Technical Buyer

Job Title: Technical Buyer

Salary: £40,000 - £45,000 + benefits

Location: London (Hybrid - 2 days per week in the office)

The Product and Tech Team are on the search for a newTechnical Buyer.

We’re looking for a Technical Buyer to join our Hardware team and own the commercial side of our products, from the first component choice through to end of life. You’ll join our engineers from the earliest design stage and be the single, trusted contact for our component suppliers and contract manufacturers. Most of a product’s cost, supply risk and lifecycle exposure is fixed the moment its components are chosen, so you’ll have a real say in how resilient, affordable and reliable every Pod charger is. Do it well, and you’ll help make EV charging easy for everyone.

Here's what our very own Lead NPI Engineer had to say:

“Our products are only as strong as the supply chain behind them. We’re looking for someone who understands the product as well as the commercials, someone who can sit with our engineers at the design stage, build real partnerships with our suppliers and make our BOMs more resilient. This is a chance to shape how we source, cost and build every Pod charger we make, and to move us from reacting to supply challenges to staying ahead of them.”

‎What You'll Do:

• Shape sourcing at the design stage - You’ll join design reviews from day one, flagging components that are single-sourced, near end of life, on long lead times or on allocation, and proposing alternatives while changes are still cheap to make
• Lead NPI sourcing - You’ll lead new product introduction sourcing and CBOM approvals for new products, accessories, spares and operations kits, and speed up prototyping by managing engineering samples, quick-turn PCBs, tooling and NRE quotes
• Own our costed BOMs - You’ll analyse our CBOMs, running quarterly reviews with our contract manufacturers alongside the Supply Chain Team, and build should-cost models and qualify second sources across our current products
• Drive cost reduction - You’ll own our value analysis and value engineering (VAVE) programme with our contract manufacturing partners, working with engineering on design-for-cost changes and making sure we see real savings
• Build supply resilience - You’ll review our BOMs with engineering and manufacturing partners to reduce single-source risk, and manage end-of-life and last-time-buy notifications through Arena, our PLM system, moving us from reactive to proactive
• Stay ahead of the market - You’ll keep a close eye on component market trends, lead times and pricing, so we can plan sourcing and engineering strategies early instead of relying on suppliers to tell us
• Be our trusted supplier contact - You’ll be the single, consistent contact for our component suppliers and contract manufacturers, bringing key suppliers into design discussions early and building the trust that earns better allocation, earlier warnings and more flexible terms
• Manage our contract manufacturer relationships - You’ll manage our customer-controlled suppliers, driving contracts and improvements, and audit and benchmark contract manufacturer pricing and agreements so we keep our competitive edge
• Lead supplier quality - You’ll lead technical quality conversations with suppliers, reviewing and challenging 8D investigations, and make sure actions flow through the right engineering routes and are seen through to close
• Keep us compliant - You’ll request and manage supplier documentation for regulations such as RoHS, REACH and WEEE, and build compliance responsibilities into sourcing for kits, spares and accessories from the start.

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What You'll Bring:

• Technical buying experience - You’ve worked as a technical buyer, commodity buyer or in a similar procurement role within electronics or electro-mechanical hardware manufacturing, buying from component manufacturers, distributors and contract manufacturers
• Electronics and BOM knowledge - You can read and understand a BOM and know your way around electronic components, PCBs and PCBAs, cable assemblies, plastics and tooling. You see the impact of a component on cost, supply and production, not just its part number
• NPI and design-stage involvement - You’ve supported new product introduction, working with engineers through design reviews, prototyping and design for manufacture (DFM)
• Cost analysis and negotiation - You’ve built should-cost models, run cost-down and VAVE activity and qualified second sources. You negotiate with confidence and can show the savings you’ve delivered
• Supply chain resilience - You’ve managed obsolescence, end of life, last-time buys and allocation, and you understand how the component market moves
• Supplier quality and compliance - You’re comfortable with supplier quality processes such as 8D and root cause analysis, and you understand product compliance requirements including RoHS, REACH and WEEE
• Systems and data - You’ve used PLM and ERP systems, and you’re confident using Excel and AI applications for cost modelling and BOM analysis
• Autonomy and relationship building - You build trust quickly with engineers and suppliers alike. You’re self-driven, happy to set your own priorities against the roadmap, and you keep things moving until they’re resolved

Bonus skills -

You don’t need to tick every box, but we’d be particularly interested if you bring experience in one or more of the following: Arena PLM; lifecycle and market intelligence tools such as SiliconExpert or Octopart; a CIPS qualification; an engineering background. Hands-on experience counts most, so if you’re excited by the role but don’t meet every point, we’d still love to hear from you.

What's In It For You?

You’ll have the freedom to set your own priorities around the hardware roadmap, a direct say in how our chargers are designed and sourced, and a role at the centre of the Hardware team, our engineers and our manufacturing partners. It’s a chance to move Pod from reacting to supply challenges to staying ahead of them, while playing a real part in the UK’s switch to electric vehicles.

The Perks

• Access for you and up to 5 family/friends to the ‘UnMind’ wellbeing platform
• Access to the Peppy Platform
• Podpoint Charger
• Discounted energy tariff (Pod Power or EDF Employee Programme)
• Flexible hybrid working model
• Work abroad for up to 20 days per year
• Family & friend discount scheme
• 25 days holiday (plus Bank Holidays)
• Very generous parental and family leave
• Pension scheme with a 4.5% matched contribution
• Eyecare scheme
• Life insurance covering up to 4x your annual salary
• Virtual GP provided by HealthHero
• Employee Assistance Program
• Free Mortgage Advice
• Discounted Gym Memberships
• Cycle2Work Scheme

If you’re ready to build supply chains as strong as the chargers they support and help drive the UK’s switch to electric, we’d love to hear from you. Hit apply and tell us what you’d bring to the team.

You must have the legal right to work in the UK. We celebrate diversity and encourage applications from all backgrounds. Your privacy is important to us, all information shared will be handled according to our Candidate Privacy Notice. Good luck and we look forward to speaking with you soon!