NPI Buyer in Leighton Buzzard

Safran is an international high-technology group operating in the fields of aerospace, space and defense. Its mission is to contribute sustainably to a safer world, where air transport becomes ever more environmentally friendly, comfortable and accessible. Present on every continent, the Group employs 110,000 people and generated 31.3 billion in revenue in 2025.

As the world leader in aeronautical electrical systems, Safran Electrical & Power is a key player in the electrification of aircraft equipment and electric and hybrid propulsion. With expertise across the onboard energy chain, the company designs and delivers innovative, optimized and modular architectures and solutions.

Your role: The NPI Buyer plays a lead role in a multi-discipline project team, providing the interface with the external Supply Chain pre-production to manage the parts acquisition process for NPI programmes from initial concept, through the design life cycle, industrialization, then to handover of a stable supply chain into production and the Procurement team. You'll manage and coordinate the Purchasing function for new programmes, managing multiple vendors (approx. 20 per typical project) across 2-4 projects simultaneously. You'll navigate different levels of complexity, with budgets 1Million+ per program.

Key Responsibilities:

• Manage multiple vendors & projects simultaneously
• Work within cross functional project teams, reporting to internal stakeholders of all levels, liaising with other sites on multi-site programs
• Manage and facilitate all sourcing activity, aligning the core commodity strategies with supplier selection and the future product roadmap for new products and technology being developed
• Ensure deployment of Design for Manufacture (DFM) processes with early supplier engagement, to manage and report design evolution from concept/baseline throughout the NPI phases of prototype and qualification
• Follow a robust methodology, challenging design requirements, potential over engineering and scope creep
• Create, conduct and close RFQ / RFP Packages with Selected Supplier Choice panels
• Risk Analysis – Identification and resolution of supply issues in order to meet business commitments
• Challenge, negotiate, secure and report fulfilment of program targets in terms of Quality, Cost, Delivery (QCD)
• Ensure that the suppliers are able to meet the Safran Quality requirements and where needed, facilitate negotiations between Engineering and Suppliers

What You'll Bring:

• Purchasing/sourcing experience within a manufacturing environment
• Astute commercial awareness
• Proven experience in liaising with customers or suppliers; with a background of negotiation
• Demonstrates healthy and productive influencing ability which can be applied within an engineering/design/manufacturing environment
• Strong interpersonal skills – ability to work with individuals across a range of functions and varying seniority
• Motivation to learn, develop and perform in a fast-paced rapid prototype environment
• Experience with metric creations and data presentations, with strong written and verbal communication skills

We encourage anybody to apply if you can demonstrate a variety of skills and experience relevant to the requirements of this role. We celebrate our differences and believe they make us stronger.

Position location: Job location Europe, UK, England, London City (-ies) Pitstone, Buckinghamshire.