How to hire a senior material planner

How to hire a senior material planner, step by step

Here's a step-by-step senior material planner hiring guide:

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the senior material planner you need to hire. Certain senior material planner 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

   No

   A senior material planner's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, senior material planners from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of senior material planner salaries for various roles:

   Type of Senior Material Planner	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Material Planner	Material recording clerks track product information in order to keep businesses and supply chains on schedule. They ensure proper scheduling, recordkeeping, and inventory control.	$28-44
   Production Controller	A production controller is in charge of overseeing manufacturing operations, ensuring the workflow adheres to the quality standards, budgets, and deadlines. It is their duty to develop production and inventory control techniques, coordinate with managers to establish objectives and guidelines, review production plans and job orders, and supervise the supply chain operations... Show more	$17-35
   Production Scheduler	A production scheduler is in charge of developing manufacturing schedules to achieve short and long term production goals. Their responsibilities typically revolve around performing research and analysis to understand the extent of all procedures, identifying the needs of clients, and devising strategies for optimal operations... Show more	$15-34

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Supply Chain
   • Material Planning
   • Logistics
   • ERP
   • Purchase Orders
   • On-Time Delivery
   • Production Planning
   • Inventory Control
   • Process Improvement
   • Lean Six Sigma
   • BOM
   • Customer Orders
   • WIP
   • Material Availability

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead and support the training and maintenance of ERP and planning skills within the organization.
   • Manage OEM inventory to meet warranty and customer requirements.
   • Analyze BOM, run rates, and safety stock level to eliminate stock-out and ensuring appropriate material flow.
   • Re-Design the layout of WIP so all parts have an identify location.
   • Ensure master data accuracy within the ERP system and develop scorecard to track progress.
   • Collaborate with engineering, planning, scheduling and material control in coordinating material logistics for schedule maintenance projects.

   More senior material planner duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your senior material planner job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A senior material planner salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a senior material planner in Nevada may be lower than in Idaho, and an entry-level senior material planner usually earns less than a senior-level senior material planner. Additionally, a senior material planner with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average senior material planner salary

   $75,035yearly

   $36.07 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior material planner salary

   $59,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 31, 2025

   Average senior material planner salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$91,821	$44
   2	Washington	$89,066	$43
   3	Georgia	$82,629	$40
   4	Tennessee	$81,067	$39
   5	Michigan	$80,047	$38
   6	Virginia	$80,045	$38
   7	Massachusetts	$79,194	$38
   8	Texas	$78,902	$38
   9	Colorado	$78,733	$38
   10	Florida	$77,677	$37
   11	Indiana	$75,022	$36
   12	Pennsylvania	$73,617	$35
   13	North Carolina	$73,001	$35
   14	Ohio	$71,224	$34
   15	Maryland	$71,199	$34
   16	Arizona	$70,740	$34
   17	Wisconsin	$70,369	$34
   18	South Carolina	$69,358	$33
   19	Illinois	$67,926	$33
   20	Nevada	$66,355	$32

   Average senior material planner salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Nikola Motor	$95,003	$45.67
   2	Western Digital	$94,999	$45.67	13
   3	Tesla	$92,677	$44.56	24
   4	Dana Incorporated	$85,845	$41.27	6
   5	Lucid Motors	$84,170	$40.47	4
   6	Eaton	$81,417	$39.14	41
   7	Meritor	$79,902	$38.41
   8	Alliant Energy	$78,817	$37.89
   9	Remy Inc	$78,480	$37.73
   10	Saint-Gobain	$78,474	$37.73	8
   11	Westinghouse Appliances Australia	$78,276	$37.63	15
   12	VVF	$78,218	$37.60	3
   13	Sanofi US	$77,446	$37.23	3
   14	Leonardo	$77,177	$37.10
   15	Sunnova Energy	$77,057	$37.05
   16	Sony Electronics	$76,679	$36.86
   17	Gulfstream Aerospace	$75,964	$36.52	22
   18	AM General Holdings LLC	$75,875	$36.48	2
   19	Vital Proteins	$75,875	$36.48
   20	Johnson & Johnson	$74,917	$36.02	1

4. Writing a senior material planner job description

   A senior material planner 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 senior material planner job description:

   Senior material planner job description example

   At Trane TechnologiesTM and through our businesses including Trane® and Thermo King®, we create innovative climate solutions for buildings, homes, and transportation that challenge what's possible for a sustainable world. We're a team that dares to look at the world's challenges and see impactful possibilities. We believe in a better future when we uplift others and enable our people to thrive at work and at home. We boldly go.
   
