Specialist / Senior Procurement Specialist
Cambridge, MA USA · One Charles Park, Cambridge · USD 68,000-117,333 · Onsite · Posted Oct 19, 2026
At a glance
- Workplace
- Onsite
- Location
- Cambridge, MA USA · One Charles Park, Cambridge
- Salary
- USD 68,000-117,333 · Base salary
About the role
- We are looking for a Procurement Specialist to run the buying desk for our fast-paced, AI-driven research and development organization at Lila Sciences.
- Reporting to the Senior Manager, Procurement, this is a hands-on role for someone who wants to own throughput by keeping the ordering process real time and efficient and owning vendor onboarding.
Responsibilities
- Own requisition-to-purchase-order execution end to end: review, clarify, place, confirm, close
- Serve as the primary procurement partner for assigned research and operating teams
- Sequence the daily queue on impact, not on who applied the most pressure
- Hold order accuracy: correct coding, approval path, sound terms, honest lead times
- Grow catalog and punch-out coverage so routine buying becomes self-service
- Own supplier onboarding and offboarding, and keep the vendor master clean and current
- Resolve supplier delivery, quality and pricing issues before they reach the requester
- Partner with FP&A on budget checks, project coding and month-end accruals
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Life Sciences or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
- Three or more years of procurement, purchasing or procurement operations experience, ideally supporting research organizations
- Experience with a major procurement platform such as Coupa, Ariba or Jaggaer
- Hands-on supplier onboarding experience: qualification, screening, compliance documentation, vendor master management
- Proven ability to sequence a queue that arrives already overloaded, where most requests are marked urgent
- Accuracy under volume, and a service instinct paired with the judgement to refuse non-compliant orders
- Ability to travel up to 10%
Preferred qualifications
- Experience coordinating with demand or materials planning
- Experience in biotech, pharma, diagnostics or research-driven startups
- Familiarity with CRO and CDMO engagements and lab operations
- Experience sourcing scientific materials, equipment and research services
- Professional certifications such as CPSM, CPM or CSCP
Benefits
- Medical, dental, and vision coverage
- Employer-paid life and disability insurance
- Flexible time off with generous company wide holidays
- Paid parental leave
- Educational assistance program
- Commuter benefits, including bike share memberships for office based employees
- Company subsidized lunch program
Workplace
- Travel up to 10%
Skills
- Coupa
- Ariba
- Jaggaer
