Technical Buyer, Electronics & Hardware

About the company

Efference provides high-performance perception and compute infrastructure for training and deploying robot models in the cloud. Our vision is to make robotic deployments scalable with shared compute.

We approach the problem by owning the entire path from the image sensor to the datacenter GPU. We shrink the load at the sensor, fix the uplink so robot traffic is fast and reliable, and clock synchronize the system so observations arrive time-aligned, ready for inference.

About the role

You'll source the components and manufacturing services needed to build Efference products, from engineering prototypes through production. You'll work closely with design and manufacturing engineers to keep material available, control cost, and resolve supply problems before they hold up a build.

What you’ll do

• Source sensors, processors, memory, radios, optical modules, PCB assemblies, and mechanical parts from qualified suppliers and manufacturing partners.
• Run requests for quotation, compare technical and commercial proposals, and negotiate price, lead time, minimum order quantities, tooling, and payment terms.
• Maintain purchase orders and supplier commitments against the BOM, engineering changes, inventory position, and build schedule.
• Track shortages, lifecycle changes, and single-source risks; work with engineering to qualify alternatives before purchasing substitutions.
• Evaluate supplier cost, capacity, quality, and delivery performance with manufacturing, and resolve discrepancies or missed commitments directly.
• Coordinate material readiness and receiving handoffs with supply chain operations, maintaining accurate part, supplier, revision, and cost records.

What we are looking for

• Experience buying electronic components, PCB assemblies, or technical hardware for development and production.
• Ability to read BOMs, drawings, and component specifications well enough to ask useful questions and identify sourcing risks.
• Experience with supplier qualification, quotation analysis, negotiation, and purchase-order management.
• Strong spreadsheet and planning skills, with careful handling of revisions, lead times, quantities, and inventory data.
• A record of resolving shortages and supplier issues while keeping engineering and manufacturing informed of realistic options.

Nice to Have

• Experience with camera modules, RF components, embedded compute, precision optics, or robotics hardware.
• Relationships with authorized distributors, component manufacturers, or electronics manufacturing partners.
• Experience with ERP/MRP and PLM systems, costed BOMs, new product introduction, or counterfeit-part prevention.