Materials Manager - Manufacturing

Job Title: Materials Manager Manufacturing

Location: Huntsville, AL

Pay Rate: $140k/yr - $160k/yr



Work Arrangement: Onsite

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Materials Manager to lead materials management operations for a dynamic, low-volume/high-mix manufacturing environment. This position will oversee purchasing, materials planning, inventory control, production scheduling, supplier management, and warehouse operations while ensuring uninterrupted material flow and strong support of manufacturing and customer commitments.

The Materials Manager will partner closely with the Plant Manager and senior leadership team to build and strengthen the materials management function, drive operational excellence, optimize inventory, improve material flow, and develop a high-performing team.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead purchasing, materials planning, inventory control, production scheduling, forecasting, and warehouse operations.

• Manage material flow from receiving and inspection through line-side presentation, production, end-of-line picking, packing, and shipping.

• Develop and maintain a Plan for Every Part (PFEP) database to support daily materials operations.

• Establish and maintain a Just-in-Time (JIT) materials environment.

• Design and implement lean, pull-based material-flow systems.

• Implement and manage supermarkets, Kanban systems, tugger routes, point-of-use delivery, and 5S practices .

• Manage WIP markets and pull-based replenishment aligned with production scheduling and level-loading principles.

• Improve runner/repeater/stranger replenishment strategies and optimize changeover processes.

• Oversee inventory management, cycle counting, inventory accuracy, and inventory-control procedures.

• Ensure accurate and timely material presentation to production lines.

• Manage warehouse operations, including receiving, storage, staging, cycle counting, material movement, and finished-goods shipping.

• Optimize labor utilization and reduce unnecessary forklift and material-handling requirements.

• Drive improvements in supplier delivery performance and establish strong supplier relationships.

• Support supplier qualification and development of new suppliers when required.

• Partner with Production, Quality, Engineering, Purchasing, and Plant Leadership to resolve material constraints and improve operational performance.

• Lead continuous-improvement initiatives focused on Safety, Quality, Delivery, Productivity, and Cash .

• Promote employee involvement in problem-solving and decision-making.

• Coach, mentor, and develop materials and warehouse team members.

• Support hiring, onboarding, performance management, and development of the Materials organization.

• Maintain a highly visible, hands-on leadership presence on the manufacturing floor.

• Ensure timely and accurate transactional reporting and materials-related data management.

• Identify and eliminate waste while improving material velocity, inventory accuracy, and manufacturing efficiency.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Operations, Business, Engineering, or a related field preferred.

• Proven experience in Materials Management within a manufacturing environment .

• Strong experience with Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement .

• Demonstrated experience implementing and managing JIT and pull-based material systems .

• Experience with Kanban, supermarkets, point-of-use delivery, tugger routes, and 5S .

• Experience developing or managing a PFEP (Plan for Every Part) system.

• Strong knowledge of inventory control, cycle counting, material planning, and production scheduling.

• Experience managing warehouse and material-handling operations.

• Demonstrated supplier-management and supplier-development experience.

• Proven leadership experience with the ability to build, coach, and develop teams.

• Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, and organizational skills.

• Ability to balance customer requirements, production constraints, supplier performance, and inventory investment.

• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, changing manufacturing environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a low-volume/high-mix manufacturing environment .

• Experience with WIP markets, heijunka/level scheduling, and runner/repeater/stranger replenishment.

• Experience reducing material-handling costs and forklift dependency.

• Experience with ERP/MRP systems and materials-planning tools.

• Experience leading plant-level transformational or operational-excellence initiatives.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role will be measured by the ability to:

• Maintain uninterrupted material flow to production.

• Improve inventory accuracy and reduce excess inventory.

• Strengthen supplier delivery performance.

• Establish a sustainable JIT and pull-based materials environment.

• Improve warehouse and material-handling efficiency.

• Reduce waste and unnecessary material movement.

• Develop a strong, accountable Materials team.

• Improve overall Safety, Quality, Delivery, Productivity, and Cash performance.

Work Location

This is an onsite position in Huntsville, Alabama . Candidates must be willing and able to work onsite. Relocation assistance is not available for this position.