Senior Buyer

Senior Buyer at USA Rare Earth

USA Rare Earth is on a mission to become a leading supplier of critical materials essential for the green energy and technology revolution. Our materials and technologies are crucial for electric vehicles, green energy, consumer electronics, and defense industries. We hold a substantial interest in the Round Top, Heavy Rare Earth, Lithium and Critical Minerals deposit in West Texas and have developed the first rare earth and critical minerals processing facility in the United States. We also own the only scalable, sintered neo-magnet manufacturing system in the Western Hemisphere. By developing a fully integrated, US-based “mine-to-magnet” critical mineral supply chain, we are poised to be a dominant domestic supplier.

What You Can Expect

At USA Rare Earth, we are pioneers and problem solvers, technologists and team players. Together, we:

• Build Solutions: We are creative, solution-oriented, and think outside the box to solve important problems, collaborating across sectors and with customers to deliver world-class, sustainable solutions.
• Deliver Quality: We are committed to top-tier quality, ensuring industry competitiveness, safety, and excellence in all our fast-paced execution.
• Lead Responsibly: We prioritize safety, accountability, sustainable practices, and financial stewardship for the planet, consumers, country, and each other.
• Win Together: Establishing a rare earth magnet supply chain is a team effort; we communicate openly, challenge each other, and continuously learn to achieve our goals.

Position Overview

USA Rare Earth is seeking a highly skilled Senior Buyer to support and scale company-wide procurement operations during a period of rapid growth. This role serves as a hands-on senior contributor while also acting as a team lead, providing daily guidance, prioritization, and mentorship to the Procurement Team. The Senior Buyer will manage complex sourcing initiatives, lead procurement activities, and serve as the first-level escalation point for procurement execution issues. This position is designed to develop into a Procurement Manager role based on performance and business need.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end procurement for inventory, spare parts, maintenance, construction, time-critical, and high-value purchases, including RFQ/RFPs, negotiations, PO issuance, expediting, and delivery coordination.
• Support sourcing and procurement of direct materials, indirect spend, services, projects, and cap-ex related purchases, as needed.
• Drive best-value procurement decisions with consideration of total cost of ownership and business needs.
• Partner with engineering, maintenance, operations, finance, and project teams to align procurement execution with business requirements.
• Serve as day-to-day lead for procurement team, providing task prioritization, guidance, and escalation support.
• Support development and enforcement of procurement policies, SOPs, and documentation standards.
• Identify and qualify new suppliers; negotiate pricing, lead times, and terms.
• Build long-term strategic relationships with key suppliers and OEMs.
• Communicate procurement status, risks, and constraints clearly and proactively.
• Maintain accurate purchasing records, supplier master data, and documentation for audit-readiness.
• Assist with system implementations and support development of procurement KPIs and dashboards.
• Identify opportunities for process improvement, workload optimization, and efficiency gains.

Qualifications

• 6-10+ years of progressive procurement or supply chain experience.
• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Logistics, Supply Chain Management, or related field strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex sourcing and negotiations.
• Strong understanding of procurement lifecycle, supplier management, and purchasing system with preference in a manufacturing environment.
• Exposure to inventory management, MRO, Capex sourcing and/or industrial equipment procurement.
• Proven ability to operate effectively in fast-paced, high-growth environments.
• Advanced organizational, prioritization, and problem-solving skills.
• Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration abilities.
• Ability to work on Central time.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, dynamic manufacturing environment.
• Experience supporting SOP development, audit readiness, and SOX compliance.
• Solid understanding of Incoterms & tariff implications.
• Demonstrated interest in people leadership and team development.
• Ability to travel up to 25% on an as needed basis.

Physical Demands

The work environment will be a mix of a typical office environment, a manufacturing floor and a construction site. Noise level: Normal office, manufacturing and construction noises. The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Key skills/competency

• Procurement Lifecycle
• Supplier Relationship Management
• Complex Sourcing
• Negotiation Strategies
• Inventory Management
• Cross-functional Collaboration
• Process Improvement
• Team Leadership
• SOX Compliance
• Incoterms