Job Description

About Veeco

You probably don’t realize it, but what we do at Veeco touches the lives of every person, every day. It’s a bold statement, but it’s true. From the smartphones in our pockets that access the world’s collective knowledge, to the cloud-based services where all that information lives, to high-speed wireless communication and computing power needed to drive artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, gaming and so much more, our technology is all around us.

We design, develop, manufacture, and service highly complex, cutting-edge machines used by our customers to create the essential devices that drive the digital age, connect the world, and improve the human experience. Along with the world’s leading technology companies, many of which are household names, we help solve their most difficult material science challenges, enabling technologies for a more connected, sustainable, and convenient world.

We’re looking for material difference-makers to join our growing team. Interested? Learn more at www.veeco.com/careers.

Overview

The Senior Buyer is responsible for sourcing and procuring materials, components, assemblies, and services required to support Veeco’s semiconductor equipment operations. The role manages supplier performance, purchase orders, material availability, cost, quality, and delivery while partnering closely with Planning, Engineering, Manufacturing, Supplier Quality, Commodity Management, Finance, and Program Management. For new product development, the Senior Buyer serves as an early supply-chain partner who converts evolving designs and program schedules into executable sourcing, qualification, and material-readiness plans.

Key Responsibilities

• Execute purchasing activities for assigned commodities and suppliers, including request-for-quotation activities, commercial evaluation, purchase-order placement, acknowledgement, expediting, rescheduling, and closure.
• Maintain material availability in line with MRP requirements, production schedules, customer commitments, inventory objectives, and contractual lead times.
• Negotiate pricing, lead time, payment terms, minimum order quantities, non-cancellable/non-returnable conditions, tooling, freight, warranty, and other commercial terms within delegated authority.
• Monitor supplier on-time delivery, quality, responsiveness, capacity, and service performance; lead corrective actions and escalate recurring gaps.
• Resolve shortages, past-due orders, invoice discrepancies, receiving issues, change-order impacts, and other supply interruptions through timely cross-functional coordination.
• Support cost reduction, value engineering, alternate sourcing, lead-time reduction, inventory optimization, and supplier consolidation initiatives.
• Maintain accurate purchasing data in SAP or other enterprise systems, including order dates, confirmed delivery dates, pricing, lead times, source information, and supplier notes.
• Ensure purchases comply with Veeco policies, approved supplier requirements, export controls, quality standards, contractual obligations, and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Build effective supplier relationships and conduct regular business reviews for critical or high-risk suppliers.
• Provide clear status, risk, recovery plans, and decision requirements to Supply Chain and program stakeholders.

New Product Development / NPI Responsibilities

• Participate in product lifecycle and phase-gate activities as the procurement representative, ensuring supply-chain readiness is assessed before each program gate.
• Engage with Design Engineering early to review preliminary bills of material, drawings, specifications, make/buy decisions, and technology requirements before design release.
• Develop and maintain an NPI sourcing plan covering supplier selection, prototype procurement, tooling, qualification, capacity, lead time, cost targets, and production-ramp readiness.
• Obtain rapid prototype and pre-production quotations while distinguishing one-time engineering charges, tooling, qualification costs, and expected production pricing.
• Select suppliers based on technical capability, quality systems, capacity, financial and operational risk, intellectual-property protection, scalability, geographic fit, and total cost—not price alone.
• Coordinate supplier onboarding and qualification with Commodity Management and Supplier Quality, including confidentiality agreements, audits, first-article requirements, process capability, and required certifications.
• Translate short and changing engineering demand into controlled purchase commitments, balancing program speed with exposure to obsolete, excess, or non-cancellable material.
• Track long-lead and critical-to-process parts from concept through build, qualification, and release; implement mitigation plans such as early buys, alternate sources, safety stock, or design substitution.
• Support prototype, engineering, alpha/beta, pilot, and first production builds by driving material readiness, shortage reviews, supplier recovery actions, and daily escalation where required.
• Manage the commercial and schedule impact of engineering changes, late ECOs, drawing revisions, part-number changes, and configuration updates; ensure suppliers receive and acknowledge the correct revision.
• Partner with Engineering and Supplier Quality to close first-article inspection, qualification, deviation, and non-conformance issues without compromising the development schedule.
• Establish production-ready lead times, lot sizes, pricing, capacity commitments, packaging, logistics, and replenishment methods before transfer to volume manufacturing.
• Capture sourcing decisions, supplier risks, lessons learned, and open actions, and complete a structured handoff from NPI procurement to sustaining purchasing or the responsible commodity team.
• Protect Veeco intellectual property and confidential design information throughout supplier engagement and prototype development.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in supply chain, Business, Engineering, Operations, or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant experience.
• Minimum eight or more years of progressive purchasing, procurement, sourcing, or supply-chain experience in a complex manufacturing environment.
• Experience purchasing engineered, build-to-print, electro-mechanical, vacuum, gas-delivery, precision-machined, fabricated, or semiconductor-equipment components is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience supporting new product introduction, prototype builds, engineering changes, and production ramps.
• Experience working across global engineering, operations, and supplier locations.
• Professional certification such as CPSM, CIPS, or APICS/ASCM is preferred.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Working knowledge of ERP/MRP systems, preferably SAP, with strong Excel and data-analysis skills.
• Strong commercial negotiation, supplier management, problem-solving, project coordination, and written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to read bills of material, drawings, specifications, and revision-controlled technical documentation.
• Knowledge of supplier audits, first-article processes, product lifecycle management, risk registers, and phase-gate reviews.
• Knowledge of cleanroom, high-vacuum, precision manufacturing, configuration control, and low-volume/high-mix capital equipment supply chains.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, incomplete information, and schedule pressure while maintaining sound commercial judgment and process discipline.

Key Measures of Success

• Material readiness for prototype, pilot, and production builds.
• Supplier on-time delivery and reduction of past-due purchase orders.
• Achievement of product cost, cost-reduction, and lead-time objectives.
• Timely closure of supplier qualification, first-article, and engineering-change actions.
• Reduction of sole-source, capacity, quality, and long-lead material risks.
• Accuracy of purchasing-system data and effectiveness of stakeholder communication.
• Successful transition of new products from development to stable volume production.

Veeco is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, genetic information, and other legally protected characteristics. Veeco is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities.

Notice to Applicants:

All communication about open positions and hiring will come from someone with a @veeco.com email address. You will always have multiple interviews and meet several team members (in-person or virtually) before we present an offer. We may also check references or conduct a background investigation as part of the offer process. We will never ask you for money for any reason, especially to send equipment or for pre-employment training. If you have any questions or concerns, or if someone has reached out to you and you think it might be a scam, please get in touch with us at recruiting@veeco.com.