Planner Buyer – Supply Chain III

Application close date:

Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the requisition is closed.

At Blue Origin, we envision millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth. We’re working to develop reusable, safe, and low-cost space vehicles and systems within a culture of safety, collaboration, and inclusion. Join our team of problem solvers as we add new chapters to the history of spaceflight!  

This role is part of Blue Origin Operations, which is comprised of Integrated Supply Chain, Test Operations, Safety, Quality, and Mission Assurance. This includes Manufacturing and Supply Chain support across all Blue Origin facilities.

Role Purpose

The Planner Buyer is an end-to-end supply chain role that combines material planning and procurement responsibility for an assigned portfolio of commodities, suppliers, and parts.

The Planner Buyer converts demand into reliable material availability while continuously improving the underlying item, supplier, sourcing, and planning information used to fulfill future requirements. A core expectation is that the organization should not have to relearn how to buy and plan the same part every time demand occurs. Information learned through quoting, ordering, receiving, stocking, and consuming material is captured in the system of record so future requirements are fulfilled more accurately, efficiently, and predictably.

Equally fundamental to the role is driving systemic improvement. The Planner Buyer is expected not only to execute planning and buying, but to recognize recurring problems within their portfolio, resolve what is within their authority, and surface the issues that require broader, cross-functional change. This is part of the job — not a side expectation. The Planner Buyer owns continuous improvement of their assigned portfolio.

Key Responsibilities

• Own planning and procurement execution for assigned commodities, suppliers, and associated parts — from demand identification through material availability.
• Apply enterprise planning standards, methodology, and governance within an assigned commodity/supplier/part portfolio, partnering with the Planning organization rather than duplicating or competing with it.
• Maintain accurate and complete item, sourcing, supplier, and planning information within the system of record, including the planning and purchasing attributes required to make the portfolio work.
• Ensure assigned items have appropriate commodity classifications, units of measure, sourcing relationships, supplier and manufacturer information, lead times, pricing, and other relevant purchasing attributes.
• Establish and maintain appropriate planning and replenishment strategies — including MRP, reorder point, min/max, discrete ordering, and other approved planning methods.
• Translate information learned through supplier quotations and purchasing activity into improved planning parameters and master data.
• Solicit and evaluate quotations, place and manage purchase orders, negotiate commercial terms, and maintain supplier commitments for assigned material.
• Develop working knowledge of engineering drawings, specifications, and technical requirements sufficient to engage suppliers and internal engineering teams in productive sourcing discussions.
• Develop knowledge of assigned commodities and supplier markets to identify appropriate sources of supply, commercial alternatives, risks, and opportunities.
• Monitor demand, inventory, scheduled supply, supplier performance, and changing requirements to proactively prevent material shortages and unnecessary inventory.
• Work directly with suppliers and internal customers to reconcile capability, schedule, cost, and technical requirements — including constructively challenging assumptions and negotiating achievable commitments.
• Partner with Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Receiving, Warehousing, Finance, and other stakeholders to ensure material can be effectively purchased, received, stocked, issued, and consumed.
• Identify recurring manual transactions, shortages, data problems, or workarounds; resolve the underlying planning, sourcing, or master-data causes within the portfolio, and surface issues requiring broader change.
• Operate within and improve the company's ERP/MRP and procurement systems, maintaining the system of record as the authoritative source for planning and purchasing decisions.

Key Characteristics

Successful Planner Buyers are expected to be:

• Relationship oriented. Comfortable establishing productive relationships with suppliers, engineers, planners, operations teams, and other internal customers.
• Proactive communicators. Willing to pick up the phone, initiate conversations with unfamiliar suppliers, and pursue information rather than relying exclusively on email or passive follow-up.
• Persistent. Comfortable continuing to pursue difficult-to-reach suppliers, unresolved commitments, and incomplete information until a clear path forward is established.
• Externally engaged. Willing to visit suppliers, understand their operations and capabilities, and build relationships beyond transactional purchase-order activity.
• Technically curious. Interested in understanding how parts are manufactured, how to interpret engineering drawings and specifications, and what technical requirements drive cost, lead time, and supplier capability.
• Collaborative and constructively challenging. Able to engage engineers and internal customers in thoughtful conversations about requirements, alternatives, priorities, and need dates rather than simply accepting every input at face value.
• Commercially practical. Able to find alignment between what a supplier can reasonably deliver and what the internal customer actually needs, while protecting schedule, cost, quality, and business objectives.
• System minded. Motivated to solve recurring problems at their source and improve the data and processes that make future transactions easier.

Role Authority and Development

The Planner Buyer will be provided the appropriate system permissions, process training, and commercial authority necessary to perform both planning and buying responsibilities for the assigned portfolio. The role is structured to carry enough authority to own portfolio outcomes end to end while respecting established separation-of-duties controls.

