Job Title:  Project Buyer

CAMECA is a world leading supplier of microanalytical and metrology instrumentation for research and process control. Our instruments measure elemental and isotopic composition in materials down to atomic resolution and equip government and university labs as well as high-tech industrial companies around the world.

Reporting to the Purchasing Manager, the Project Buyer leads and coordinates all purchasing activities (parts, services, tooling) required for the projects assigned to them, during the upstream phase of the project — that is, up to product industrialization.

Working closely with the project teams (Global & Technical Project Manager, Engineering, Quality, Production, Service) and the procurement team, the Project Buyer ensures compliance with purchasing processes within the projects.

Key Responsibilities:

Purchasing in the Design Phase:

• Understand the project’s initial objectives and their alignment with the company’s overall strategy, as well as the purchasing strategies, and translate them into purchasing objectives.
• Develop the project purchasing plan in line with the project’s objectives and the purchasing strategies defined by the commodity buyers.
• Ensure, in collaboration with the project teams, that the functional and technical specifications include all necessary purchasing-related elements.
• Ensure the availability and completeness of purchasing data at each stage and throughout the project’s progress, in order to secure milestone validation and proper execution of purchasing and procurement processes.

Supplier Selection:

• Act as a proactive partner to commodity buyers, helping to build or refine a supplier panel capable of meeting project requirements.
• Manage the sourcing, RFQ process, and supplier selection for project-related purchases not linked to a commodity, in line with department standards and processes.
• Propose and lead QCD (Quality, Cost, Delivery) improvement actions, taking into account the project schedules and budgets.

Selection, Negotiation & Contracting:

• Support commodity buyers during the evaluation and selection of new suppliers, up to the validation of purchase and tooling commitments.
• Ensure, in coordination with commodity buyers, the placement of prototype orders—or do so autonomously for non‑commodity-related purchases.
• Negotiate and formalize, in collaboration with commodity buyers or autonomously for non‑commodity-related purchases, the project-specific terms with selected suppliers and service providers.
• Ensure that all upstream aspects are included in initial contracts: intellectual property, service contracts, and series production contracts.
• Oversee the proper execution of purchasing contracts related to the project until final prototype acceptance.

Purchasing Performance within the Project:

• Drive the evolution of the project’s purchasing performance, particularly monitoring the achievement of cost targets by promoting a design‑to‑cost approach.
• Identify, analyze, communicate, and contribute to the mitigation of project purchasing risks.
• Establish product costs for prototypes and subsequent series projections.
• Manage KPIs and propose continuous improvement initiatives.
• Assess business stakeholders’ satisfaction with the purchases made and suppliers selected.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of the purchasing department’s performance.

Education & Experience:

• Technical background (engineering degree or equivalent) with a specialization in purchasing
• At least 5 years of experience in project purchasing within an industrial environment, or in commodity management (strategy definition, supplier sourcing, negotiation, contract drafting, etc.) in a multicultural and multi‑site environment

Professional Knowledge & Abilities: 

• English level: B2
• Proficiency in office tools (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)
• Strong analytical and summarizing skills
• Technical credibility, ability to challenge technical choices and make constructive proposals
• Proficient in project management
• Strong negotiation skills
• Curious and dynamic personality with a strong team spirit
• Effective communication skills, strong listening abilities and customer‑service mindset
• Organized, autonomous, rigorous, with a sense of priorities and results‑oriented mindset