   Responsible for planning and scheduling the delivery of material from suppliers. Monitors the flows of buy items, guarantee availability of components in order to avoid material shortages and production downtime, as well as to manage inventory levels to meet our customer service and inventory targets.
   Essential Functions:
   Perform timely, cost-conscious procurement of production/inventory/MRO items. Receive and analyze requisitions to determine quantity, specifications and delivery requirements. Recommend and select suppliers to fulfill scheduled plant deliveries, from approved supplier list. Responsible for the on-boarding of new selected suppliers relative to material planning. Ensure up-to-date ABC classification is maintained for planning, and other key inputs into the PFEP process. Ensure optimal inventory levels and safety stock are maintained for their parts. Coordinate with Quality Assurance to resolve on time quality issues with suppliers. Maintain proactive shortage identification and management - help flag root causes & corrective actions. Identify total cost and cash flow opportunities with suppliers. Analyze and select parts for KanBan and Supplier replenishment. May lead and direct others to accomplish desired organizational objectives. Expedite deliveries to meet and exceed scheduled critical requirements. Maintain material plan at the time fence to ensure continuity of supply. Coordinate on time with production planners for solutions when parts cannot be delivered as promised. Maintain and continuously evaluate supplier performance and escalate properly to Procurement Team when issues occur. Resolve invoicing discrepancies with suppliers and accounting. Analyze material and capacity availability to provide customer promise dates for sales orders. Maintains item master lead time information based upon process improvements, current constraints, total current demand by product family, and priority information. Manage internal and SOMI/VMI material and parameters to meet schedules. Interface with required functional groups to resolve challenging delivery requirements. Communicate forecasts and replenishment plans to supplier. Ensure that problems relating to delivery, quality or pricing are promptly conveyed to the supplier and resolved in a timely manner. Identify and implement cost reduction/productivity projects to meet the corporate initiatives/goals. Maintain pipeline and financial records for reporting and tracking productivity. Manage and resolve on the NCI (Non conformance inventory). Identify root causes and provide prompt resolutions. Responsible to create and work problem solving tools (A3/JDI/SCAR's/9 Steps) for process improvement and problem resolutions. Participates in required meetings. Performs other duties and projects as assigned. Maintain the work area clean and organized. Support lean initiatives (5s, RIE's, SQDIP, MDI, 9 step). Comply and ensure compliance with company policies and procedures, including EHS and ISO requirements.
   
   For Projects ONLY:
   Analyze engineering changes to understand the parts that affect purchasing. Work with the effective dates to ensure MRP is detailing the correct requirements by parts. Participate in engineering meetings to detail the PPAP process and project implementation. Develop along with the supplier the Phase in - phase-out process for successful implementation. Monitor the OSMI to related project and maintain a metric of progress. Work with suppliers and engineering in OSMI disposition. Work along with engineering BOM corrections to ensure an adequate plan per piece. Work at Oracle appropriate management of parts. Work the purchase of tools for suppliers and their implementation plan. Work the Phase-in-phase out process for packaging projects.
   Minimum Requirements:
   Bachelor's degree in Business Administration or Engineering. Minimum 3 years' related experience. Computer knowledge (MS Office, ERP). Oracle is a plus. Skilled in production and supplier scheduling. Knowledgeable of supplier processes and capabilities. Experience in operations, inventory management, MRP and lean manufacturing processes. Good interpersonal skills and customer service oriented. Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and Spanish Fully Bilingual (English and Spanish)
   
   We offer competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits and programs. We are an equal opportunity employer; all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, pregnancy, age, marital status, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any legally protected status.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find senior material planners 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 senior material planners they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level senior material planners 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 senior material planner job on Zippia to find and recruit senior material planner candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with senior material planner 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 senior material planner

   Once you've found the senior material planner 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.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

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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