Senior Buyer, Powertrain and Chassis

About Blue Bird Corporation 

 Blue Bird (NASDAQ: BLBD) is recognized as a technology leader and innovator of school buses since its founding in 1927. Our dedicated team members design, engineer and manufacture school buses with a singular focus on safety, reliability, and durability. School buses carry the most precious cargo in the world – 25 million children twice a day – making them the most trusted mode of student transportation. The company is the proven leader in low- and zero-emission school buses with more than 25,000 propane, natural gas, and electric powered buses sold. Blue Bird is transforming the student transportation industry through cleaner energy solutions. For more information on Blue Bird’s complete product and service portfolio, visit www.blue-bird.com. 

 

JOB SUMMARY: 

Reporting to the Senior Manager, Purchasing, the Senior Buyer, Powertrain & Chassis Systems is responsible for leading the strategic sourcing, contract negotiation, and operational lifecycle management for powertrain, chassis, and assigned heavy mechanical and structural commodities. This role serves as the primary commercial and operational owner for critical components and systems, including engine and powertrain systems, transmissions and driveline, steering, braking, suspension, axles, wheels and tires, and assigned structural/mechanical systems. The position balances long-term cost optimization and supplier relationship management with aggressive hands-on risk mitigation, serving as the ultimate escalation point for production shortages, supplier recovery, and supply continuity planning to ensure uninterrupted vehicle assembly. 

 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: 

• Commodity Strategy & Sourcing: Develop and execute comprehensive sourcing strategies for the Powertrain & Chassis Systems portfolio to optimize total cost of ownership (TCO), quality, and delivery. 
• Supplier Risk & Crisis Management: Lead operational risk management, serve as the primary escalation point for critical chassis component shortages, and establish cross-functional crisis management teams to resolve supplier delivery failures. 
• Contract & Cost Negotiation: Lead multi-million-dollar contract negotiations, long-term agreements (LTAs), and pricing reviews with major tier-1 automotive and heavy-duty commercial vehicle suppliers. 
• Supplier Performance & Technical Recovery: Monitor On-Time Delivery (OTD) and quality governance; lead 8D root-cause investigations and corrective action plans directly with supplier manufacturing plants when quality or delivery targets are missing. 
• Capacity & Vulnerability Mapping: Conduct regular supplier capacity reviews, tooling and manufacturing assessments, sub-tier dependency reviews, and vulnerability mapping to identify capacity constraints, long-lead components, and other supply continuity risks. 
• Program Launch & Supplier Transition: Lead purchasing activities supporting new product introduction and supplier transition, including sourcing readiness, commercial closure, tooling, capacity validation, APQP/PPAP execution, early supplier engagement (ESI), and production launch readiness. 
• Resilience Planning: Drive dual-sourcing and manufacturing contingency initiatives for high-risk, single-sourced components and systems. 
• Operational Discipline: Develop KPI dashboards, manage material cost variance reporting, and mentor junior buyers and operational specialists within the purchasing team. 

 

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES: 

• Strong knowledge of automotive or commercial vehicle powertrain, chassis, driveline, and/or heavy mechanical systems. 
• Advanced Sourcing & Negotiation: Proven track record of managing high-spend portfolios, executing complex supplier agreements, and navigating raw material (steel/aluminum) indexing. 
• Operational Recovery: Demonstrated experience leading supplier recovery efforts and managing business continuity in high-pressure manufacturing environments. 
• Quality & Engineering Literacy: Strong understanding of automotive quality standards, APQP, PPAP, blueprint reading, and geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T). 
• Influence & Collaboration: Ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders (Engineering, Quality, Operations) without direct authority. 
• Systems Proficiency: High proficiency in ERP systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, or Infor) and advanced Microsoft Excel data analysis capabilities. 

 

EDUCATION AND EXPEREINCE 

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, Operations Management, or related field 
• 7+ years of supply chain, purchasing, operations, planning, or supplier management experience 
• 3+ years of strategic sourcing, commodity management, supplier management, or purchasing experience within automotive, commercial vehicle, heavy truck, aerospace, or similar complex manufacturing environments; powertrain or chassis commodity experience preferred. 
• 3+ years leading projects, crisis management initiatives, or operational teams 
• Manufacturing experience required 
• Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident 

 

PREFERRED EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE 

• MBA preferred 
• Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt preferred 
• APICS/ASCM certification preferred 
• PMP certification preferred 
• Experience leading supply chain transformation initiatives 
• Experience supporting executive leadership reviews 
• Automotive or commercial vehicle experience strongly preferred 

 

WE VALUE 

• Strategic thinking with operational execution capability 
• Leadership during crisis situations 
• Ability to influence and build relationships 
• Strong analytical skills 
• Continuous improvement mindset 
• Strong customer and production support focus 

 

INCLUDES 

• Continued Professional Development 
• Benefits including medical, dental and vision insurance, 14 paid holidays, vacation time and 401k matching 

 

WORK CONDITIONS  

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

• Local travel 30%  
• Office environment and production environment  
• Must work in manufacturing environment with exposure to heat, cold and noise 
• Fast paced production area with moving objects and sheet metal 
• Occasional periods of standing or sitting for extended periods of time 
• Must wear appropriate PPE when and where required 
• Frequent weeks working 40+ hours 
• Frequent communication with people throughout the day 

 

*The specific statements shown in each section of this description are not intended to be all-inclusive.  They represent typical elements and criteria necessary to successfully perform the job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions 

  

Blue Bird® is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions on the basis of merit. We strive to have the best available talent in every job based on the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities each person brings.  Blue Bird is committed to compliance with all applicable laws providing equal employment opportunities. This commitment applies to all persons involved in Company operations and prohibits unlawful discrimination in all forms. 

  

All candidates must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States and will be required to provide proof of employment eligibility at the time of hire. 

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