Chemical Buyer – Personal Care & HI&I

Formula Corp, in Auburn, WA is seeking an on-site, hands-on Chemical Buyer to support our manufacturing facility producing Personal Care, HI&I, and toll-manufactured chemical products. This role is responsible for purchasing raw materials and packaging to support daily production needs, managing supplier relationships, and maintaining material availability in a fast-paced, batch manufacturing environment.

This position works closely with Production, Planning, and Warehouse teams and requires active coordination of materials across multiple storage locations.

ON-SITE, FULL TIME, Auburn, WA

Key Responsibilities
Strategic Sourcing & Supplier Management

• Source and procure chemical raw materials, packaging, and production inputs supporting Personal Care, HI&I, and toll manufacturing operations
• Manage supplier performance metrics, including OTIF (On-Time, In-Full), and drive corrective action for chronic service or quality issues
• Resolve material availability, delivery, and quantity discrepancies with suppliers

• ​​​​​Maintain accountability for raw material inventory health across all warehouse and storage locations
• Align purchasing decisions with production forecasts and planning inputs to achieve target inventory turns
• Lead efforts to reduce aged, excess, and slow-moving inventory through disciplined buying practices
• Ensure material availability to support uninterrupted production
• Coordinate inter-warehouse transfers to optimize inventory positioning and minimize working capital exposure

• Issue and manage purchase orders, confirmations, and delivery tracking
• Maintain accurate purchasing, inventory, and transfer data within the ERP/MRP system
• Support short-lead material requirements in a production-driven environment
• Partner daily with Production, Warehouse, and Planning teams to ensure material readiness

Required Qualifications

• 3–5+ years of procurement experience in chemical or batch manufacturing environments
• Experience purchasing chemical raw materials and/or packaging components
• Strong understanding of supplier performance management, lead time control, and inventory optimization
• Proficiency in ERP/MRP systems (Chempax experience preferred)
• Intermediate Microsoft Excel skills (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, basic data analysis)
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
• Comfortable working directly with plant operations and warehouse teams
• Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit and use hands. The employee is frequently required to reach with hands and arms. The employee is required to walk, talk and hear and occasionally stand. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Chemistry, or related field
• Familiarity with toll manufacturing environments or customer-owned materials
• APICS / CSCP or similar supply chain certification

Work Environment

• On-site role in a manufacturing facility
• Production-driven, fast-paced environment
• Frequent interaction with plant operations and warehouse leadership

What We Offer

• Stable, on-site manufacturing role with operational visibility
• Opportunity to directly support production continuity
• Collaborative, hands-on operations culture
• Full Time On-Site - 8:00am to 4:30pm M-F, 90-day probation period. Benefits include paid vacation, major medical, HSA, 401K.