HEI Job Description
Highland Engineering, Inc. (HEI) was founded in 1986 – and has become one of the leading small business suppliers of Military Troop Support Equipment to the Department of Defense. Our emphasis has always been on solving the needs of our customers. Highland is an employee owned company and HEI takes pride in the average tenure of our employees is more than 10 years. HEI is proud to maintain a drug-free workplace supporting our troops and the DoD.
Job Title: Purchasing Specialist – Manufacturing
Location: On-Site - Howell, MI
Eligibility: Must be eligible to work for a U.S. DoD Contractor
Terms: Full-Time
Job Summary: We are seeking a Purchasing Specialist to support procurement activities for our manufacturing programs. This role is responsible for purchasing materials, components, and services required for production while ensuring compliance with quality standards, contract requirements, and delivery schedules.
Key Responsibilities:
- Create, manage, and process purchase orders in Acumatica ERP.
- Procure raw materials, machined parts, assemblies and outside processing services.
- Manage supplier pricing, lead times and delivery performance.
- Support defense and military contract requirements including documentation and compliance.
- Monitor MRP – driven demand, inventory levels, and production schedules.
- Expedite materials to support production and program deadlines.
- Collaborate with production, engineering, quality and planning teams to resolve material issues.
- Maintain accurate purchasing records, supplier data, and cost information.
- Identify opportunities for cost savings and supplier performance improvement.
- Perform other duties as assigned to support operations and corporate objectives.
What We Value:
- Operate with ownership: We value individuals who take ownership of their role, proactively solve problems and bring forward ideas for continuous improvement.
- Process-minded: Comfortable following established processes and accurately documenting actions in a structured, disciplined manner.
- Effective communicator: Able to communicate proactively and professionally with cross-functional teams, including operations, engineering and executive leadership.
- Dependable and discreet: Understands the sensitivity of the company and customer information and handles it responsibly and confidentially.
- Mission-driven: Appreciates the responsibility and impact of working in a DoD manufacturing environment and acts with integrity and accountability.
Qualifications:
- Minimum 3 years of purchasing experience in a manufacturing environment.
- High School diploma or GED required.
- ERP System experience: Acumatica strongly preferred.
- Understanding of MRP - based purchasing.
- Strong organizational, communication and follow-up skills.
- Ability and willingness to work 100% on-site.
- Ability to work independently and take initiative.
- Strong customer service orientation and documentation skills.
Preferred Skills & Experience:
- Experience supporting defense or military contracts.
- Familiarity working within ISO or AS quality systems.
- Additional education (Associates or Bachelor’s Degree) is a plus but not required.
- Experience working with suppliers in a regulated manufacturing environment.
