Technical Sourcer

About Partao

Partao is creating a worldwide marketplace for heavy-machinery components — one place where buyers and sellers in the industry can connect. With more than 2,000 brands and over 5 million SKUs, the platform is designed to make sourcing quicker, more intelligent, and more dependable by helping customers locate the exact part that matches their machine.

The company emphasizes doing the important things well from the start. The focus is on building something practical, meaningful, and designed to create lasting impact. It is a fit for people who want to contribute to a fast-moving team building a marketplace at global scale.

About the Role

The company is looking for a Sourcing / Procurement Analyst to take ownership of one of the most important functions in Partao: Find My Part.

This position works at the front line of the marketplace. The role is responsible for locating parts that customers cannot source elsewhere, including highly specific, backordered, or not-yet-listed items from current suppliers. Since many of these parts are technical and machine-dependent, knowing how they function and fit is essential to selecting the right solution. The person in this role will make sourcing decisions independently, manage a growing supplier network, and continuously improve the process.

This is a hands-on role with a strong ownership element, suited to someone with a mechanical engineering background and several years of sourcing or procurement experience who can manage their own area without close supervision.

Key Responsibilities

• Take full responsibility for the Find My Part workflow by sourcing difficult-to-find, customer-requested items from approved vendors or by finding and bringing in new suppliers.
• Apply technical knowledge of machinery and components to correctly understand customer needs, product specifications, and part interchangeability.
• Create and expand vendor sourcing channels so coverage remains dependable across categories and dependence on one-off purchases is reduced.
• Discuss pricing, delivery timelines, and commercial terms directly with suppliers to achieve the most effective outcome for each request.
• Evaluate supplier proposals by comparing cost, lead time, and reliability, then choose the best trade-off.
• Develop and oversee a growing supplier base within the relevant category.
• Partner with Customer Service to keep buyers updated and resolve problems quickly.
• Maintain high standards for supplier and order data accuracy within the assigned scope.
• Identify recurring demand patterns and convert one-off requests into repeatable supply sources.
• Manage supplier onboarding and keep supplier records accurate and up to date.
• Suggest and help roll out improvements to how the team sources, verifies, and fulfills hard-to-find parts.

Requirements

• A bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering is mandatory.
• Background in procurement, sourcing, category operations, or a commercial operations function, preferably in mechanical or industrial parts.
• Strong understanding of machinery components, technical specifications, and compatibility between parts.
• Confidence in negotiating with suppliers and asking direct commercial questions.
• Strong analytical problem-solving skills and a willingness to take ownership when answers are not obvious.
• Commercial awareness, with attention to pricing, lead times, and supplier trade-offs.
• Comfort using spreadsheets and analysis to support sourcing and negotiation decisions.
• Excellent organization, attention to detail, and the ability to manage several requests at once with minimal supervision.
• Strong written and spoken English; knowledge of a European language will be considered an advantage.
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced startup setting.

Bonus Points

• Prior experience in procurement, sourcing, or category operations for a marketplace, e-commerce business, or B2B platform.
• Practical exposure to heavy machinery, agricultural equipment, or industrial components.
• Experience turning ad hoc sourcing into a repeatable supply process.
• A strong bias toward action, with a preference for trying, learning, and iterating over waiting for perfect instructions.
• Ambition to grow into a Category / Vendor Manager position over time.

Why Join Us?

• Own a mission-critical function that directly shapes the customer experience.
• Work with real operational data and decisions that affect customers every day.
• Be part of a small, highly capable team working across geographies.
• Bring independent judgment from the very first day, with opportunities to influence how the work is done.

What We Offer

• High ownership and autonomy in a fast-growing startup, with support from experienced mentors.
• A demanding but rewarding environment where your work has a direct impact on both the company and the industry it serves.