Sr. Purchasing Specialist

About Us

At Arbor Energy & Resources Corporation ("Arbor Energy"), we’re creating technology to power our lives while protecting the planet that sustains them.  Our advanced power systems deliver clean, reliable baseload electricity with zero operating emissions-modular, fuel-flexible, and engineered for the realities of today’s energy demand. At the core is a supercritical CO₂ turbine with integrated carbon capture, designed to bring carbon-neutral power online quickly at meaningful scale. 

Our team includes aerospace engineers, combustion experts, and systems thinkers with a shared goal: to build technology worthy of the world we want to live in. While many of us began our journeys looking to the stars, we’re applying that expertise here at home to deliver dependable, emission-free baseload power and a future of lasting abundance.  

If you share our values and are drawn to rigorous work with lasting impact, we’d love to learn more about you. Come build what the future will run on.

Steward our planet: We build for tomorrow, ensuring every bolt we tighten and every hand we lend leaves our environment stronger than we found it.

Lead with Love: We champion the success of our people, partners, and planet, nurturing excellence through camaraderie and rigor.

Explore the Uncharted: We embrace the unknown with curiosity, using courage and discipline to transform uncertainty into opportunity.

Role Overview

Arbor Energy is seeking a Senior Purchasing Specialist  to help build and scale a world-class supplier ecosystem as we transition from early prototypes to production-ready hardware. Reporting directly to the Head of Supply Chain, you will own critical supplier relationships, sourcing initiatives, and purchasing operations that support Arbor's most important development and manufacturing programs.

You will lead complex sourcing efforts across a diverse set of commodities and manufacturing processes while partnering closely with Turbomachinery, Combustion, Systems, Test, and Manufacturing teams. This role requires strong commercial judgment, excellent communication skills, and the ability to navigate technical and operational ambiguity while balancing cost, quality, delivery, and risk.

As a senior member of the Supply Chain organization, you will independently manage major sourcing projects, lead cross-functional initiatives, mentor less experienced team members, and play a key role in developing and implementing the procurement processes, tools, and operating practices needed to support Arbor's growth. You will help transform Supply Chain from a startup function into a scalable and repeatable operation by establishing workflows, improving systems, and driving operational excellence.

This role is central to how Arbor's values show up in our supplier ecosystem, leading with love in how we communicate, stewarding our planet through responsible sourcing, and exploring the uncharted as we build new supply pathways for novel hardware.

This is an onsite opportunity in our El Segundo, CA office.

Responsibilities

Supplier & Purchasing Leadership

• Own supplier relationships and commercial performance across assigned programs and commodity categories
• Lead day-to-day purchasing operations while ensuring alignment with cost, quality, delivery, and risk objectives
• Develop and execute sourcing plans that support prototype and production programs
• Drive issue resolution and supplier escalations with clear risk assessments and mitigation plans
• Monitor supplier performance and implement improvement initiatives when delivery, quality, or responsiveness fall below expectations
• Ensure continuity of supply for critical materials, components, and services

Strategic Sourcing & Commercial Ownership

• Lead sourcing initiatives from supplier identification through supplier selection, contracting, and implementation
• Develop sourcing approaches that balance technical requirements, cost targets, production readiness, and supply continuity
• Conduct market assessments, supplier benchmarking, capacity evaluations, and technology reviews
• Lead commercial negotiations including pricing, lead time, payment terms, NDAs, and supplier agreements
• Present sourcing recommendations, tradeoff analyses, and business cases to leadership and cross-functional stakeholders
• Identify and execute cost-reduction opportunities through strategic sourcing, supplier development, and process improvements

Supplier Development & Risk Management

• Establish and maintain supplier scorecards covering quality, delivery, responsiveness, cost performance, and risk
• Lead supplier reviews and corrective action efforts for underperforming suppliers
• Develop qualification, onboarding, and development plans for strategic suppliers
• Conduct supplier risk assessments and develop mitigation plans for critical components and manufacturing processes
• Build and maintain dual-source and contingency plans where appropriate

