About the Role
Celestix Industries is looking for a hands-on Purchase Engineer / Senior Purchase Engineer to manage sourcing and procurement of components used in wiring harnesses, cable assemblies and electrical interconnection products.
This is not simply a Purchase Order follow-up position.
We are looking for someone who can understand a BOM or technical requirement, identify the correct supplier, obtain competitive pricing, develop alternate sources, negotiate commercial terms and make sure material reaches production when required.
The role will involve purchasing components such as:
- Wire and cable
- Connectors
- Terminals
- Connector housings
- Seals
- Grommets
- Sleeves
- Heat-shrink tubing
- Braided sleeving
- Tape
- Clips
- Cable ties
- Labels
- Plastic components
- Electrical components
- Packaging
- Other wiring-harness materials
The successful candidate will work closely with Planning, Production, Engineering, NPD, Quality, Stores and Finance.
What We Are Looking For
The ideal candidate understands that good purchasing is not simply:
Receive PR → Get quotation → Issue PO → Follow up.
A strong Purchase Engineer should continuously ask:
- Are we buying from the right supplier?
- Is the price competitive?
- Can we develop another source?
- Is there a lower-cost technically approved alternative?
- Can MOQ be reduced?
- Can lead time be reduced?
- Can payment terms be improved?
- Is the supplier creating a production risk?
- Can we consolidate requirements?
- Can we source domestically instead of importing?
- Can we negotiate based on annual consumption instead of individual PO quantity?
We are looking for someone with that mindset.
Key Responsibilities
1. Wiring Harness Component Sourcing
Source components used in wiring harness and cable assembly production, including:
Wire & Cable
- Automotive wire
- UL wire
- PVC wire
- Silicone wire
- Battery cable
- Power cable
- Hook-up wire
- Shielded cable
- Multicore cable
- Specialty wire
Connectors & Terminals
- Connector housings
- Male terminals
- Female terminals
- Ring terminals
- Spade terminals
- Blade terminals
- Quick-disconnect terminals
- Sealed connectors
- Unsealed connectors
- Headers
- Plugs
- Sockets
Harness Accessories
- Connector seals
- Cavity plugs
- Grommets
- Sleeves
- Heat-shrink tubing
- Corrugated tubing
- Braided sleeving
- PVC tape
- Cloth tape
- Cable ties
- Clips
- Labels
- Fasteners
The candidate should gradually develop strong technical familiarity with these commodities.
2. RFQ & Supplier Quotations
- Send RFQs to approved and potential suppliers.
- Obtain multiple competitive quotations.
- Prepare commercial comparison statements.
- Compare:
- Unit price
- MOQ
- Lead time
- Tooling cost
- Freight
- Duties
- Payment terms
- Packaging
- Minimum order value
- Delivery schedule
- Identify the true landed/commercial cost rather than comparing only unit prices.
3. Price Negotiation
Negotiate suppliers on:
- Piece price
- Annual pricing
- MOQ
- Tooling cost
- Freight
- Payment terms
- Credit period
- Lead time
- Packaging
- Price-break quantities
- Forecast-based pricing
The Purchase Engineer should be comfortable challenging quotations and negotiating with suppliers rather than accepting the first price received.
4. Cost Reduction
Cost reduction will be an important part of the role.
Identify savings through:
- Alternate vendors
- Volume negotiations
- Annual rate contracts
- Domestic sourcing
- Vendor consolidation
- Alternate materials
- Cross-referenced components
- MOQ optimization
- Freight optimization
- Better payment terms
- Design-to-cost opportunities
Maintain measurable records of cost reductions achieved.
5. Vendor Development
Continuously develop new suppliers.
Responsibilities include:
- Supplier identification
- Initial supplier evaluation
- Capability review
- Quotation evaluation
- Sample development
- Commercial negotiation
- Quality coordination
- Supplier approval
- Trial orders
- Production validation
We do not want critical components dependent on a single supplier wherever an alternate source can reasonably be developed.
6. Manufacturer Part Numbers & Cross References
Wiring harness procurement often involves manufacturer-specific part numbers.
Candidates should be comfortable working with:
- Manufacturer part numbers
- Technical datasheets
- Connector series
- Terminal compatibility
- Wire specifications
- Customer-approved manufacturers
- Approved equivalents
- Cross references
Experience sourcing components from manufacturers or distributors associated with brands such as:
- TE Connectivity
- Molex
- JST
- Yazaki
- Sumitomo
- Aptiv
- Amphenol
- Hirose
- Phoenix Contact
- Deutsch / TE
- 3M
- Panduit
will be valuable but is not mandatory.
The candidate must never substitute a component without the required technical approval.
7. BOM-Based Purchasing
Work from engineering BOMs and ERP requirements.
Responsibilities include:
- Reviewing component requirements
- Understanding item descriptions
- Identifying manufacturer part numbers
- Checking approved suppliers
- Validating purchase quantities
- Reviewing existing stock
- Reviewing open POs
- Understanding future demand
- Avoiding unnecessary excess procurement
Purchasing decisions should be based on actual requirements, not simply on historical buying habits.
8. Material Planning
Work closely with Planning and Production to ensure uninterrupted material availability.
Monitor:
- Current inventory
- Open Purchase Orders
- Supplier lead times
- Customer backlog
- Forecast requirements
- Safety stock
- Material shortages
- Delayed shipments
Material shortages should be identified and escalated before production is affected.
9. Lead-Time Management
Wiring harnesses often contain components with long or unpredictable lead times.
The Purchase Engineer will be responsible for identifying:
- Long-lead components
- Single-source items
- Imported components
- Allocation-controlled components
- Components with high MOQs
- Supplier capacity constraints
Develop mitigation plans for critical materials.
