Summer Intern - OMAX Procurement

Location: Kent, WA

Supply Chain and Procurement – Summer Intern

At Hypertherm Associates, we design and build innovative industrial cutting solutions that help our customers succeed, and we believe resilient supply chains are created when data, supplier collaboration, technical understanding, and thoughtful sourcing decisions come together We are a 100% associate-owned company headquartered in Hanover, NH, with a global presence in 26 countries. For over 50 years, we’ve been recognized as a top employer and a leader in industrial cutting technology.

This summer internship at our Kent, Washington is designed for students who are curious about how procurement, inventory management, supplier risk, commodity markets, and emerging AI tools shape decisions in a real-world manufacturing environment.

The Supply Chain and Procurement intern will support Hypertherm Associates’ Waterjet business through two project-based assignments focused on inventory optimization and practical applications of agentic AI. The intern will work with Procurement, Planning, Engineering, Quality, Operations, Finance, and other stakeholders to analyze business data, improve decision-making, and develop repeatable tools.

Suggested Final Deliverables

1–2 page executive summary for each core project (see below)

Supporting Excel, Power BI, or other analytical tools

Inventory segmentation and replenishment recommendation

Two tested agentic AI prototypes with documented assumptions and limitations

Source appendices, test cases, output templates, and human-review requirements

6–8 slide final presentation to Supply Chain and Waterjet leadership

Recommended implementation actions, owners, and next steps

Who You Are and What You Bring

Pursuing a bachelor’s or master’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations, Business, Engineering, Analytics, Economics, Industrial Engineering, or a related field.

Entering the third or fourth year of undergraduate study or currently pursuing graduate study.

Experience analyzing data and translating findings into recommendations.

Working knowledge of Microsoft Excel, including pivot tables, lookups, filtering, and basic data visualization.

Interest in procurement, inventory, commodity markets, supplier management, artificial intelligence, or business-process improvement.

Strong research, critical-thinking, source-validation, written, and verbal communication skills.

Ability to organize ambiguous information and distinguish evidence from assumptions.

Curiosity about technical products and industrial manufacturing.

Ability to collaborate across functions and appropriately handle business-confidential information.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, Power Platform, Power BI, Tableau, SQL, Python, or another analytical or AI tool.

Coursework or experience in inventory management, sourcing, commodity economics, operations research, statistics, cost analysis, or responsible AI.

Familiarity with ERP or MRP systems such as Oracle or SAP.

Exposure to Lean, Six Sigma, root-cause analysis, or project-management methods.

Experience presenting analytical findings to a business or academic audience.

Location: Kent, Washington

Key Projects & Deliverables:Project 1: Inventory and Replenishment Optimization Analyze selected groups of purchased components and recommend inventory or replenishment policies that balance continuity of supply with working-capital efficiency.

Analyze historical usage, estimated annual usage, unit cost, supplier lead time, order frequency, minimum-order quantities, and existing inventory.

Segment inventory based on value, demand variability, supply risk, and purchasing frequency.

Compare Kanban, MIN/MAX, blanket-order, quarterly-buy, and supplier-stocking strategies.

Identify slow-moving, high-cost, long-lead-time, or excess inventory.

Assess and recommend replenishment methods and initial planning parameters for selected parts or supplier programs.

Evaluate the effects of demand changes, supplier lead times, minimum-order quantities, and safety stock on inventory exposure.

Create a repeatable Excel or Power BI analysis tool that can be applied to additional suppliers, categories, or parts.

Potential deliverables

Inventory segmentation model and recommended Kanban versus MIN/MAX candidate list

Proposed MIN/MAX quantities or purchasing frequencies

Inventory and working-capital opportunity estimate

Excel or Power BI tool for ongoing review

Executive summary and implementation recommendations

Project 2: Agentic AI for Commodity Intelligence and Supply Chain Risk Assessments Help develop, test, and document two agentic AI applications for the Waterjet business: a Commodity Intelligence Agent and a Supply Chain Risk Assessment Agent. The objective is to convert research-intensive analysis into structured AI-assisted workflows while maintaining appropriate human review and decision-making.

Commodity Intelligence Agent

Define the commodity families and specific grades most relevant to Waterjet, including selected metals, engineering plastics, wood products, and other purchased materials.

Develop a repeatable workflow for monitoring commodity benchmarks, producer and distributor announcements, energy and freight inputs, capacity changes, trade actions, and other market indicators.

Track historical and current pricing movements, identify short- and long-term trends, and distinguish broad commodity changes from grade-, form-, region-, or supplier-specific movements.

Identify leading indicators of potential supply constraints, including mill or plant outages, capacity reductions, allocation, extended lead times, low inventories, geopolitical events, regulatory changes, and concentrated sources of supply.

Analyze prior price spikes and valleys to explain likely drivers, duration, recovery patterns, and potential implications for Waterjet purchases.

Provide recurring alerts or summaries identifying material pricin