, and IT. This role balances strategic sourcing principles with operational execution to support speed-to-market objectives, operational efficiency, risk mitigation, and cost optimization.
***This is a remote position***
Key Responsibilities
New Product Introduction (NPI)
- Lead sourcing and procurement activities for assigned NPI projects from concept through commercial launch.
- Participate as the purchasing representative on cross-functional product development teams.
- Develop sourcing strategies for new components, assemblies, tooling, equipment, and services required for product launches.
- Identify, evaluate, onboard, and manage suppliers capable of supporting new technologies and product requirements.
- Ensure supplier capacity, tooling, lead times, and manufacturing readiness align with launch schedules.
- Drive supplier participation in design reviews, development activities, and technical discussions.
Indirect Procurement & Strategic Sourcing
- Support sourcing initiatives across assigned indirect spend categories.
- Conduct spend analysis and identify opportunities for cost reduction, supplier consolidation, and process improvement.
- Manage RFIs, RFQs, and RFPs and lead supplier negotiations for pricing, contracts, and service agreements.
- Support stakeholder requirements across Operations, Engineering, Facilities, IT, Finance, HR, Marketing, and other business functions.
- Develop and execute sourcing strategies that align with business objectives and financial targets.
Supplier Management
- Partner with Supplier Quality and Engineering to support supplier qualification, validation, and approval activities.
- Coordinate supplier selection, quotation analysis, and commercial negotiations.
- Monitor supplier performance related to quality, delivery, responsiveness, and launch readiness.
- Drive corrective actions and mitigation plans when supplier risks are identified.
- Support onboarding and governance of suppliers across direct and indirect procurement categories.
Project & Cost Management
- Maintain sourcing timelines, milestones, deliverables, and project readiness metrics.
- Communicate risks, dependencies, and mitigation plans to project stakeholders and leadership.
- Support should-cost analysis, cost modeling, and total cost of ownership evaluations.
- Identify and implement cost savings, cost avoidance, and value improvement opportunities.
- Utilize data-driven analysis to support sourcing decisions and supplier selection.
Systems & Reporting
- Maintain supplier, sourcing, contract, and procurement data within Oracle and related systems.
- Track procurement KPIs, sourcing milestones, supplier performance, and project readiness metrics.
- Develop spend analytics and reporting to support category management and sourcing decisions.
- Provide regular updates to sourcing leadership and project teams.
Education & Experience Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Engineering, Operations Management, Finance, or a related field.
- 3-5+ years of experience in Purchasing, Procurement, Strategic Sourcing, Supply Chain, or Materials Management within a manufacturing environment.
Preferred Qualifications
- 5+ years of procurement or sourcing experience within a regulated manufacturing environment such as medical device, pharmaceutical, aerospace, or automotive.
- Experience supporting NPI, product launches, supplier onboarding, or engineering change management processes.
- Experience supporting medical device product development and commercialization activities.
- Knowledge of supplier qualification, validation, quality systems, and FDA-regulated manufacturing environments.
- Experience leading strategic sourcing initiatives and category management programs.
- Experience with supplier cost modeling, should-cost analysis, and total cost of ownership methodologies.
- Professional certifications such as CPSM, CPM, CSCP, or CPIM.
- Familiarity with Lean Manufacturing, Value Engineering, and Continuous Improvement methodologies. Experience managing supplier relationships, RFQs, supplier negotiations, and commercial agreements.
- Knowledge of indirect procurement categories including capital equipment, tooling, MRO, facilities, logistics, professional services, and IT.
- Experience working cross-functionally with Engineering, Operations, Planning, Quality, Finance, and Product Development teams.
- Proficiency with ERP systems (Oracle preferred), Microsoft Excel, and procurement tools.
- Strong analytical, negotiation, project management, and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
This position is not eligible for employer based sponsorship.
- Disclosure as required by applicable law, the annual salary range for this position is $98,400 - $125,400. The actual compensation may vary based on geographic location, work experience, education and skill level. The salary range is CONMED’s good faith belief at the time of this posting. Colorado residents: In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.
Benefits:
CONMED offers a wide array of benefits to fit your unique needs. Visit our Benefits Page for more information.
- Competitive compensation
- Excellent healthcare including medical, dental, vision and prescription coverage
- Short & long term disability plus life insurance -- cost paid fully by CONMED
- Retirement Savings Plan (401K) -- CONMED matches your contributions dollar for dollar, with the potential for up to 7% per pay period
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan -- allows stock purchases at discounted price
- Tuition assistance for undergraduate and graduate level courses
Know someone at CONMED? Have them submit you as a referral before applying for this position to be eligible for our Employee Referral Program incentives!
CONMED is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of any legally protected status or characteristic. Protected veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply. The Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal Poster reaffirms this commitment.
Colorado Residents: In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.
If you feel you need a reasonable accommodation pursuant to the ADA, you are encouraged to contact us at 800-929-7176 option #5.
