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How to hire a technical buyer

Technical buyer hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring technical buyers in the United States:

  • There are currently 153,644 technical buyers in the US, as well as 79,686 job openings.
  • Technical buyers are in the highest demand in New York, NY, with 5 current job openings.
  • The median cost to hire a technical buyer is $1,633.
  • It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
  • Human Resources use 15% of their expenses on recruitment on average.
  • On average, it takes around 12 weeks for a new technical buyer to become settled and show total productivity levels at work.

How to hire a technical buyer, step by step

To hire a technical buyer, you should clearly understand the skills and experience you are looking for in a candidate, and allocate a budget for the position. You will also need to post and promote the job opening to reach potential candidates. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to hire a technical buyer:

Here's a step-by-step technical buyer hiring guide:

  • Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
  • Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
  • Step 3: Make a budget
  • Step 4: Write a technical buyer job description
  • Step 5: Post your job
  • Step 6: Interview candidates
  • Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new technical buyer
  • Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a technical buyer do?

Technical Buyers are tasked with managing several materials, products, or services to promote the business. They must be in touch with the stakeholder because he/she is tasked with the high screening and contracting with the suppliers.

Learn more about the specifics of what a technical buyer does
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  1. Identify your hiring needs

    The technical buyer hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

    Determine employee vs contractor status
    Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

    Hiring the perfect technical buyer also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

    The following list breaks down different types of technical buyers and their corresponding salaries.

    Type of Technical BuyerDescriptionHourly rate
    Technical BuyerBuyers and purchasing agents buy products and services for organizations to use or resell. They evaluate suppliers, negotiate contracts, and review the quality of products.$21-38
    LandmanLandmen are referred to as the public-facing side of a gas, mineral, and oil exploration and production team. They are professionals who interact and negotiate directly with landowners for the acquisition of gas and oil drilling leases... Show more$25-61
    Procurement AgentA procurement agent develops profitable measures to save the client money and ensure the quality of goods supplied. Procurement agents obtain the purchased items through suppliers, monitor them, and expedite the orders... Show more$23-50
  2. Create an ideal candidate profile

    Common skills:
    • Purchase Orders
    • Supplier Performance
    • Strategic Sourcing
    • Vendor Relationships
    • POS
    • ERP
    • RFQ
    • Cost Savings
    • Cost Reduction
    • RFP
    • MRP
    • On-Time Delivery
    • Commodities
    • R
    Check all skills
    Responsibilities:
    • Manage assign plastics, metals and electronic commodities, to ensure quality, quantity and delivery standards are attain.
    • Support cross-region store openings and manage various procurement programs including hardware and POS systems.
    • Manage activities of purchasing, production planning and scheduling, inventory management, warehousing and logistics.
    • Develop RFP's and RFI's to leverage buying power with vendors.
    • Source suppliers and material, create RFQ's, and drive cost savings initiatives.
    • Utilize the Lawson ERP system for procurement.
    More technical buyer duties
  3. Make a budget

    Including a salary range in your technical buyer job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A technical buyer can vary based on:

    • Location. For example, technical buyers' average salary in north dakota is 32% less than in district of columbia.
    • Seniority. Entry-level technical buyers 46% less than senior-level technical buyers.
    • Certifications. A technical buyer with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
    • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a technical buyer's salary.

    Average technical buyer salary

    $60,382yearly

    $29.03 hourly rate

    Entry-level technical buyer salary
    $44,000 yearly salary
    Updated December 13, 2025

    Average technical buyer salary by state

    RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
    1Maryland$69,572$33
    2Washington$68,240$33
    3Illinois$65,091$31
    4Connecticut$64,750$31
    5Massachusetts$63,417$30
    6New York$63,107$30
    7Texas$61,594$30
    8Michigan$60,627$29
    9Missouri$60,364$29
    10Wisconsin$59,020$28
    11Florida$58,263$28
    12Virginia$56,140$27
    13California$53,630$26
    14North Carolina$53,117$26
    15Colorado$52,019$25
    16Ohio$51,598$25
    17South Dakota$51,263$25
    18Tennessee$49,582$24
    19Utah$49,050$24