Meaningful capacity is deliberately protected for improvement work. While day-to-day execution is the foundation of the role, the Planner Buyer is expected to continuously improve their portfolio rather than repeatedly working around the same recurring problems.

Candidates may bring deeper experience from either material planning or procurement. The role is intended to develop proficiency across both disciplines, with the expectation that the Planner Buyer ultimately becomes capable of independently managing the complete planning and procurement lifecycle for assigned material.

Basic Qualifications

• Experience in material planning, procurement, buying, production control, inventory management, supply chain operations, or a related discipline.
• Working knowledge of ERP/MRP systems and fundamental material-planning concepts.
• Ability to interpret demand, inventory, supplier quotations, lead times, and commercial information to make sound supply decisions.
• Ability or demonstrated aptitude to interpret engineering drawings, specifications, and technical requirements.
• Strong analytical, organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated attention to data quality and disciplined use of business systems.
• Ability to effectively engage suppliers and work cross-functionally with internal stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience spanning both material planning and procurement activities.
• Experience maintaining item-master, supplier, sourcing, or planning data within an ERP/MRP environment.
• Experience with supplier quoting, negotiation, purchase-order management, and inventory planning.
• Experience supporting manufacturing, aerospace, engineering, or other complex technical operations.
• Experience working directly with engineering teams and manufacturing suppliers to resolve technical, commercial, or schedule constraints.
• Demonstrated experience improving supply chain processes, master data, or system-driven planning and replenishment.

What Success Looks Like

A successful Planner Buyer creates an assigned portfolio that becomes progressively easier to plan and procure.

Item and supplier records become more complete. Planning parameters reflect actual demand and supplier performance. Known sourcing information is retained and reused. Supplier relationships deepen beyond individual transactions. Technical and schedule constraints are surfaced earlier, and the Planner Buyer actively works between suppliers and internal customers to find executable solutions.

Repetitive demand increasingly moves through intentional replenishment strategies rather than repeated manual intervention. Supplier commitments become more reliable, shortages decline, and inventory is positioned where and when it is needed.

Ultimately, the Planner Buyer owns and continuously improves the complete connection between demand, engineering requirements, planning, sourcing, suppliers, procurement, inventory, and material availability for the portfolio assigned to them.

Culture Statement

Don’t meet all desired requirements? Studies have shown that some people are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single desired qualification. At Blue Origin, we are dedicated to building an authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every desired qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Export Control Regulations

Applicants for employment at Blue Origin must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (i.e. current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Background Check

• Required for all positions: Blue’s Standard Background Check
• Required for Certain Job Profiles:  Defense Biometric Identification System (DBIDS) background check if at any time the role requires one to be on a military installation
• Required for Certain Job Profiles: Drivers who operate Commercial Motor Vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW), Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) or combination of power unit and trailer that meets or exceeds 10,001 lbs. and/or transports placardable amounts of hazardous materials by ground in any vehicle on a public road while in commerce, may be subject to additional Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations including: Driver Qualification Files, Medical Certification (obtained before onboarding), Road Test, Hours of Service, Drug and Alcohol Testing, vehicle inspection requirements, CDL requirements (if applicable) and hazardous materials transportation/shipping training.
• Required for certain Job Profiles: Ability to obtain and maintain Merchant Mariner Credential, which includes pre-employment and random drug testing as well as DOT physical

Benefits

• Benefits include:  Medical, dental, vision, basic and supplemental life insurance, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability, 401(k) with a company match of up to 5%, and an Education Support Program.
• Stock Options for all regular employees (working at least 20 hours/week)
• Paid Time Off:  Up to four (4) weeks per year based on weekly scheduled hours, and up to 14 company-paid holidays.
• Dependent on role type and job level, employees may be eligible for benefits and bonuses based on the company's intent to reward individual contributions and enable them to share in the company's results, or other factors at the company's sole discretion. Bonus amounts and eligibility are not guaranteed and subject to change and cancellation. Please check with your recruiter for more details.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Blue Origin is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and is committed to attracting, retaining, and developing a highly qualified and dedicated work force. Blue Origin hires and promotes people on the basis of their qualifications, performance, and abilities. We support the establishment and maintenance of a workplace that fosters trust, equality, and teamwork. We provide all qualified applicants for employment and employees with equal opportunities for hire, promotion, and other terms and conditions of employment, regardless of their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin/ethnicity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic factors, military/veteran status, or any other status or characteristic protected by federal, state, and/or local law. Blue Origin will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws, including the Washington Fair Chance Act, the California Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles Fair Chance in Hiring Ordinance, and other applicable laws. For more information on “Know Your Rights,” please see here.

Affirmative Action and Disability Accommodation

Applicants wishing to receive information on Blue Origin’s Affirmative Action Plans, or applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in the application and/or interview process, please contact us at [email protected]. Please note this is a publicly managed inbox. Please do not include any personal medical information in your request.