How to hire a material manager

How to hire a material manager, step by step

Here's a step-by-step material manager 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 manager job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new material manager
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a material manager do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the material manager you need to hire. Certain material manager roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

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   Hiring the perfect material manager also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

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

   Type of Material Manager	Description	Hourly rate
   Material Manager	Purchasing managers plan, direct, and coordinate the buying of materials, products, or services for wholesalers, retailers, or organizations. They oversee the work of procurement-related occupations including buyers and purchasing agents.	$34-60
   Supply Chain Director	A supply chain director is primarily in charge of the overall supply chain operations in a company. Their responsibilities revolve around devising strategies to improve processes, creating business plans and sales forecasts, delegating tasks, coordinating and selecting suppliers and vendors, creating new supply chain policies when necessary, and spearheading the inventory and delivery processes... Show more	$43-88
   Director, Procurement	The responsibilities of a procurement director revolve around ensuring the efficient and smooth flow of supplies within the company, developing procurement strategies for optimal services and operations, assessing risks, and overseeing the implementation of new policies and regulations in the company. It is essential to coordinate with analysts to identify areas with potential opportunities or those needing improvements... Show more	$47-95

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Supply Chain
   • Logistics
   • Customer Service
   • Inventory Control
   • Materials Management
   • Continuous Improvement
   • On-Time Delivery
   • MRP
   • Shipping Receiving
   • Purchase Orders
   • Lean Manufacturing
   • ERP
   • Production Scheduling
   • Inventory Management

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Implement vendor manage inventory (VMI) programs with three key suppliers.
   • Improve cash flow and increase OTD through the introduction of vendor consignment and vendor manage inventory programs.
   • Identify optimal purchasing periods for conducting RFQ's in order to take advantage of peak supply periods.
   • Expedite and project manage materials, heavy contact with vendors and clients to coordinate shipments of materials.
   • Manage forecasts, orders, and inventory levels via EDI and customer portals to meet OEM demand.
   • Manage OEM inventory to meet warranty and customer requirements.

   More material manager duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the material manager job description is a good way to get more applicants. A material manager salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a material manager in West Virginia may be lower than in California, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level material manager. Additionally, a material manager with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average material manager salary

   $96,125yearly

   $46.21 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level material manager salary

   $72,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 21, 2026

   Average material manager salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$130,811	$63
   2	Arizona	$106,217	$51
   3	New York	$102,589	$49
   4	North Carolina	$100,996	$49
   5	Oregon	$100,863	$48
   6	Massachusetts	$99,220	$48
   7	Texas	$95,672	$46
   8	Minnesota	$95,443	$46
   9	Michigan	$93,977	$45
   10	Washington	$92,743	$45
   11	Virginia	$90,670	$44
   12	Ohio	$90,621	$44
   13	Kentucky	$86,748	$42
   14	Iowa	$86,465	$42
   15	Georgia	$85,762	$41
   16	Utah	$85,454	$41
   17	Wisconsin	$84,269	$41
   18	South Carolina	$84,118	$40
   19	Alabama	$83,725	$40
   20	Kansas	$82,715	$40

   Average material manager salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$134,887	$64.85	132
   2	Apple	$133,784	$64.32	16
   3	NVIDIA	$131,425	$63.19	3
   4	Applied Materials	$121,618	$58.47	10
   5	Bristol-Myers Squibb	$121,186	$58.26	23
   6	CITGO Petroleum	$117,890	$56.68
   7	Microsoft	$117,655	$56.56	12
   8	ICU Medical	$115,694	$55.62	10
   9	Rivian	$114,715	$55.15	19
   10	Nike	$113,674	$54.65	9
   11	Arista Networks	$113,570	$54.60	3
   12	Lam Research	$113,036	$54.34	6
   13	Amazon	$112,985	$54.32	227
   14	QuantumScape	$112,462	$54.07	1
   15	Baker Hughes	$110,355	$53.06	6
   16	Weatherford International	$109,956	$52.86
   17	Safran	$109,123	$52.46	34
   18	Deckers Brands	$108,806	$52.31
   19	RWJBarnabas Health	$108,716	$52.27	4
   20	Amphenol	$108,479	$52.15	3

4. Writing a material manager job description

   A material manager job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a material manager job description:

   Material manager job description example

   Zimmer Biomet is a global medical technology leader. Our team members are part of a company with a heritage of leadership, a focus on shaping the future, and a mission dedicated to alleviating pain and improving the quality of life for people around the world.
   
   The Materials Manager is responsible for the supply chain including customer interface review of forecasts, the production planning process and the deployment of product to warehouse. Overseas all aspects of the organization's purchasing function. Responsible for planning and directing the procurement of goods and services to reduce costs and improve quality.
   Principal Duties and Responsibilities
   
   * Manage the creation of the production plan balancing internal and external manufacturing capacities and inventory objectives.
   * Manage the deployment of inventory.
   * Develop, implement, and communicate strategies, goals, and objectives to improve supply chain performance.
   * Motivate to generate enthusiasm, commitment, and teamwork.
   * Create and manage teams to develop strategies and negotiations that ensure continuous supply and timely procurement of strategic goods and services at the most favorable total costs
   * Ensure that all manufacturing site purchasing departments establish, maintain, and follow purchasing procedures consistent with corporate and group purchasing policies. Represent the function's needs with group/corporate I/M to ensure appropriate tools are available to enable procurement staff to perform as efficiently as possible.
   * Represent group and work with counterparts across the company to coordinate purchasing of common categories; share, evaluate, and improve company procurement practices and assess and recommend systems improvements.
   * Coordinate the development and installation of measurements to monitor performance of purchasing personnel based on analysis of price acceptance, quality, delivery, and inventory management.
   
   Expected Areas of Competence
   
   * Ability to develop, implement and clearly communicate strategies, goals, and objectives that will improve supply chain performance and reduce costs.
   * Ability to redesign business processes to improve overall supply chain performance.
   * Ability to build and maintain strong relationships outside the organization including distributors, customers and other stakeholders and support groups worldwide
   * Ability to negotiate and facilitate problem solving and finds solutions which mutually satisfy customers, field representatives, and Company management.
   * Ability to prioritize the use of resources to most effectively achieves business goals.
   * Ability to foster continuous individual development to build management depth and further enhance the technical and managerial skills of individuals through modeling accountability, formal training, mentoring and other experiences.
   * Ability to create a strategic procurement vision and communicates that vision effectively throughout the organization and to external stakeholders.
   * Thorough knowledge and understanding of overall supply chain management including MRP, DRP, ERP, forecasting, inventory management.
   * Extensive knowledge of financial and information management systems, purchasing, production operation, accounting and supporting supply chain functions. Understand how to achieve organizational and supply chain objectives in complex global environment
   * Must have demonstrated strong interpersonal skills.
   * Effective writing and verbal communication skills.
   * Mastery of personal computer and experience using Microsoft Office applications along with data warehouse query tools.

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5. Post your job

   To find material managers for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any material managers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level material managers with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting material managers requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   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 manager

   Once you have selected a candidate for the material manager position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   To prepare for the new material manager first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

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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