Materials Lead

Kaney•Rockford, IL

19h

About The Position

The Materials Lead is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day planning, procurement, inventory control, and material flow required to support precision aerospace manufacturing operations. This role will ensure material availability while optimizing inventory, improving supplier performance, and supporting on-time delivery to customers. The Materials Lead will work cross-functionally with Operations, Production, Engineering, Quality, Program Management, and Finance to execute Kaney's Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning (SIOP) process while driving continuous improvement throughout the supply chain.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Operations, Business, Engineering, or related field.
3-5 years of experience in materials management, supply chain, purchasing, or production planning.
Experience in aerospace, defense, precision machining, or manufacturing.
Strong ERP/MRP experience (Epicor, Infor, SAP, Oracle, or equivalent).
Strong analytical and Excel skills.
Aerospace or highly regulated industry experience preferred.
Strong analytical, negotiation, and problem-solving skills.
Ability to manage supplier relationships and cross-functional projects effectively.
Knowledge of inventory planning, supplier performance metrics, and strategic sourcing principles.
Excellent communication and organizational skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience in aerospace, defense, medical device, or precision manufacturing.
APICS CPIM or CSCP certification.
Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or Continuous Improvement experience.
Experience supporting AS9100 manufacturing environments.
Government contracting or defense industry experience.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute production material plans aligned with customer demand and master production schedules.
Manage MRP recommendations and ensure timely release of purchase orders and manufacturing orders.
Analyze excess, obsolete, and slow-moving inventory and develop reduction plans.
Establish inventory policies including safety stock and reorder points.
Manage procurement of raw material, machined components, outside processing, hardware, and indirect materials.
Negotiate pricing, lead times, and supplier agreements.
Develop strategic supplier relationships focused on quality, cost, delivery, and responsiveness.
Coordinate daily material availability with production scheduling.
Lead shortage meetings and establish recovery plans.
Support engineering changes and material transitions.
Ensure material transactions are completed accurately within the ERP system.
Lead Productivity Projects focused on supplier performance improvement and Purchase Price Variance (PPV) savings.
Improve inventory turns and cash utilization.
Reduce supplier lead times.
Improve supplier on-time delivery.
Standardize planning processes across Kaney locations.