10. Purchase Order Management
Prepare and manage Purchase Orders accurately.
Ensure POs clearly specify:
- Correct item
- Manufacturer
- Manufacturer part number
- Quantity
- Price
- Currency
- Delivery date
- Delivery location
- Payment terms
- Freight terms
- Quality requirements
- Applicable specification
Avoid PO errors that create material, accounting or receiving problems later.
11. Supplier Follow-Up
Follow up continuously on open orders.
Do not wait until the required delivery date to discover that a supplier is late.
Monitor:
- Order confirmation
- Production status
- Expected dispatch date
- Shipment details
- Transit
- Expected receipt date
Escalate risks early.
12. Domestic & Import Purchasing
The role may involve both domestic and international sourcing.
Experience with import purchasing is valuable, including:
- Overseas suppliers
- International quotations
- Incoterms
- Freight coordination
- Import lead times
- Currency
- Customs coordination
- International payment terms
Direct import experience is preferred but not mandatory.
13. Supplier Quality Coordination
Work closely with Quality when supplier material does not meet requirements.
Support resolution of:
- Incoming rejection
- Dimensional problems
- Material defects
- Incorrect components
- Packaging damage
- Supplier process issues
Coordinate corrective action with suppliers.
Where required, support:
- Supplier CAPA
- 8D
- PPAP
- APQP
- Supplier audits
14. Supplier Performance
Track supplier performance using measurable data.
Important metrics include:
- On-time delivery
- Quality rejection
- Lead time
- Price competitiveness
- Responsiveness
- Corrective-action closure
- Delivery reliability
Suppliers should be managed based on performance rather than relationships alone.
15. Inventory Optimization
Work with Planning and Stores to balance:
Material availability vs excess inventory.
The goal is not simply to ensure material exists.
Good purchasing also means avoiding unnecessary working capital tied up in:
- Excess inventory
- Slow-moving inventory
- Duplicate materials
- Excess MOQ purchases
- Obsolete components
16. Engineering & NPD Support
Support new product development by sourcing new components from customer BOMs and drawings.
Responsibilities may include:
- RFQ sourcing
- Sample procurement
- Prototype quantities
- Alternate supplier development
- Cost comparison
- Component lead-time identification
- Technical documentation collection
Work closely with Engineering where components require technical approval.
17. Costing & Quotation Support
Provide accurate component pricing for:
- New customer RFQs
- New product costing
- Annual price reviews
- Engineering changes
- Alternate sourcing
Purchase pricing directly affects Celestix's ability to quote competitively.
Accuracy and speed are therefore important.
18. ERP Discipline
Maintain accurate procurement information in ERP.
This may include:
- Purchase Orders
- Supplier details
- Pricing
- Lead time
- MOQ
- Delivery dates
- Open-order status
- Approved suppliers
The ERP should reflect reality.
We do not want critical purchasing information maintained only in individual Excel sheets or someone's email inbox.
19. Purchase MIS & KPIs
Prepare and monitor reports covering:
- Open Purchase Orders
- Overdue Purchase Orders
- Material shortages
- Cost reduction
- Supplier performance
- Purchase value
- Inventory exposure
- Long-lead materials
- Critical shortages
- Supplier delivery performance
Required Experience
We will consider candidates with approximately 3–8 years of purchasing/procurement experience.
Direct wiring-harness experience is strongly preferred but should not be mandatory for every candidate.
We will also consider candidates from:
- Electrical components
- Electronics manufacturing
- Automotive components
- Cable manufacturing
- Connector manufacturing
- Switchgear
- Home appliances
- Industrial electrical products
- EMS / electronics assembly
provided they have strong experience purchasing relevant technical components.
Candidate Titles We Will Consider
Do not assume your current designation must be “Purchase Engineer.”
Candidates currently working as:
- Purchase Engineer
- Senior Purchase Engineer
- Procurement Engineer
- Purchase Executive
- Senior Purchase Executive
- Sourcing Engineer
- Vendor Development Engineer
- Strategic Sourcing Engineer
- Buyer
- Senior Buyer
- Procurement Executive
may apply.
Qualification
Diploma / B.E. / B.Tech in:
- Electrical Engineering
- Electronics Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Production Engineering
- Automobile Engineering
- Related engineering disciplines
Candidates with strong technical procurement experience from relevant industries will be considered even if their exact educational background differs.
Preferred Skills
Strong candidates will have experience with:
- Technical purchasing
- Wiring harness components
- Electrical connectors
- Terminals
- Wire and cable
- Vendor development
- Negotiation
- Cost reduction
- ERP
- BOMs
- Material planning
- Supplier quality
- Import procurement
- Technical drawings and specifications
Ideal Candidate
A strong candidate should be able to receive a requirement such as:
TE Connectivity connector housing + terminals + seals, annual requirement 300,000 sets
and independently start asking:
- Is the manufacturer part number correct?
- Who are the authorized/credible sources?
- Is the terminal compatible with the housing?
- What is the MOQ?
- What is the lead time?
- Can we negotiate annual pricing?
- Is there a domestic source?
- Is an approved equivalent available?
- What inventory do we already have?
- What is the actual requirement date?
- Are we creating excess inventory?
- Is there a supply-risk issue?
That is the level of ownership we want from this position.
What Success Looks Like
A successful Purchase Engineer will help Celestix achieve:
- Zero avoidable production stoppages due to purchasing
- Competitive component pricing
- Reduced material lead times
- Reliable suppliers
- Reduced single-source dependency
- Lower inventory
- Better payment terms
- Lower MOQs
- Accurate ERP information
- Strong supplier quality
- Early shortage escalation
- Continuous measurable cost reduction
