Procurement Specialist

We're a smart hydration company rebuilding an industry that still runs on sugar water and single-use packaging. Filtered water, functional flavors, zero bottles. Still, sparkling, cold, and hot. All poured from one tap. We create hydration people want to reach for, starting with the workplace where we help teams thrive.

As an AI-native company, we build at speed. In 2025, Aquablu ranked 2nd in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 (Netherlands) and 30th in the Sifted 250 (Europe), both rankings of the fastest-growing companies by revenue growth. In 2026 we were named a winner of Maya's Culture 100 Europe Awards as one of the best workplaces to thrive in.

Growing that fast and thriving comes down to our people. Our team is our biggest asset and one that we’re proud of. We’re committed to maintaining our vibrant culture as we continue to grow.

Job description

Cost hides. It sits in a freight lane nobody renegotiated, a part with a single supplier, a payment term set three years ago when we were a tenth of the size. Your job is to find it and do something about it.

You'll own the category end to end. You source and qualify suppliers before we need them, run the negotiations on the parts that matter, put the agreements in place, and build credible alternatives so we're never negotiating from a single-supplier position. You'll also help source the people behind our next product line, working closely with Finance, Quality, and Engineering.

You won't be processing POs. You'll own the category and turn it into margin, with the autonomy to shape the systems you work in from your first month.

What You'll Own

• Find the cost. Parts, freight, duty, warehousing, waste, lead times. Map where the money and the risk sit, then decide what to attack first.
• Build the pipeline. Find suppliers, approach them, audit them, qualify them. Before we need them.
• Negotiate. Run the negotiations on key inputs and land reductions that show up in margin.
• Own the contracts. Set the supplier agreements, then make sure the terms we agreed are the terms we get.
• Build the fallback. Qualify alternate sources on critical parts so there's always a real option on the table, and a BATNA worth naming.
• Source for what's next. Drive the commercial funnel on new product development: RFQs, audits, qualification, negotiation.
• Model the trade-offs. Fully-landed cost, TCO, and breakeven models, so every negotiation runs on real numbers. Renegotiate payment terms to free up cash.

What You Bring

• Four years or more in procurement, buying, strategic sourcing, or category management, in manufacturing or FMCG. Fast-growth scale-up experience helps.
• Savings you can point to and explain.
• Proof you can run end to end without someone setting the agenda for you.
• Commercial instinct, ownership, and a steady hand when things move fast.
• Fluent English.
• The right to work in the Netherlands. We're not an IND sponsor, so we can't sponsor a visa.
• You’re available at least 4 days on-site in our Amsterdam office in Houthavens.

Helps, But Not Required

• International sourcing.
• Food-contact and regulatory compliance: EU 10/2011, REACH, CE.
• Producing through contract manufacturers.
• AI in your daily workflow, and a builder's instinct.

Where This Goes

Hands-on, cross-functional ownership across costing, negotiation, international sourcing, and category strategy. Strong performers move toward senior procurement and category-lead roles, with wider strategic scope or a team as the function scales.

Why Aquablu?

You will be part of a young, fun and ambitious team which aims to change the way people consume water!

• 🌴 26 paid holiday days
• 📈 Equity through our Aquablu for All plan — everyone shares in what we’re building
• 🌱 Healthy (heavily discounted) lunches
• 💪 Urban Sports Club membership
• 🚀 Access to the Corporate Benefits platform for endless savings
• 🚆 Travel compensation >10km
• ☀️ Quarterly team events at our HQ in Amsterdam (Houthavens)
• 👴 A pension plan by Zwitserleven.
• 💧 Endless amount of our very own flavoured water !