---
title: 'Senior Buyer – Manufacturing & Supply at Lab37'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-buyer-manufacturing-supply-lab37-pittsburgh-6cx7j92sjsne'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-20'
---

# Senior Buyer – Manufacturing & Supply at Lab37

- **Company:** Lab37
- **Location:** Pittsburgh, PA
- **Posted:** 2026-10-19
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-20
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/lab37/jobs/8895016002

## Job description

## Who we are

[Lab37 Robotics](https://www.lab37.us/), is a technology company focused on the development and deployment of robots designed specifically for direct-to-customer food production. Our mission is to revolutionize the food industry by creating innovative robotic solutions that enhance efficiency, quality, and customer satisfaction. We are passionate about pushing the boundaries of technology to deliver cutting-edge products that meet the evolving needs of our clients.

## About the role

The Senior Buyer – Manufacturing will own the day-to-day purchasing activities required to support Lab37's growing production operations. This individual will ensure materials are ordered when needed, suppliers are actively managed, and changes or risks are mitigated or escalated quickly.

The Senior Buyer will purchase a broad range of mechanical, electrical, and electromechanical components used in complex robotic systems while working closely with Engineering, Manufacturing, Inventory, and Program Management.

This is a hands-on individual contributor role with significant ownership. The ideal candidate can move comfortably between tactical purchasing execution and strategic supplier management while operating with urgency in a fast-paced and evolving manufacturing environment.

## What you’ll do

- Own purchasing execution for production operations, including RFQs, purchase order placement, supplier acknowledgments, delivery management, expedites, changes, and discrepancy resolution.
- Develop and continuously improve purchasing processes, supplier-management practices, reporting, and operational tools as Lab37 scales.
- Purchase a broad range of mechanical and electrical components, including machined and fabricated parts, sheet metal, motors, sensors, electronics, PCBAs, cables, connectors, hardware, and other production materials.
- Translate BOM demand, inventory levels, lead times, and production schedules into timely purchasing actions.
- Manage supplier relationships and performance across delivery, quality, responsiveness, cost, lead time, and capacity.
- Proactively identify material shortages, long-lead components, supplier constraints, and other supply risks; communicate impacts and drive recovery plans before they affect production.
- Partner closely with Program Management, Engineering, Manufacturing, and Inventory to align purchasing priorities with production requirements and resolve material-related issues.
- Maintain accurate purchasing and supplier data within the ERP system, including purchase orders, pricing, lead times, and delivery commitments.
- Support qualification and development of new suppliers as production requirements evolve.

## What we are looking for

- 5+ years of purchasing, procurement, sourcing, or supply chain experience in a manufacturing, robotics, hardware, industrial automation, or similarly complex environment.
- Experience purchasing both mechanical and electrical/electronic components in a BOM-driven production environment.
- Strong understanding of the complete purchasing lifecycle from RFQ and supplier selection through purchase order, delivery, receipt, and issue resolution. ● Ability to read and understand BOMs, engineering drawings, specifications, and other technical purchasing documentation.
- Strong supplier relationship management and negotiation skills, with the ability to hold suppliers accountable while maintaining productive partnerships.
- Demonstrated ability to manage numerous suppliers, purchase orders, projects, and internal stakeholders simultaneously while maintaining accuracy and follow-through. ● Strong prioritization skills and the ability to work with urgency, quickly adjusting priorities as production schedules, engineering requirements, and supplier conditions change. ● Experience with ERP/MRP systems and strong proficiency with spreadsheets and operational data.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to clearly communicate supplier status, material risks, priorities, and recovery plans across the organization. ● High ownership mentality, strong attention to detail, and the ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced environment where products, processes, and priorities continue to evolve.

What success looks like

A successful Senior Buyer keeps purchasing ahead of production rather than reacting to it. Material risks are identified early, suppliers are held accountable to commitments, purchasing data is accurate, and Operations has reliable visibility into material availability.

Over time, this individual develops a deep understanding of Lab37's products, suppliers, and production requirements and uses that knowledge to continuously improve material availability, supplier performance, cost, lead time, and the effectiveness of the purchasing function.

## Why join us

- Demand for online food delivery is growing really fast! In the last 5 years, just in the US, the overall market has expanded 10X from $10B to $100B, and could expand to $500bn- $1T by 2030.
- Changing the restaurant industry: You’ll be part of a team that helps restaurants succeed in online food delivery.
- Collaborative environment: You will receive support and guidance from experienced colleagues and managers, helping you to learn, grow and achieve your goals, and you’ll work closely with other teams to ensure our customer’s success.

