Material Planner - Torrance

About The Role

The Material Planner is responsible for ensuring materials are available at the right time, in the right quantity, and at the required quality level to support manufacturing and business needs at our Torrance site. You will work closely with Production Planning, Buyers, Warehouse, Quality, EHS, and other site teams to translate demand into executable material plans, monitor purchase requisitions and purchase orders, support supplier follow-up, and help reduce shortages, overstocks, and excess inventory. This role also supports ERP master-data accuracy, new item creation, and continuous improvement efforts across the supply chain.

Responsibilities

• Plan materials for production and project needs, including amino acids, resins, solvents, reagents, packaging items, and critical consumables.
• Run and review MRP outputs, planned purchase orders, purchase requisitions, alerts, exceptions, and item coverage settings.
• Follow supplier purchase orders to support on-time, in-full delivery and communicate material availability risks to key stakeholders.
• Partner with Buyers and suppliers to resolve delivery issues, escalate risks, and evaluate alternate sources when needed.
• Support new production and development activities by coordinating raw material and packaging requests.
• Lead Supply Chain inputs for new item creation in the ERP system.
• Assist with supplier sample management, QA documentation, certificates of analysis, BSE/TSE documentation, and related material documentation.
• Coordinate deliveries with Buyers and Warehouse while considering space limitations and material readiness requirements.
• Set up material forecasts based on MRP demand and global category schedules.
• Review bulk solvent and commodity chemical Kanban levels and support expiry, retest, and disposal review activities.
• Help avoid shortages and overstocks while improving inventory levels and planning processes.
• Apply Lean methods, including Kanban and Kaizen approaches, to improve supply chain execution.
• Participate in KPI reviews, S&OP, Tier 2 meetings, SOTA meetings, and procedure drafting as needed.
• Act as backup for the Production Planner when required.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Master’s degree in supply chain, business, science, or a related field is beneficial.
• At least 5 years of experience in a similar planning, supply chain, procurement, or materials role.
• At least 5 years of GMP process experience.
• Fluent in English.

Skills

• Strong understanding of pharmaceutical products, GMP requirements, and supply chain operations.
• Experience with ERP systems, MRP, procurement, logistics, purchasing master data, and planning tools.
• Knowledge of Kanban, Kaizen, Lean management, and inventory optimization.
• Strong data analysis skills and comfort working with figures, forecasts, and planning reports.
• Ability to support accurate master data, supplier coordination, and material availability tracking.
• Clear communication and strong stakeholder management.
• Strong organization and prioritization skills.
• Proactive approach to identifying and escalating supply risks.
• Ability to work under pressure and manage short timelines.
• Strong attention to detail, curiosity, rigor, and results orientation.
• Collaborative mindset with the ability to work across Production, Planning, Warehouse, Quality, EHS, Finance, and other teams.
• Continuous improvement mindset focused on process ownership, data accuracy, and inventory performance.

Work Environment

This role is primarily based in an office and supply chain environment, with regular interaction across manufacturing, warehouse, quality, EHS, finance, and planning functions. Physical requirements may include prolonged sitting, computer-based planning and documentation work, movement between office, warehouse, and production-adjacent areas, and occasional lifting or handling of documents or light materials up to 25 pounds. Occasional overtime or adjusted hours may be required to support production, supplier delivery, inventory, or urgent planning needs.

Pay

$85k–$100k