Material Planner - Platform 1

Zipline•South San Francisco, CA

5d•Onsite

About The Position

Platform 1—Zipline’s first-generation long-range autonomous drone system—is already delivering millions of medical products across Africa. The strength and agility of our supply chain is at the heart of our ability to scale this impact. We are seeking a Material Planner to design and optimize Zipline Africa’s material planning and supply chain strategy, ensuring readiness across all sites. This role will focus on long-term planning, inventory optimization, MRP implementation, and enabling efficient site expansions across the continent. You will sit at the intersection of Operations, Logistics, and Global Supply Management, building frameworks and systems that empower our Tactical teams to execute effectively and consistently. This is a high-impact, cross-functional role for someone who thrives in complexity, builds from first principles, and is motivated by the opportunity to strengthen a supply chain that directly improves millions of lives.

Requirements

4+ years of experience in supply chain, materials management, or operations in high-complexity environments.
Demonstrated success in long-term planning, inventory optimization, and cross-functional coordination.
Hands-on experience with MRP, ERP, and/or planning tools, with strong analytical and modeling capabilities.
Experience supporting new product introductions, ramps, or hardware transitions.
Exceptional communication skills and comfort working across geographies, cultures, and time zones, especially in emerging markets.
Ability to operate with limited or imperfect data, make decisions under uncertainty, and challenge the status quo when needed.
High personal accountability, strong organizational skills, and the ability to create structure in ambiguous environments.
Self-motivated with strong learning, multi-tasking, organizational, and documentation skills.

Responsibilities

Warehouse & Inventory Management Support the design and implementation of central warehouse models in each country, ensuring efficient consolidation and material flow between Zipline distribution centers (Nests) and central facilities.
Set minimum and maximum inventory levels for central warehouses and individual Nests, monitoring and adjusting annually.
Establish and enforce robust cycle count and audit processes to ensure accuracy, data transparency, and strong operational reporting.
Supply Chain & Coordination Collaborate with US logistics, purchasing, and planning teams to schedule and execute container shipments for site launches and ongoing operations.
Develop long-term strategies for shipment optimization, container utilization, and inventory positioning.
Partner with regional logistics teams to support trade compliance efforts, optimize freight decisions, reduce logistics costs, and navigate customs and tariff implications.
Coordinate with logistics and sourcing teams to ensure materials flow efficiently across 3PL storage, suppliers, regional warehouses and Nests.
Site Readiness & Expansion Plan material readiness for new site launches, ensuring timelines and risk mitigation strategies are followed to support first-flight launch requirements.
Coordinate with field teams to onboard new Nests, ensuring availability of equipment, spares, and operational materials.
New Product Introduction (NPI) Material Readiness Drive material readiness for new product ramps by partnering with Engineering, Manufacturing, and Global Supply Management teams.
Identify supply risks early in development and guide mitigation plans to protect ramp timelines.
Support engineering release cycles, risk buys, and last-time-buy decisions during supplier transitions to ensure continuity of supply.
Process & System Development Lead development, implementation and continuous improvement of MRP systems connecting BOM, forecasts, and consumption data to generate purchase and production plans.
Build scalable processes, tools, and governance mechanisms that reduce manual effort, improve accuracy, and enable operational velocity across all African markets.