Material Control Planner, Ford Energy

Why Ford Energy?
At Ford Energy, you have the backing of an industrial manufacturing powerhouse with the agility of a dedicated energy startup offering industry leading technology. We offer a competitive compensation package including performance-based bonuses, Ford vehicle discounts, and the opportunity to shape the energy strategy of one of the world's most iconic brands. Learn more at https://fordenergy.com.
In this position...
As the Material Control Engineer, you will keep our battery manufacturing operation supplied with the right materials, in the right quantities, at the right time. You will plan and coordinate material flow from suppliers to the production line. This covers electrode materials, cells, modules, and DC block components. You will work with Production, Purchasing, Quality, Engineering, Suppliers, and Logistics to prevent shortages, control inventory, and support production ramp-ups.
What you'll do...
Planning & Scheduling

• Convert the master production schedule and customer demand into material requirements using MRP.
• Maintain ERP planning parameters, including lead times, safety stock, lot sizes, and reorder points.
• Review MRP exception messages and take action to expedite, reschedule, or cancel orders.
• Build short- and long-term material plans for ramp-ups, model changeovers, and scenario planning.

Supplier & Inbound Coordination

• Monitor releases to supply base.
• Monitor supplier delivery performance and resolve late or short shipments.
• Coordinate expedited and premium freight and track the associated costs.
• Work with logistics and customs teams on international and domestic shipments.
• Flag supply risks, such as capacity limits or raw material availability, to Purchasing and plant leadership.

Inventory Management

• Maintain inventory levels that balance line-side and warehouse availability within available plant storage.
• Support cycle counts, reconcile discrepancies, and identify root causes.
• Manage lot and batch traceability for semi-finished and finished goods.
• Monitor FIFO/FEFO to shelf-life-sensitive materials.
• Reduce excess, obsolete, and slow-moving inventory.
• Manage quality campaigns through the supply chain with zero impact to customer schedules

Production Support

• Make sure materials are available when required for production scheduled shift.
• Coordinate replenishment with material handlers, warehouse staff, and production/quality teams.
• Respond to shortages and line-stop risks, and lead cross-functional resolution.

Quality, Safety & Compliance

• Coordinate quarantine, hold, and release of nonconforming material with Quality.
• Support containment actions, supplier corrective actions, and returns.
• Follow safety and regulatory requirements for hazardous and non-hazardous materials.

Engineering Change & Launch Support

• Manage ECN/ECO part number cutovers and the depletion of old stock.
• Plan materials for prototype, pilot, and trial builds.
• Account for scrap and yield loss in material plans.
• Work with Engineering to keep BOMs accurate.

Reporting & Continuous Improvement

• Track and report KPIs: inventory turns, inventory accuracy, shortages, on-time supplier delivery, material-related downtime, and premium freight.
• Support month-end close, including inventory adjustments and variance explanations.
• Take part in lean initiatives to reduce waste and improve material flow.

You'll have...

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, or a related field, OR 2+ years of experience in material planning, production control inventory management within a manufacturing environment
• Working knowledge of ERP/MRP systems (SAP, Oracle or similar)
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong knowledge of Microsoft Office suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Access).
• Ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced environment.
• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally as needed, to plants, external warehouses, and provider sites in support of startup activities. Weekend work may be required on an exception basis.

Even better, you may have...

• Experience in automotive, battery, or other high-volume manufacturing.
  • Extended experience with SAP S/4 Hana, WMS and BI tools (Power BI)
  • Familiarity with Kanban, JIT, and lean principles
  • Knowledge of hazardous materials handling
  • APICS/ASCM certification (CPIM or CSCP).
  • Passion for energy systems and U.S. energy independence.

You may not check every box, or your experience may look a little different from what we've outlined, but if you think you can bring value to Ford Motor Company, we encourage you to apply!
As an established global company, we offer the benefit of choice. You can choose what your Ford future will look like: will your story span the globe, or keep you close to home? Will your career be a deep dive into what you love, or a series of new teams and new skills? Will you be a leader, a changemaker, a technical expert, a culture builder...or all of the above? No matter what you choose, we offer a work life that works for you, including:

• Immediate medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage
• Paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up child care and more
• Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments and more
• Vehicle discount program for employees and family members and management leases
• Tuition assistance
• Established and active employee resource groups
• Paid time off for individual and team community service
• Generous vacation time, sick/personal time, and paid holidays, including between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day

Company: As Ford establishes a wholly owned subsidiary focused on Battery Energy Storage Systems, this role will initially be employed by Ford and is expected to transition to the subsidiary within one year.
This position is a salary grade 5-7 and ranges from $65,100-$144,900.
Final determination of salary grade will be based on candidate's skills and experience, and base salary will be set within the applicable range according to job scope, responsibility and competitive market value.
For more information on salary and benefits, click here: https://fordcareers.co/GSR
Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.
Candidates for positions with Ford Motor Company must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status or protected veteran status. In the United States, if you need a reasonable accommodation for the online application process due to a disability, please call 1-888-336-0660.
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