Senior Buyer / Planner / Commodity Specialist

Job Title: Senior Buyer / Planner / Commodity Specialist

Location: San Francisco, CA (On-site)

Salary: $90,000 - $120,000

LANTANA LED, Inc.

LANTANA LED is a San Francisco-based lighting design and manufacturing company focused on creating innovative, high-quality solutions for niche markets. We specialize in data center lighting, with over 35 million square feet under illumination throughout the United States. We design our products in-house and partner with trusted manufacturers to bring them to life. As we scale into a greenfield manufacturing operation, we are building the supply chain infrastructure from the ground up — and this role is central to that mission.

Job Description

Manufacturing Engineering Manager

The Sr. Buyer / Planner / Commodity Specialist is a hybrid, high-ownership role that spans the full supply chain lifecycle at LANTANA LED. This individual owns three interconnected functions: strategic commodity management and sourcing, factory planning and production scheduling, and day-to-day procurement execution. As LANTANA implements Odoo as its ERP platform and builds its manufacturing operation, this role is critical to standing up planning, purchasing, and commodity workflows from the ground up.

This is a role for someone who is equally comfortable negotiating supplier contracts as they are running MRP, releasing work orders, and managing inventory. You will operate with a high degree of autonomy, own your data, build your processes, and be a key contributor to the operational foundation of a scaling manufacturer.

Responsibilities

Commodity Management & Strategic Sourcing

•     Develop and own commodity strategies for key spend categories — LED drivers, optics, mechanical components, PCBs, and indirect materials — aligned with cost, quality, lead time, and risk objectives.

•     Identify, qualify, and onboard suppliers; maintain an approved vendor list with performance metrics and risk assessments.

•     Lead RFQ/RFP processes; analyze bids, negotiate pricing, payment terms, lead times, and service agreements with suppliers.

•     Monitor commodity market conditions — pricing trends, supply constraints, tariff exposure — and proactively communicate risk and mitigation options to leadership.

•     Establish and manage long-term supplier agreements, blanket POs, and consignment arrangements where appropriate.

•     Drive total cost of ownership analysis across key commodities; identify and execute cost reduction and dual-source opportunities.

•     Track supplier performance against KPIs (on-time delivery, quality, lead time, responsiveness); conduct periodic supplier business reviews.

Procurement & Purchase Order Management

•     Create, issue, and manage Purchase Orders in Odoo for direct materials, components, and production supplies; ensure accuracy in quantities, pricing, lead times, and delivery dates.

•     Monitor open POs from issuance through receipt; follow up with suppliers on confirmations, ship dates, and discrepancies.

•     Maintain and update PO records as changes occur — quantity adjustments, delivery reschedules, partial receipts, and cancellations — keeping Odoo current at all times.

•     Match PO receipts to supplier invoices; flag and resolve variances in coordination with Finance.

•     Maintain supplier lead time, MOQ, and pricing data within Odoo to ensure planning parameters reflect current agreements.

•     Support import purchasing activities including international lead time management, freight coordination, and customs documentation.

Factory Planning & Work Order Management

•     Create and release Work Orders in Odoo based on the master production schedule; ensure WOs are accurate in quantity, routing, BOM linkage, and scheduled dates before release to the floor.

•     Maintain WOs throughout the production cycle — updating status, adjusting quantities for yield or scrap, recording completions, and closing orders promptly upon final inspection.

•     Monitor WO status daily; identify and escalate open orders at risk of missing schedule due to material shortages, capacity constraints, or quality holds.

•     Coordinate component availability prior to WO release; confirm material is allocated or on hand before committing production to the schedule.

•     Reconcile WO actuals (labor, materials consumed) against standards; flag significant variances for review.

Material Planning & Inventory Control

•     Run and interpret MRP outputs in Odoo; translate system-generated procurement proposals into action — confirm, adjust, or escalate as appropriate.

•     Manage reorder points, safety stock levels, and minimum order quantities in Odoo to maintain appropriate buffer without excess inventory buildup.