What else you need to know

This role is based in our Pittsburgh office. As a company driven by invention and continuous change - we are constantly reimagining our industries, building new products, and refining how we operate. We do our best work together. That’s why all of our office-based teams work onsite, five days a week.

Ready to join us as we serve those who serve others?

#LI-Onsite

## About Lab37

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Lab37 builds robotic kitchen systems that automate food assembly, starting with the Bowl Builder for makeline operations, to help restaurants reduce labor, increase throughput, and deliver consistent quality at scale.
- **Entity Type**: Private (subsidiary of City Storage Systems; no disclosed funding rounds)
- **Headquarters**: Warrendale, PA (near Pittsburgh, PA)
- **Founded**: 2005 (founding team formed at Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute, lab G37)
- **Founders**: Not publicly named (founding team from CMU Robotics Institute)

## Core Business
- Primary industry: Food robotics / kitchen automation / food service technology
- Target customers: B2B – restaurants, ghost kitchens, food businesses (enterprise and multi-location operators)
- Mission: "Use technology to improve the physical world in ways people can feel" and "build robots for better food" – making high-quality, affordable food accessible to everyone through automation.

## Products & Services
- **[Bowl Builder](https://www.lab37.us/)**: A robotic makeline system that automates the assembly of bowls and similar meals. It handles live order assembly from bowl dispense to bag close, adapts to customizations (adding/removing ingredients, allergens, portion adjustments), and claims up to 50% labor savings while doubling output. Type: Hardware (robotic kitchen equipment) with integrated software.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (subsidiary of City Storage Systems, a private holding company)
- **Key Metric**: Already deployed in commercial kitchens, serving thousands of customers weekly (as of June 2026)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: City Storage Systems (parent company); sister companies include CloudKitchens, Otter, and Picnic. No external investors publicly listed.
- **Growth Signals**: Active hiring across multiple engineering roles; expanding from initial product (Bowl Builder) into broader kitchen ecosystem; rapid iteration capability (whiteboard to prototype in hours); real-world commercial deployments.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Full-stack R&D under one roof**: In-house fabrication shop, electrical engineering lab, testing facilities, and R&D kitchen enable rapid prototyping and iteration.
- **Ecosystem integration**: As part of City Storage Systems, Lab37 works alongside CloudKitchens (ghost kitchen infrastructure), Otter (restaurant tech), and Picnic (food automation) – creating a vertically integrated automation stack for food businesses.
- **Data-driven tuning**: Every gram, step, and variable is tracked and refined, allowing precision and consistency at scale.
- **Proven real-world impact**: Systems already operating in commercial kitchens, not just prototypes.

## Strategic Focus
- Scale Bowl Builder adoption across multi-location restaurant groups.
- Expand the kitchen ecosystem with additional robotic modules and software.
- Continue to reduce labor dependency and operational chaos for food businesses.
- Leverage data from real kitchens to improve automation algorithms.

## Why Work Here
- **Engineering freedom**: "Whiteboard to working prototype in hours" – engineers build, test, and iterate with their own hands in a maker's paradise (full fabrication shop, electrical lab, testing facilities).
- **Immediate impact**: Work is deployed in real kitchens serving thousands of customers weekly; employees see their work making a difference quickly.
- **Culture**: Described as a place where "culinary innovation meets world class engineering" – cross-disciplinary collaboration between robotics, software, hardware, and culinary teams.
- **Locations**: Warrendale, PA and Pittsburgh, PA (on-site roles). No explicit remote/hybrid policy stated.
- **Perks**: Not detailed publicly, but the facility includes a fully equipped R&D kitchen, modern fabrication shop, and engineering offices built for rapid innovation.

## Sources
1. [lab37.us](https://www.lab37.us/) – Main site with product and company overview
2. [lab37.us/careers](https://www.lab37.us/careers) – Careers page with culture and mission
3. [lab37.us/lab](https://www.lab37.us/lab) – Lab facilities and ecosystem description
4. [lab37.us/history-timeline](https://www.lab37.us/history-timeline) – Company history and founding story
5. [lab37.breezy.hr](https://lab37.breezy.hr/) – Job openings and locations

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