Office based in Saffron Walden.
We're working with a high-growth AI technology company in the Greater Cambridge area who are seeking a Procurement Specialist to join their expanding operations team. This is a hands-on role offering the opportunity to support a rapidly scaling business by managing sourcing, purchasing, and supplier relationships across a diverse range of technical and operational categories.
In this position, you'll take ownership of the full procurement lifecycle - from sourcing suppliers and obtaining quotations through to negotiating terms, raising purchase orders, and tracking deliveries. You'll work with vendors supplying everything from electronic components, optics, mechanical parts, and test equipment to general business services and consumables. You'll also monitor stock levels, manage replenishment of critical items, and ensure purchasing records and approvals are accurate and compliant.
Building strong relationships with suppliers, manufacturers, and service providers will be central to your success. You'll evaluate vendor performance, reliability, lead times, and pricing, and support negotiations around contracts, service level agreements, and commercial terms. Working closely with engineering and operations teams, you'll help clarify technical requirements and delivery timelines, ensuring parts and equipment arrive when needed to support ongoing R&D and production activity.
The role will also involve coordinating logistics, deliveries, and shipping documentation, including international movements where required. You'll support warehouse, stores, or R&D environments with the timely supply of components and tools, while maintaining accurate inventories and asset records. As the business continues to grow, you'll play a key role in developing and improving procurement processes, workflows, and governance frameworks, working alongside Finance to support cost control, budgeting, and forecasting activities while ensuring all purchasing meets regulatory, export control, and defence-related compliance standards.
We're looking for someone with proven experience in procurement, purchasing, or supply chain roles, ideally gained within engineering, manufacturing, electronics, or technology environments. You should be confident negotiating pricing and commercial terms, highly organised with strong attention to detail, and comfortable managing multiple suppliers, quotations, and orders at the same time. The ability to interpret technical specifications or work closely with engineers to clarify component requirements is essential, as is a solid understanding of procurement systems, purchase order workflows, invoicing processes, and inventory management. Strong communication skills, relationship-building ability, and a proactive, problem-solving mindset are key to success in this role.
Experience within defence, aerospace, robotics, electronics manufacturing, or hardware-focused technology companies would be advantageous, as would any knowledge of export controls, restricted materials handling, or ITAR/EAR frameworks. Familiarity with engineering components such as PCBs, RF parts, optics, sensors, cables, or mechanical assemblies would be beneficial, alongside experience using ERP or MRP platforms and an understanding of logistics or international shipping procedures. CIPS certification, or progression toward it, would be welcomed but is not essential.
This is an onsite role based in Saffron Walden, working five days per week within a fast-paced environment supporting engineering, R&D, and operations teams. The successful candidate will have a unique opportunity to help build robust procurement processes from the ground up within a scaling, cutting-edge AI and defence technology business.
If you're a motivated procurement professional looking for a varied and impactful role where you can take real ownership and grow alongside an ambitious technology company, we'd love to hear from you.
Zero Surplus is one of the UK's premier recruitment agencies, based just outside Cambridge our recruiters source staff for small and international businesses across Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire, Northants, Milton Keynes, Cambridgeshire, and the rest of the UK.
For registration purposes, please let us know where you are currently based or which locations you are considering as well as your required salary and notice period.
Please upload a Microsoft Word version of your CV where possible, excluding text boxes or images. Any data we collect from you will be stored and processed in accordance with Zero Surplus' Privacy Policy