•     Monitor material requirements against open POs and on-hand inventory; identify shortages and expedite or substitute as needed to protect the production schedule.

•     Participate in cycle counting and physical inventory activities; investigate and resolve inventory discrepancies.

•     Flag slow-moving, excess, or obsolete inventory for disposition review.

Odoo ERP Implementation & Data Stewardship

•     Serve as a primary user and key contributor to the Odoo implementation for purchasing, inventory, and manufacturing modules; participate in configuration, testing, and go-live activities.

•     Own data entry and data quality for supply chain and planning functions in Odoo: vendor records, product lead times, reorder rules, BOM linkages, routing data, and commodity pricing.

•     Identify gaps between system behavior and operational need; document and communicate clearly to the implementation team or Director for resolution.

•     Develop and document standard operating procedures for PO creation, commodity review, WO management, and MRP review as processes are established.

Requirements

•     5 years of experience in a purchasing, planning, or materials role within a manufacturing environment, with demonstrated responsibility across at least two of the three functions (commodity management, procurement, planning).

•     Proven track record in strategic sourcing and commodity management: RFQ execution, supplier negotiation, contract management, and spend category ownership.

•     Hands-on experience creating and managing Purchase Orders and Work Orders in an ERP system (Odoo strongly preferred; Oracle, SAP, NetSuite, or similar also considered).

•     Working knowledge of MRP concepts: lead times, reorder points, safety stock, lot sizing, and BOM structures.

•     Strong attention to detail and data discipline — this role owns system accuracy for planning, procurement, and commodity data.

•     Ability to prioritize and manage multiple open transactions simultaneously in a fast-moving production environment.

•     Comfortable operating in a startup/greenfield environment where processes are being built, not inherited.

•     Proficient in Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets for tracking, cost modeling, and ad-hoc analysis.

•     Excellent communicator — able to interface with suppliers, production staff, finance, and executive leadership.

Nice to have

•     Direct Odoo experience in the Purchase, Inventory, or Manufacturing modules.

•     Experience supporting or leading an ERP implementation or go-live.

•     Background in commercial lighting, electronics, or electromechanical assembly manufacturing.

•     Familiarity with import purchasing, international lead times, tariff classification, and customs documentation.

•     Experience with commodity risk management — hedging exposure, multi-source strategies, or supply chain risk frameworks.

•     APICS CPIM, CPSM, or equivalent supply chain certification or coursework.

About You

•     You think in systems — you understand how commodity decisions ripple into planning, and how planning discipline protects procurement.

•     You are comfortable owning a function end-to-end without a playbook, and you build the playbook as you go.

•     You are a strong negotiator who builds lasting supplier relationships, not just transactional ones.

•     You are hands-on, detail-oriented, proactive, and committed to data integrity.

•     You thrive in environments where what you build today shapes how the company runs tomorrow.

What Success Looks Like - First 90 Days

•     Odoo purchasing and manufacturing modules are actively in use; POs and WOs are being created, tracked, and closed in the system.

•     All open Purchase Orders are visible, accurate, and up to date in Odoo; no orphaned or unacknowledged POs.

•     A commodity map of key spend categories is drafted, with initial supplier scorecards and pricing benchmarks in place.

•     Work Orders are released to the floor with correct BOMs, quantities, and dates; WO completion and closure is timely.

•     MRP is running and being reviewed on a defined cadence; procurement proposals are actioned, not ignored.

•     Inventory records in Odoo are reconciled and trusted by the team.

•     Standard operating procedures for PO creation, commodity review, and WO management are drafted and in use.

•     The Director of Supply Chain & Operations has full visibility into open procurement, commodity risk, and production activity in Odoo without having to ask.

Travel 

If remote, candidate will be required to travel periodically to spend time in the factory, meet key suppliers, and support team onboarding as needed.

Company Benefits 

•     Generous healthcare with up to 100% employee coverage and 90% family coverage.

•     401(k) plan available.

•     Unlimited PTO.

•     A hard-working team that genuinely enjoys what they build.