Senior Buyer
Vital Bio
Accounting & Finance, Software Engineering
Oakville, ON, Canada
Posted on May 15, 2026
About You:
You are a seasoned, proactive, detail-oriented supply chain professional who thrives in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment and is eager to help scale a startup into production and commercialization. With experience in biomedical or electro-mechanical manufacturing, you’re comfortable managing planning, procurement, and new product introduction activities while building strong relationships across engineering, manufacturing, quality, and finance. You are analytical, organized, and hands-on, with the judgment to keep material flowing and the curiosity to improve processes as the company scales.
- Department
- Operations
- Employment Type
- Full Time
- Location
- Oakville, Ontario HQ
- Workplace type
- Onsite
- Compensation
- $85,000 - $100,000 / year
- Reporting To
- Andrea Powers
What You’ll Do:
- Identify and lead improvements to planning, procurement, and inventory processes, championing better tools, smarter workflows, and scalable infrastructure as the company grows.
- Co-Develop and implement KPIs and procurement metrics dashboards (on-time delivery, cost savings, PO accuracy, supplier scorecards, spend analytics, and Purchase Price Variance (PPV))
- Support supplier sourcing and RFQ activity for NPI and production materials.
- Support development of a diversified, resilient supplier base, leading qualification efforts and reducing single-source risk in coordination with Sourcing
- Own purchasing and planning activities for assigned commodities, including raw materials, components, and services.
- Own prototype procurement and material readiness for new builds, coordinating assembly planning timelines, identifying long-lead risks early, and ensuring nothing blocks a build.
- Partner with Sourcing to develop a comprehensive per-part procurement plan for every component transferred, covering approved vendor qualification, lead times, MOQs, safety stock levels, PO strategy, and supply continuity risk.
- Manage end-of-life (EOL) and last-time-buy (LTB) strategies for components affected by product transitions
- Own the formal design transfer and handoff process from Sourcing at the Pilot stage, assuming full procurement ownership of all parts from Pilot build onward
- Partnering with Planning: Drive inventory strategy for assigned commodities — establishing safety stock levels, reorder parameters, and demand-aligned replenishment plans in close partnership with planning to minimize excess while protecting continuity .
- Hold suppliers accountable to performance standards, managing change controls, lead times, quality, delivery, and pricing with urgency, and escalating risks with clear recommendations and resolution paths.
- Partner with engineering and supplier quality to qualify new suppliers and support design transfer activities.
- Maintain and champion master data integrity in MISys, including items, BOMs, suppliers, jobs, and locations, establishing standards that others on the team can rely on.
- Partner with engineering and supplier quality on new supplier qualification and design transfer activities, contributing sourcing expertise early in the NPI cycle to reduce risk and accelerate timelines
- Coordinate production and procurement schedules with manufacturing to support capacity and demand needs.
- Conduct spend analysis and category reviews across reagents and instrument hardware to identify consolidation and savings opportunities — surfacing insights to Sourcing for contract action.
- Support prototype procurement, assembly planning, and material readiness for new builds.
- Identify opportunities to improve planning, procurement, and inventory processes, and help implement better tools and workflows.
What You’ll Need:
- Bachelor’s degree in supply chain, business, engineering, science, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
- 10+ years of experience in procurement, supply chain, or production planning, ideally in biomedical, diagnostics, or electro-mechanical manufacturing.
- NPI experience is mandatory, candidates without demonstrated NPI involvement in a manufacturing, electronics, hardware, or related environment will not be considered
- Hands-on experience with supplier management, purchasing, inventory control, and production planning.
- Deep experience with PO management systems, ERP/MRP platforms (SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, or equivalent), and procurement analytics tools
- Strong analytical, negotiation, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to work cross-functionally and communicate clearly with technical and non-technical partners.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office, especially Excel.
- Strong organization and ability to manage multiple priorities in a lean environment.
- Strong understanding of inventory management principles — safety stock, reorder points, lot sizing, and aging/obsolescence management
- Ability to read and interpret supplier agreements and escalate commercial discrepancies to the Sourcing team appropriately.
- Demonstrated ability to develop and track procurement KPIs including on-time delivery, supplier scorecards, cost savings, PO accuracy, inventory aging, and Purchase Price Variance (PPV
- Experience in high-pressure, fast-moving environments requiring rapid decision-making and prioritization
Bonus points for
- Experience in regulated industries such as medical devices, diagnostics, biotechnology, or pharmaceuticals.
- Familiarity with GMP, ISO 13485, or other quality management systems.
- Experience with MISys or similar ERP/MES platforms.
- Exposure to NPI, design transfer, or prototype planning.
- Experience with continuous improvement methodologies such as Lean or Six Sigma.
- Interest in stepping into a broader procurement leadership role as the company grows.
- An appreciation for puns and a positive, solutions-oriented attitude.
Why Join Us?
At Vital Bio, you will:
- Help build and optimize the supply chain behind innovative diagnostic products that can make a real difference in patient care.
- You’ll work closely with scientists, engineers, manufacturing, and finance in a collaborative environment where your work directly supports product development, production readiness, and operational growth.
- This is a great opportunity to take ownership, expand your scope, and grow into a future procurement leader as the company scales.
Compensation will be determined based on the individual’s demonstrated experience, education, training, relevant certifications or licensure, and other applicable business and organizational factors.
This role is a current, onsite vacancy.
About Vital Bio
Vital is revolutionizing point-of-care diagnostics with our VitalOne platform, delivering real-time care wherever patients are. Our mission is to democratize health technology, making healthcare more accessible and proactive.
Our global team of experts spans chemistry, software, engineering, and microfluidics. We thrive on change, operate on trust, and value diverse perspectives. Our growth-minded culture empowers front-line decision-making and fosters impactful work.
We seek tenacious, bold individuals ready to transform healthcare. At Vital, your talent will make a difference as we work to ensure everyone has access to care when and where they need it.
Vital Biosciences Inc. is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity in the workplace. We are therefore happy to accommodate any individual needs in keeping with the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. If you require accommodation in order to participate in our hiring process, please contact us to make your needs known in advance
As part of our recruitment process, we may use automated or AI-supported tools to assist with application review and screening. These tools are used to support, not replace, human decision-making. Final hiring decisions are always made by our hiring team.
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