Manufacturing Manager - Materials, Planning and Execution

Reporting to the Plant Leader this role will lead the Materials team to define and continuously improve material flow across an engineer-to-order Grid equipment factory operating in a Lean Manufacturing environment, spanning both in-house production and outsourced contract-manufacturer (CM) supply. The role owns inventory turns, working-capital landing, and material availability, and is accountable for the planning, procurement, material MRP setup, and analytics systems that drive them.

The successful candidate combines outstanding cross-functional leadership with hands-on technical fluency in SAP, MRP, and work automation and analysis toolsets, and partners with Operations, Finance, and Sourcing to drive operations.

Job Description

Essential Responsibilities:

Drive a zero-tolerance environment for safety infractions.

Lead weekly meetings and cross-functional planning sessions with engineering, production, contracts, and finance stakeholders; communicate priorities clearly across all organizational levels.

Lead, develop, and motivate a team of buyers, planners and inventory control analysts, maintain performance management, objective setting and scorecards.

Ensure materials/production planning, buying, and inventory control support sales, product development, customer service, and production cost-effectively.

Plan, organize, direct and support, monitor and control the staff and functions related to planning materials, buying and inventory control.

Continuously review and monitor departmental performance to ensure corporate objectives are being met. Review actions, risks, and shortages, and drive forecasting and material planning to protect the production schedule.

Manage the end-to-end supply chain, including materials/consumables suppliers, logistics service providers, and contract manufacturers; develop risk mitigation strategies (dual-sourcing, safety stock optimization) to ensure supply continuity.

Identify any performance deficiencies and problems or opportunities for improvement in these areas of responsibility and take initiative to solve the problems and realize the opportunities.

Identify specific cost reduction opportunities and take action to achieve cost reductions, or improve cost effectiveness, including introducing alternative sources where appropriate.

Work effectively in co-operation with the Production Manager to develop and maintain efficient planning and operations in production, warehousing and materials handling.

Drive for continuous inventory improvement and implement best practice models to ensure targets are achieved.

Champion sustainability and ESG initiatives within the supply chain, supporting environmental practices such as packaging reduction.

Drive digital transformation of materials management processes through automation, data analytics, and system integration to improve forecast accuracy and decision-making speed.

Qualifications/Requirements:

Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, Engineering, Business Administration, or related field; master’s degree or APICS/SCMP certification preferred.

5+ years’ material management experience in a manufacturing setting.

Strong logistics, supply chain, and material management skills; exposure to JIT, Kanban, MRP, and Lean manufacturing.

Contract manufacturing / outsourced (EMS/CM) forecasting and supply management experience.

Hands-on technical depth: SAP, Excel, VBA, Power Query, Smartsheet. Able to build, maintain, document, and troubleshoot tools and processes.

Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional teams and setting/meeting aggressive targets.

Self-motivated, high-energy, results-oriented; forward-thinking and proactive.

Flexible and adaptable: Open to change and modification of tasks.

Operational finance knowledge.

Proven ability to drive change in a matrix environment.

Ability to successfully motivate and maintain employee involvement while driving change.

Desired Characteristics:

Ability to translate complex supply chain data into clear executive-level presentations and stakeholder communications.

Experience navigating supplier negotiations in volatile commodity markets or constrained supply environments.

Strong root-cause analysis skills applied to supply disruptions, quality escapes, and delivery failures.

Track record of leading cross-functional supply chain improvement projects (e.g., ERP migrations, warehouse redesigns, supplier consolidation).

Familiarity with demand sensing, predictive analytics, or AI-driven planning tools.

Knowledge of sustainability frameworks and experience integrating ESG criteria into supplier selection.

Additional Information

Relocation Assistance Provided: Yes