Material Planning Manager - Supply Chain

Zipline•South San Francisco, CA

6h•Onsite

About The Position

Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced drone delivery service, on a mission to serve all humans equally by ensuring access to food, medicine and essential goods anytime, anywhere. They design, build, and operate the world’s largest autonomous logistics system, delivering critical supplies quickly and reliably. Zipline operates on four continents, making a delivery every 30 seconds, and has completed millions of deliveries including blood, vaccines, medical supplies, food, and retail products. Their system strengthens supply chains, reduces congestion, and gives people time back, having safely flown over 140 million commercial autonomous miles. They are looking for practical problem solvers motivated by building systems that have a direct, meaningful impact on people’s lives and scaling the future of logistics. The Material Planning Manager will own the material availability and planning backbone to support the rapid scaling of a first-of-its-kind autonomous robotic aircraft system. This role requires the ability to navigate complex, competing signals from engineering changes, production ramps, supplier constraints, and demand variability to create precise, actionable plans for manufacturing. The manager will lead the material strategy for an entire aircraft platform or major subsystem in a high-visibility, mission-critical capacity. This is an in-person role based out of Zipline's HQ in South San Francisco, requiring 30-50% travel to manage critical suppliers, partners, and operations in Asia, North America, and other key regions.

Requirements

You have 1-10+ years of experience in a fast-paced, high-growth manufacturing, supply chain or data analytics environment in roles such as Material Planning Manager, Supply Planning Lead, Technical Program Manager, or data analytics/data science positions.
You have successfully owned material planning and data integrity for complex, scaling products—ideally high-reliability systems like aircraft, robotics, or automotive platforms—through prototype, NPI, and volume production phases.
You are highly proficient with MRP/ERP systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, NetSuite) and have deep experience managing and governing master data, BOMs, routings, and planning parameters in dynamic engineering environments.
You have a proven track record of leading change integration processes, translating engineering updates into supply chain actions with minimal disruption.
You excel at turning large datasets into actionable insights—using analytics to improve forecast accuracy, reduce inventory risks, and resolve material constraints under tight timelines.
You have strong program management skills, with experience driving cross-functional initiatives, managing dependencies, and delivering against aggressive schedules in unstructured, high-stakes settings.
You have worked within established supply chain and demand planning frameworks, applying metrics and processes to elevate forecast performance and material availability.
You thrive when making tough prioritization calls and trade-offs amid uncertainty, limited resources, and rapidly evolving requirements.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree in Supply Chain, Operations, Engineering, Data Analytics, Mathematics or related field, with experience scaling high-tech, aerospace, automotive or robotics manufacturing.
Demonstrated first-principles problem-solving with tools like root cause analysis, scenario planning, statistical forecasting, or advanced analytics to deliver measurable improvements.
Experience in regulated or high-reliability industries with gated development processes and material/program readiness milestones.
Strong leadership presence with a history of collaborating with and developing high-performing planning teams in growth-stage companies.

Responsibilities

Own and maintain the end-to-end material availability strategy, including accurate translation of production schedules and forecasts into supplier requirements, inventory positioning, and risk mitigation plans.
Lead ownership and governance of critical master data (BOMs, item attributes, lead times, planning parameters, and engineering change impacts) to ensure MRP and planning systems reflect the current design and production reality.
Develop, communicate, and manage forward-looking forecasts and commitments to suppliers, aligning them with Zipline’s aggressive ramp plans, design evolution, and program milestones.
Drive the engineering change integration process for materials—assessing supply planning impacts, updating planning data, and minimizing disruptions to supply continuity and production flow.
Plan, organize, direct, and execute material readiness activities across Design Engineering, Manufacturing, NPI, and Supply Chain teams to support prototype-to-volume transitions and ongoing rate increases.
Monitor and resolve material constraints through rigorous exception management, expediting, market share reallocation, and cross-functional escalation, while maintaining tight control over inventory health.
Perform deep data analysis to identify trends, variances, and risks in demand, supply, and inventory; use insights to refine planning logic, reduce shortages/excess, and improve forecast accuracy over time.
Collaborate with Strategic Sourcing and Supplier Industrialization to align supplier capabilities, capacities, and performance with Zipline’s evolving needs; define and track inventory and planning metrics for the business.
Drive continuous improvement in material planning processes through structured problem-solving, statistical analysis, inventory modeling, and performance dashboards to support cost, service, and scalability objectives.