Senior Demand Planner Zev Technologies

Position Summary

The Senior Demand Planner for Zev Technologies is responsible for pulling together all sources of incoming demand, including sales orders, forecasts, and backlog, and translating that demand into a clear material plan. This role compares aggregated demand against current inventory position and Bill-of-Materials requirements, and produces the purchase requisitions needed to procure everything required to build product against upcoming demand. The Senior Demand Planner works in direct partnership with the Inventory Manager so that material plans are always grounded in real, current inventory data rather than assumptions.

 

Key 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. These two roles operate as a paired function.

• 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. 

• Serves as backup to the Buyer role; may execute purchasing decisions independently when workload overflow requires additional purchasing capacity.

 

Additional Responsibilities: Senior Demand Planner

In addition to all responsibilities above, the Senior Demand Planner will:

• 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.

 

Senior Demand Planner Basic Qualifications

• 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.

 

Core Competencies

• 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.