Materials Manager

Materials Manager

Whisker is redefining what it means to live with cats—designing intelligent systems that remove friction, elevate the everyday, and celebrate the quiet brilliance of feline companionship. Today, Litter-Robot leads the category. Tomorrow, an entire ecosystem that expands what's possible for cats and the people who love them. We believe the future is feline. And we're imagining that future today.

This role will be onsite five days a week out of our Juneau, Wisconsin office. Our team of 700+ passionate pet people thrives on collaboration, innovation, and the occasional office cameo from a four-legged friend.

The Materials Manager leads the end-to-end flow of materials supporting Whisker's manufacturing operations—from production planning and supplier commitments through receiving, inventory control, material movement, and production support. This leader is responsible for ensuring material availability while balancing customer service, production requirements, inventory investment, warehouse capacity, and cost.

The Materials Manager partners closely with Operations, Engineering, Quality, Finance, Marketing/Demand Planning, and other Supply Chain functions to support company growth, new-product launches, and an exceptional customer experience. Functions reporting to this role initially include procurement, production planning and scheduling, BOM and materials master-data management, inventory control and cycle counting, and materials warehousing. This manager will support a team of approximately 9 salaried support, 8 hourly support, and 30 warehouse support.

Based on your experience, this role may be elevated to Senior Materials Manager.

The Materials Manager develops and executes Whisker's materials strategy to ensure the right materials are available in the right quantities and at the right time. This role leads procurement, production planning, inventory control, materials warehousing, and BOM-related processes while driving improvements in service, inventory, material flow, cost, and team performance.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

This list of duties and responsibilities is not all-inclusive and may be expanded to include other duties and responsibilities as deemed necessary.

• Oversees material resource planning to ensure appropriate levels of inventory are in place to support production schedules and inventory targets without exceeding warehouse capacity
• Leads a team of buyers to facilitate timely placements of purchase orders and communication with suppliers to ensure on-time delivery of components to support production plans
• Oversees the production planning/scheduling team to meet customer and retail demand + lead time commitments
• Leads and coordinates short- and long-term capacity planning in relation to both current and future state objectives to meet both tactical and strategic goals
• Identifies solutions to supply chain challenges, working with cross-functional teams to ensure customer satisfaction is protected
• Contributes to the sales & operations planning, working directly with supply chain, marketing, finance, and operations teams
• Manages the part warehouses and material movements within: receiving, storage, and transfers
• Maintains accurate finished goods, work-in-progress and raw material inventories through ongoing transactional discipline, cycle counting program, operational processes, and annual physical inventory counts
• Works with engineering and manufacturing to ensure timely communication and execution of BOM buildouts, pilot builds, and new program launches
• Develops processes to enhance systemic efficiency across the entire organization
• Integrates new software solutions, ERP functionality, and corresponding processes to better and more efficiently run the department
• Champions continuous improvement throughout their department including safety, quality, accountability, and employee development. Includes process and system gap identification with actions to remediate
• Will perform additional responsibilities when required

Leadership Responsibilities:

Directly supervises the department. Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with Whisker policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, training, and hiring team members, planning and prioritization, assigning and directing work, ensuring accountability, appraising performance, addressing team member issues, and upholding safety and quality guidelines.

Requirements:

What You'll Bring:

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, and/or equivalent years of experience
• Minimum of 5 years experience in Materials Leadership, preferably in a Manufacturing or Assembly environment
• Prior management experience leading a team include purchasing, planning, supplier, and inventory management personnel
• Strong knowledge of ERP/MRP systems required
• Strong knowledge of production planning, inventory costing, working-capital management, and scheduling principles
• Strong written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills at all levels of the organization and with various external stakeholders
• Demonstrated hands on approach, learning systems and able to cover for team when needed
• Excellent analytical and organizational skills along with the ability to handle multiple projects effectively
• Proactive communication with cross functional and leadership teams
• Maintains confidentiality of proprietary information
• Ability to maintain a professional atmosphere in a fast-paced environment with numerous interactions and interruptions
• A high degree of initiative and focus on accountability
• Ability to establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with Team Members and colleagues
• Comfortable with office pets (cats, dogs)

Not Required but Nice to Have!

• Experience in a medium- to high-volume consumer-products or durable-goods manufacturing environment.
• APICS/ASCM certification, such as CPIM or CSCP.
• MBA or advanced degree in supply chain, operations, or a related discipline.
• SAP ERP experience; SAP Business One experience is especially beneficial.
• Experience selecting, implementing, or optimizing ERP, MRP, WMS, and other bolt-on software solutions.
• Experience leading or actively participating in an S&OP process.
• Experience with lean material systems, including PFEP, supermarkets, kanban, and point-of-use replenishment.
• Experience supporting new-product introductions, engineering changes, and product phase-in/phase-out activities.

Benefits & Perks:

Join a tenacious, inventive company that empowers team members to chart their own path, lead by grounding decisions in the "why", and has a strong sense of empathy and openness to new perspectives. Be a part of exciting growth, work with incredible people, and create tomorrow's pet products—plus a whole lot of extras. You will also be provided with:

• Premium Medical/Dental/Vision insurance
• Paid parental leave
• Whisker Parents Program
• 1 day "pawternity" leave for new pet adoption
• Pet Insurance Discount
• 401K match
• Flexible spending accounts
• Company-paid short-term disability and life insurance
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Generous paid time off
• 14 Paid Holidays
• Top of the line equipment
• Pet-friendly office
• Whisker products and swag
• Continuing education Support
• On-site gym with Peloton
• Referral program

Statement of Inclusivity:

We believe different perspectives make Whisker better and strive to create a place where everyone has equal opportunities to thrive.