How to hire a material controller

How to hire a material controller, step by step

Here's a step-by-step material controller hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a material controller job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new material controller
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a material controller do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The material controller hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a material controller to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a material controller that fits the bill.

   The following list breaks down different types of material controllers and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Material Controller	Description	Hourly rate
   Material Controller	Material recording clerks track product information in order to keep businesses and supply chains on schedule. They ensure proper scheduling, recordkeeping, and inventory control.	$11-32
   Expeditor	The role of expeditors is to ensure the timely and efficient preparation and delivery of food. To accomplish this task, they also perform other duties, including managing inventory levels, managing supply requisition, and coordinating with subcontractors... Show more	$13-25
   Production Planner	Production planners or schedulers are employees who take charge of the timeliness and accuracy of the production process. The planners develop production schedules which detail the tasks that need to be done to meet the set completion date... Show more	$21-38

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Computer System
   • Purchase Orders
   • Hazardous Materials
   • FAA
   • MSDS
   • Inventory Control
   • Material Control
   • Logistics
   • MRP
   • Material Movement
   • Production Schedules
   • Safety Regulations
   • Cycle Counts
   • ERP

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage and coordinate customer delivery commits between production, engineering and logistics.
   • Assist to establish EDI with vendors.
   • Perform cleaning duties, range from cleaning sales floor to cleaning windows.
   • Provide training in SPC, wafer cleaning, final inspection and reactor operations.
   • Enter data into RF scanner to load and manipulate data and to produce reports.
   • Prepare and update weekly material report, material requirement planning (MRP) and end of life (EOL) report.

   More material controller duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your material controller job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A material controller salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, material controllers' average salary in wyoming is 57% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level material controllers earn 65% less than senior-level material controllers.
   • Certifications. A material controller with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a material controller's salary.

   Average material controller salary

   $41,064yearly

   $19.74 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level material controller salary

   $24,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 5, 2025

   Average material controller salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$55,462	$27
   2	Connecticut	$44,228	$21
   3	Pennsylvania	$43,957	$21
   4	Texas	$41,944	$20
   5	Maryland	$40,868	$20
   6	Virginia	$40,713	$20
   7	Illinois	$39,721	$19
   8	Washington	$38,162	$18
   9	Minnesota	$37,476	$18
   10	Louisiana	$37,214	$18
   11	Indiana	$35,351	$17
   12	Ohio	$34,906	$17
   13	Wisconsin	$34,451	$17
   14	Oklahoma	$33,397	$16
   15	Georgia	$33,277	$16
   16	South Carolina	$32,944	$16
   17	Kansas	$32,869	$16
   18	Missouri	$31,434	$15
   19	North Carolina	$30,537	$15

   Average material controller salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Aviation Technology Group	$73,883	$35.52
   2	Schneider Electric Industrial Services	$65,565	$31.52	13
   3	Textron	$50,943	$24.49	25
   4	Volvo Trucks	$50,425	$24.24	9
   5	Cenergy International Services	$48,005	$23.08
   6	Valmont Industries	$47,150	$22.67	39
   7	Northrop Grumman	$46,028	$22.13	10
   8	Ameren	$43,178	$20.76	2
   9	Air Products	$42,954	$20.65	2
   10	Kohler Co.	$41,262	$19.84	7
   11	Rolls-Royce	$41,174	$19.80	2
   12	LAUNCH Technical Workforce Solutions	$40,848	$19.64
   13	Canon	$40,716	$19.57	6
   14	Lockheed Martin	$40,420	$19.43	59
   15	AMETEK	$40,128	$19.29	14
   16	Aerotek	$39,910	$19.19	405
   17	Eaton	$39,688	$19.08	57
   18	Populus Group	$39,556	$19.02
   19	Cogent Communications	$39,363	$18.92
   20	Stoughton Trailers	$39,034	$18.77	3

4. Writing a material controller job description

   A job description for a material controller role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a material controller job description:

   Material controller job description example

   Maintain accurate inventory of materials and supply production areas with materials. Essential Functions:
   - Operate all types of tools and machines essential and necessary to the job, including, but not limited to, forklifts, hand jacks, tape measures, calculator, computers, loading docks, cranes, scales, data collection equipment, radios and copy machine.
   - Verify incoming material shipments for accuracy. Check quality of materials and spot defective material.
   - Receive and stock material in appropriate sector locations.
   - Conduct cycle and physical counting of all material assigned.
   - Accurately document all shipments to production areas. Use computer to access information and process paperwork in a timely manner.
   - Follow instructions for daily picking and supplying of materials to designated production areas, including manual placement in specified locations, transferring of materials between warehouses, and returning to stock.
   - Loading/unloading materials from trailers and trucks.
   - Perform daily checks on equipment including fluid levels. Complete checklist.
   - Perform all assigned tasks in a safe, efficient, timely, accurate and highly productive manner according to company policy.
   - Contribute to the team effort to produce a quality product.
   - Attend scheduled work hours on a regular and timely basis. Maintain good attendance.
   - Ability to work mandatory overtime.
   - Ensure the safety of others working in the vicinity of moving vehicles.
   - Ability to follow company policies and procedures.
   - Ability to work and communicate in a team environment. - Other duties may be assigned as required by the company Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right material controller for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with material controllers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit material controllers who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your material controller job on Zippia to find and recruit material controller candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with material controller candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new material controller

   Once you've found the material controller candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new material controller. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a material controller?