Senior Demand Planner Zev Technologies

About the role

The Senior Demand Planner for Zev Technologies aggregates all sources of incoming demand—sales orders, forecasts, and backlog—and translates them into a clear material plan. This role ensures demand plans are grounded in real, current inventory data by partnering directly with the Inventory Manager.

Responsibilities

• Aggregate and prioritize incoming demand from all sources (sales orders, forecast, backlog) into a single, reliable demand signal.
• Compare aggregated demand against current inventory position and BOM requirements to determine true material need.
• Create and release purchase requisitions for all components required to produce product against upcoming demand.
• Analyze supply and demand position using MRP tools; plan inventory levels based on dependent and independent BOM requirements.
• Analyze supplier and part lead times; identify critical-path procurements and flag risk to the production schedule early.
• Partner directly and continuously with the Inventory Manager to keep demand plans grounded in real, current inventory data.
• Support and help run a formal S&OP-style demand planning cadence with Production and Sales, with documented decisions.
• Participate in make/buy decisions, phase-in and phase-out planning, and end-of-life management for products and components.
• Assess rough-cut capacity against current and near-term manufacturing requirements.
• Support supplier on-time-in-full (OTIF) tracking and use performance data to inform sourcing and planning decisions.
• Serve as backup to the Buyer role; may execute purchasing decisions independently when workload overflow requires additional purchasing capacity.
• Own the S&OP cadence end to end, including agenda, data package, decision capture, and follow-up accountability across Sales, Production, and Purchasing.
• Set and maintain planning parameters across the item master, including reorder points, safety stock, min/max levels, lot sizing, and planning lead times.
• Establish and report planning performance metrics such as forecast accuracy, fill rate, inventory turns, and excess and obsolete exposure.
• Lead inventory reduction and working capital initiatives, and build the analysis that supports buy-versus-defer decisions at the leadership level.
• Serve as the planning system owner for ERP/MRP configuration changes, data integrity, and planning process improvement.
• Provide direction, review, and training to junior planning and inventory staff. This role may become a supervisory position as the function grows.
• Present supply and demand position, risk, and recommendations directly to executive leadership.

Requirements

• A Bachelor's degree from an accredited university and 5 years of supply chain, demand planning, material planning, or closely related experience; OR a Master's degree and 3 years of such experience; OR 8 years of directly related experience in lieu of a degree.
• 4 years of hands-on ERP or MRP system experience, including responsibility for planning parameter setup and maintenance.
• Planning or scheduling experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated ability to read and work from multi-level Bills of Materials (BOMs).
• Experience owning or co-owning a formal S&OP or demand review process.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including the ability to build and maintain recurring analysis and metrics.
• U.S. Person status as defined under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), 22 CFR 120.62.
• Ability to work on-site full time.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a small-to-mid-size manufacturing environment as opposed to large enterprise or defense-only settings.
• Experience with Odoo or a comparable mid-market ERP.
• Experience with Power BI, Tableau, or similar tools for building demand and supply dashboards.
• APICS/ASCM certification (CPIM or CSCP).
• Lean or Six Sigma training or certification.
• Experience in firearms, ammunition, or another regulated manufacturing environment (ATF, ITAR).
• Experience with inventory disposition or excess and obsolete inventory programs.

Skills

• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to reconcile multiple conflicting demand sources into one usable plan.
• Strong cross-functional communication. This role succeeds by staying tightly aligned with Inventory Management, Purchasing, Production, and Sales.
• Sound judgment under incomplete information, with the discipline to escalate risk early rather than absorb it.
• Ownership mentality. Others rely on this plan to make daily production and spending decisions.