Senior Buyer

COMPANY OVERVIEW Blue Energy’s mission is to unlock energy abundance, energy affordability, energy security, and turn-key decarbonization by developing the fastest path to deploying new nuclear MWs at scale. We are utilizing shipyard manufacturing supply chains and techniques from offshore oil and wind to reduce the cost of nuclear plants by over 60% and the manufacturing timeline to 24 months. Blue Energy is a platform technology that makes use of the latest NRC-approved reactors and is in negotiations with existing nuclear and industrial sites, enabling a much faster regulatory pathway to deploy our first unit. With our innovative centralized shipyard manufacturing approach, we can put nuclear power on a cost-reduction learning curve akin to wind, solar, and lithium-ion batteries. ROLE SUMMARY Reporting to the Director of Procurement, the Senior Buyer owns Blue Energy’s day-to-day purchasing execution: issuing RFPs, evaluating bids, awarding and administering purchase orders, sourcing and qualifying suppliers, and driving cost reductions on procured goods and services. This is a high-throughput transactional role requiring speed, rigor, and full compliance with Blue Energy’s procurement policies and nuclear quality requirements. Experience in regulated or technically demanding industries (nuclear, power generation, oil & gas, LNG, or heavy industrial) is strongly preferred. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES Sourcing & Supplier Identification - Research, qualify, and evaluate suppliers for technically complex nuclear and advanced manufacturing goods and services. - Assess manufacturing capabilities, quality system maturity (ASME N-Stamp, ISO, NQA-1), experience, financial stability, and capacity. - Conduct market intelligence on pricing benchmarks, lead times, and competitive dynamics to challenge costs and identify sourcing alternatives. RFP/RFQ Development & Competitive Sourcing - Develop complete RFP/RFQ packages translating engineering drawings and specifications into competitive solicitations. - Manage the full solicitation cycle - bidder lists, issuance, pre-bid meetings, Q&A, bid tabulations, evaluations, and award recommendations - coordinating with Engineering, QA, and Project Management throughout. Cost Reduction & Value Optimization - Enforce competitive bidding, negotiate favorable terms, pursue consolidation opportunities, and develop alternative sources to reduce single-source dependency. - Track and report cost savings and avoidance against budget benchmarks in a maintained savings log. Purchase Order Execution & Administration - Issue accurate POs in the ERP system covering scope, specifications, delivery, quality requirements, and regulatory flow-downs. - Manage acknowledgements, expediting, change orders, and closeout, including verification of documentation packages (MTRs, QC records, certifications). Policy, Procedure & Compliance - Follow all procurement policies, approval authorities, and SOPs. - Maintain complete, auditable files for every sourcing event and PO. Manage supplier onboarding requirements - NDAs, qualifications, insurance, tax documentation, and ethics compliance - with proper nuclear quality flow-downs coordinated through QA. Supplier Relationship & Performance - Serve as the primary supplier contact on schedule, technical, documentation, and commercial matters. - Track and report on-time delivery, quality holds, and invoice cycle time, escalating issues as appropriate. Cross-Functional Coordination - Collaborate with Engineering, Project Management, Quality, Finance, and Legal across active projects. - Provide regular status reporting to the Director of Procurement on open requisitions, RFPs, PO backlog, delivery status, cost savings, and escalations. QUALIFICATIONS - 5+ years of procurement, purchasing, or buying experience in industrial, energy, power generation, capital project, or advanced manufacturing environments. - Demonstrated experience sourcing technically complex goods and services, including engineered equipment, fabricated components, specialty materials, or industrial services, with a track record of achieving cost reductions through competitive bidding, negotiation, and supplier development. Proven ability to develop and execute RFPs/RFQs and manage full PO lifecycle from requisition intake through closeout. - Hands-on experience with full procure-to-pay execution: requisition intake, PO issuance, expediting, receiving coordination, and invoice resolution. - Strong technical literacy: ability to read engineering drawings, understand process and fabrication specifications, and evaluate supplier technical proposals with an informed, critical eye. - Proficiency with ERP/procurement systems (SAP, Oracle, JD Edwards, or similar) and eSourcing tools. - Excellent attention to detail and documentation discipline; comfort maintaining audit-ready procurement records. - Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to coordinate effectively across engineering, quality, project management, and finance stakeholders. PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS - Experience in regulated industries - nuclear, oil & gas, LNG, aerospace, or petrochemical - with familiarity of supplier qualification, QA flow-down requirements, and documentation controls. - Nuclear supply chain exposure: familiarity with NQA-1, ASME Section III, 10 CFR 50 Appendix B requirements, or N-Stamp/nuclear-grade supplier qualification. - Experience sourcing from or engaging fabrication yards, module assemblers, OEMs, or specialty industrial contractors in a capital project context. - Familiarity with manufacturing processes relevant to nuclear or heavy industrial plant construction: pressure vessel fabrication, pipe spooling, structural steel, rotating equipment, electrical/instrumentation packages. We look forward to your application and helping foster an era of safe, clean, affordable, and abundant energy. Blue Energy is dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. If you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t perfectly align with every requirement, we encourage you to apply anyway. You might be the right candidate for this or other roles at Blue Energy now or in the future.