Inventory Control Lead

USA Rare Earth, LLC•Stillwater, OK

23h•Hybrid

About The Position

The Inventory Control Lead is responsible for overseeing and maintaining accurate inventory levels of raw materials, work-in-process (WIP), finished goods, packaging, and production supplies throughout the rare earth magnet manufacturing operation. This position plays a critical role in ensuring materials are available to support production schedules while minimizing excess inventory, shortages, waste, and carrying costs. The Inventory Control Lead will establish and maintain inventory-control systems, procedures, and performance standards while working closely with Purchasing, Production, Quality, Sales, Shipping/Receiving, and Finance.

Requirements

3–5+ years of experience in inventory control, warehouse management, materials management, or manufacturing.
Previous supervisory or management experience.
Strong understanding of inventory-control principles and warehouse operations.
Experience working with ERP/MRP inventory systems.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Excellent attention to detail and organizational skills.
Ability to work effectively across Production, Purchasing, Quality, Shipping, and Finance.
Strong computer skills, particularly Microsoft Excel and inventory/ERP systems.

Nice To Haves

Experience in metal, magnet, aerospace, automotive, electronics, machining, or other precision manufacturing environments.
Experience with rare earth materials, including neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets.
Experience with lot/batch traceability.
Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or other continuous-improvement experience.
Experience with ERP/MRP implementation or optimization.
APICS/ASCM certification or similar supply-chain certification.

Responsibilities

Manage daily inventory activities for raw materials, components, WIP, finished magnets, and supplies.
Maintain accurate inventory records within the Business Central, the company’s ERP/MRP system.
Establish appropriate minimum, maximum, safety-stock, and reorder levels.
Monitor inventory movements and investigate discrepancies.
Develop and maintain inventory-control procedures and standard operating practices.
Ensure proper identification, labeling, lot tracking, and storage of materials.
Monitor inventory aging and identify obsolete, excess, damaged, or slow-moving materials.
Maintain strict inventory accountability for rare earth materials and magnet-related raw materials.
Track materials by lot, heat/batch, supplier, specification, and production order when required.
Ensure traceability of materials throughout receiving, production, inspection, storage, and shipment.
Work with Quality and Production to properly control nonconforming, quarantined, rejected, and rework materials.
Monitor material yields, scrap, and production losses to identify opportunities for improvement.
Develop and manage a structured cycle-count program.
Conduct and oversee monthly physical inventory counts.
Research and resolve inventory variances.
Establish root causes for recurring discrepancies and implement corrective actions.
Maintain inventory accuracy targets and report performance to management.
Coordinate material availability with Production Planning and Manufacturing.
Ensure production orders have the required materials available when needed.
Identify potential shortages before they impact production schedules.
Coordinate the movement of materials between receiving, raw-material storage, production, WIP locations, and finished-goods areas.
Work with the Warehouse Manager to help optimize warehouse layout and material flow.
Work closely with Purchasing to communicate inventory requirements and material shortages.
Provide inventory data to support purchasing decisions and production planning.
Monitor incoming materials and identify potential supply issues.
Assist in evaluating supplier performance related to quantity, quality, lead time, and material availability.
Maintain accurate inventory, locations, units of measure, and transaction records.
Ensure all receiving, issuing, transfers, adjustments, and production transactions are properly recorded.
Develop inventory reports and dashboards for management.
Analyze inventory trends and identify opportunities to improve accuracy and efficiency.
Support ERP/MRP system improvements and implementation of improved inventory-control processes.
Supervise and develop inventory, warehouse, receiving, and/or material-control personnel.
Establish clear performance expectations and accountability.
Train employees on inventory procedures, ERP transactions, material handling, and documentation requirements.
Promote a culture of accuracy, organization, safety, and continuous improvement.