Materials Planning Manager

Flex

About The Position

Flex is the diversified manufacturing partner of choice that helps market-leading brands design, build and deliver innovative products that improve the world. A career at Flex offers the opportunity to make a difference and invest in your growth in a respectful, inclusive, and collaborative environment. If you are excited about a role but don't meet every bullet point, we encourage you to apply and join us to create the extraordinary. Job Summary To support our extraordinary teams who build great products and contribute to our growth, we’re looking to add a Materials Planning Manager located in Austin, TX. Reporting to the Materials Planning Director, the Materials Planning Manager will be responsible for developing, directing and coordinating material planning activities. Enhance customer service levels possible by balancing supply and demand. What a typical day looks like: Own and manage customer demand forecasts; translate forecasts into actionable supply plans. Prepare and communicate shortage reports, Clear-to-Build (CTB) analysis, and supply risks to customers and internal stakeholders. Proactively identify, escalate, and resolve material shortages to minimize production impact. Develop and maintain analytical shortage models to proactively identify gaps between demand and supply. Manage and control Excess & Obsolete (E&O) inventory, drive mitigation and recovery plans. Maintain regular communication with suppliers regarding commitments, lead times, constraints, and delivery performance. Analyze and resolve COGI discrepancies, work order variances, work order aging, and inventory aging issues. Identify systemic inefficiencies and lead process improvement initiatives. Develop and maintain advanced Excel-based forecast and planning models to support decision-making. Apply Industrial Engineering principles to optimize inventory positioning, lot sizing, safety stock, and replenishment strategies. Partner with Operations, Procurement, Finance, and Program Management to ensure execution to plan. Partner with Product Engineers to manage Bill of Materials, set up inventory disposition plans based on Engineering change implementation dates. Drive Excess & Obsolete (E&O) mitigation using data-driven disposition, recovery, and prevention strategies. Prepare quotes for carrying cost, Excess and obsolete buy-back, scrap cost etc. Support site financial objectives by understanding cost drivers and contributing positively to site P&L. Track, analyze, and report key planning and inventory metrics including Load vs. Commit, Inventory Turns, Days on hand, safety stock attainment and forecast accuracy. Lead efforts to set up supplier managed inventory programs. Develop procedures and document them for highly regulated manufacturing environment. Drive continuous improvement initiatives across planning and materials management processes. Ensure compliance with internal controls, customer requirements, and EMS best practices.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Operations Research, Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, or related quantitative field.
6+ years of experience in materials planning, production planning, or supply chain analytics within manufacturing or EMS environments including supervision.
Strong quantitative and analytical background with the ability to model, analyze, and solve complex supply chain problems.
Hands-on experience performing CTB analysis, shortage modeling, and demand-supply reconciliation.
Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including complex formulas, pivot tables, Power Query, and forecast modeling.
Demonstrated experience resolving COGI issues, work order variances, and aging inventory through structured analysis.
Working knowledge of financial principles and how inventory, shortages, and execution impact site P&L.
Ability to communicate complex analytical insights clearly to customers, suppliers, and executive stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

APICS certification (CPIM, CSCP) strongly preferred.
Experience applying Lean, Six Sigma, or IE methodologies is a strong plus.

Responsibilities

Own and manage customer demand forecasts; translate forecasts into actionable supply plans.
Prepare and communicate shortage reports, Clear-to-Build (CTB) analysis, and supply risks to customers and internal stakeholders.
Proactively identify, escalate, and resolve material shortages to minimize production impact.
Develop and maintain analytical shortage models to proactively identify gaps between demand and supply.
Manage and control Excess & Obsolete (E&O) inventory, drive mitigation and recovery plans.
Maintain regular communication with suppliers regarding commitments, lead times, constraints, and delivery performance.
Analyze and resolve COGI discrepancies, work order variances, work order aging, and inventory aging issues.
Identify systemic inefficiencies and lead process improvement initiatives.
Develop and maintain advanced Excel-based forecast and planning models to support decision-making.
Apply Industrial Engineering principles to optimize inventory positioning, lot sizing, safety stock, and replenishment strategies.
Partner with Operations, Procurement, Finance, and Program Management to ensure execution to plan.
Partner with Product Engineers to manage Bill of Materials, set up inventory disposition plans based on Engineering change implementation dates.
Drive Excess & Obsolete (E&O) mitigation using data-driven disposition, recovery, and prevention strategies.
Prepare quotes for carrying cost, Excess and obsolete buy-back, scrap cost etc.
Support site financial objectives by understanding cost drivers and contributing positively to site P&L.
Track, analyze, and report key planning and inventory metrics including Load vs. Commit, Inventory Turns, Days on hand, safety stock attainment and forecast accuracy.
Lead efforts to set up supplier managed inventory programs.
Develop procedures and document them for highly regulated manufacturing environment.
Drive continuous improvement initiatives across planning and materials management processes.
Ensure compliance with internal controls, customer requirements, and EMS best practices.