    Average technical buyer salary by company

    RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rateJob openings
    1CME Group$102,370$49.22
    2Amazon$74,206$35.68315
    3Analogic$74,074$35.61
    4Colfax Corporation$68,307$32.841
    5PFC Brakes$66,407$31.93
    6Zoox$63,943$30.7435
    7JBT FoodTech$60,691$29.18
    8Raven Industries$60,316$29.00
    9Festo Didactic$59,264$28.49
    10Truck-Lite$58,483$28.12
    11Particle Measuring$58,212$27.99
    12Robert Half$55,102$26.4994
    13LifePoint Health$54,530$26.222
    14Michigan State University$54,154$26.048
    15Randstad North America, Inc.$53,785$25.867
    16Brunswick$49,541$23.822
    17AtlantiCare$45,372$21.812
    18Jo-Ann Stores$39,522$19.00
  4. Writing a technical buyer job description

    A job description for a technical buyer role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a technical buyer job description:

    Technical buyer job description example

    Benefits Offered: 401K, Medical, Dental, Life, Vision, Paid Time Off, Short- & Long-Term Disability, Paid Holidays, Tuition Reimbursement

    Employment Type: Full-Time

    Why Work Here: Our Company has competitive wages, full benefits package, and excellent training and development opportunities.


    Summary:

    The Technical Buyer (TB) conducts transactions involved in the procurement of manufacturing materials, tools, supplies, services etc. in accordance with approved requisitions and procedures. The TB is responsible for requisitions that require complex manufactured items.

    Essential Duties and Responsibilities Other duties may be assigned.

    • Review requisitions for materials within Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERPS); analyze each item for quantity, specifications and delivery requirements; develop and investigate suitable sources; issue requests for quotations for those items not covered by existing arrangements.
    • Identify alternate sourcing if needed based on quality, price and delivery. Contact potential suppliers and negotiates to obtain quotes on most favorable terms; may investigate suppliers’ capabilities to furnish materials, finished parts or services; may interview vendor representatives, visit vendor locations and perform supplier audits.
    • Discuss technical requirements with vendors such as dimensions, tolerances, finishes etc.
    • Determine best source by evaluating quotation or by application of an existing arrangement or by approved procedures; produce purchase orders in ERPS.
    • Negotiate the lowest possible cost balanced against the optimum quality and schedule needs with minimal supervision.
    • Perform follow-up work on orders to ensure vendor compliance with terms of purchase especially delivery dates and quantity/quality; evaluate vendor performance based on quality, prices, service and delivery as well as feedback from Production, Receiving and Engineering; monitor key performance indicators of suppliers.
    • Discuss defective or unacceptable goods or services with inspection or quality control personnel, users, vendors, and others to determine source of trouble and take corrective action.
    • Manage projects assigned by Purchasing Manager.


    Education & Experience Requirements:

    A Bachelor’s Degree in business, management or similar discipline preferred; five years of experience in purchasing in a manufacturing environment involving machine components; at least two years purchasing components for KHS machines or equivalent combination of education and experience.

    The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Prior SAP experience is a plus.

  5. Post your job

    There are various strategies that you can use to find the right technical buyer for your business:

    • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
    • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
    • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
    • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.
    Post your job online:
    • Post your technical buyer job on Zippia to find and recruit technical buyer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
    • Use field-specific websites.
    • Post a job on free websites.
  6. Interview candidates

    To successfully recruit technical buyers, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

    It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

    The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

  7. Send a job offer and onboard your new technical buyer

    Once you've found the technical buyer candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

    It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

    To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

  8. Go through the hiring process checklist

    • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
    • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
    • Define job responsibilities and requirements
    • Establish budget and timeline
    • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
    • Write job description
    • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
    • Promote the job internally
    • Process applications through applicant tracking system
    • Review resumes and cover letters
    • Shortlist candidates for screening
    • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
    • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
    • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
    • Conduct background checks on top candidates
    • Check references of top candidates
    • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
    • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
    • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
    • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
    • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
    • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)
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How much does it cost to hire a technical buyer?

Recruiting technical buyers involves both the one-time costs of hiring and the ongoing costs of adding a new employee to your team. Your spending during the hiring process will mostly be on things like promoting the job on job boards, reviewing and interviewing candidates, and onboarding the new hire. Ongoing costs will obviously involve the employee's salary, but also may include things like benefits.

Technical buyers earn a median yearly salary is $60,382 a year in the US. However, if you're looking to find technical buyers for hire on a contract or per-project basis, hourly rates typically range between $21 and $38.

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