Supply Chain Systems & Process Improvement

• Develop and maintain sourcing roadmaps, supplier databases, procurement metrics, and reporting tools
• Develop, document, and implement procurement and sourcing processes that improve scalability, consistency, and operational effectiveness
• Identify gaps in existing workflows and establish best practices, templates, and procedures to support a growing Supply Chain organization
• Lead initiatives to improve purchasing efficiency, supplier responsiveness, and operational effectiveness
• Establish and document scalable procurement processes and best practices
• Drive data integrity across purchasing, sourcing, and supplier management systems
• Develop reports and dashboards used to support planning and decision-making

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Lead sourcing and supplier initiatives involving Turbomachinery, Combustion, Systems, Test, Manufacturing, and Quality teams
• Coordinate stakeholders to balance technical requirements, schedule, cost, and supplier risk
• Serve as the primary Supply Chain point of contact for assigned programs and sourcing initiatives
• Communicate supplier performance, sourcing progress, risks, and mitigation plans to stakeholders and leadership
• Provide supplier and market insights that support sourcing and business decisions

Team Development

• Mentor and support less experienced team members through knowledge sharing and day-to-day guidance
• Support onboarding and training of new Supply Chain team members
• Share sourcing best practices, supplier knowledge, and lessons learned across the team
• Contribute to process improvements and documentation that improve team effectiveness

Requirements

• 5+ years of procurement, strategic sourcing, supply chain, supplier management, manufacturing engineering, or related experience in a technical manufacturing environment
• Experience owning sourcing projects from strategy development through supplier selection and implementation
• Demonstrated success managing supplier relationships and commercial performance
• Experience leading negotiations involving pricing, commercial terms, supplier agreements, or long-term supply arrangements
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to make data-driven decisions
• Experience evaluating supplier capabilities, manufacturing processes, and supply chain risks
• Ability to independently manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment with minimal oversight
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills across technical and non-technical teams
• Experience leading cross-functional initiatives involving engineering, manufacturing, quality, and operations stakeholders
• Proven ability to identify process improvements and drive operational change
• Experience developing, documenting, and implementing procurement or sourcing processes
• Demonstrated ownership mindset with sound judgment and strong prioritization skills
• Strong technical literacy, including the ability to read engineering drawings, understand part specifications, and discuss manufacturing processes with suppliers
• Must have the ability to travel to supplier facilities, including on short notice when business needs require, and comply with applicable visitor, safety, security, and export-control protocols
• Ability to travel to supplier facilities and comply with supplier-specific visitor, security, safety, confidentiality, and access requirements.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience sourcing specialty metals and advanced manufacturing processes, including additive manufacturing, castings, forgings, coatings, heat treatment, and custom/high-mix low-volume machining
• Experience supporting aerospace, energy, turbomachinery, propulsion, power generation, or other highly engineered hardware products
• Familiarity with ITAR, EAR, and supplier compliance requirements
• Familiarity with supplier qualification, supplier audits, and supplier development methodologies
• Experience developing supplier scorecards, performance metrics, and supplier improvement plans
• Experience implementing procurement systems, sourcing processes, supplier performance management programs, or operational excellence initiatives
• Experience working in a startup, high-growth environment, or rapidly scaling manufacturing organization where processes, systems, and supplier networks were being developed and matured
• Demonstrated success building procurement, sourcing, or supplier management processes in environments with evolving priorities and limited structure
• Demonstrated mentoring, coaching, or informal team leadership experience
• Strong research skills and ability to identify and evaluate emerging suppliers and manufacturing technologies
• Willingness to travel occasionally for supplier visits, audits, and relationship-building activities
• Strong alignment with Arbor's values and a desire to help build a collaborative, mission-driven Supply Chain organization

Benefits  & Compensation

• Pre-IPO stock options
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance (Arbor covers 90% for employees)
• Basic life insurance fully covered
• Health savings account (HSA) with matching
• Flexible savings account (FSA)
• Unlimited PTO  
• 12+ company holidays, including Earth Day!  
• 401(k)
• Commuter benefits
• Annual learning and development stipend
• And more!

Base Pay: $120,000 - $135,000 USD/year. The salary is subject to the applicant's skills, qualifications, experience, and geographic location.

Our Commitment

Arbor Energy is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, religion, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. Solving global energy challenges requires a wide range of perspectives and experiences, and we are committed to building a team that reflects the world we serve.

Our hiring process is designed to be accessible, fair, and focused on the work that matters most for this role. Reasonable accommodations are available throughout the hiring process and employment-please let us know if you need one.