Senior Manager, Supply Chain Planning

Job description

Job Overview The Senior Manager, Supply Chain Planning builds and owns our sales and operations planning process: reconciling demand forecasts against contract manufacturer capacity, equipment throughput, and cell supply well ahead of when those constraints would otherwise surface as a shortage. This is the role that catches a capacity mismatch in a planning review, not three weeks before a build. This role reports to the Director of Supply Chain and works closely with sales, engineering, our contract manufacturers, and our cell supplier. In the near term, this role also owns hands-on clear-to-build execution, the daily work of tracking material against the build plan, expediting suppliers, and keeping builds unblocked, while we build out the planning function. We expect this to be a two-phase role. Today, you'll split time between building the S&OP process and running day-to-day execution. As volume grows, we plan to bring in a dedicated materials execution hire to take day-to-day clear-to-build off your plate, so you can focus fully on planning, forecasting, and the cross-functional forecast-versus-capacity rhythm. Scope S&OP and demand-capacity planning: you build this from a blank page. That means standing up a rolling demand forecast with sales and engineering, building a capacity model across contract manufacturer throughput, equipment constraints, and cell supply, and running a recurring planning cadence that reconciles the two on a regular cycle. You define what gets reviewed, how often, who owns each input, and what happens when the plan and reality diverge. You run scenario planning (what happens if demand accelerates, or a supplier slips) so leadership has real options in hand before being asked, not after. You surface constraints early enough that they become planning decisions instead of fire drills. Materials execution (near term): you own the day-to-day work of tracking material availability against the build plan, placing and expediting purchase orders, and coordinating with our contract manufacturers on build readiness. This is the golden screw problem: making sure a missing part doesn't stop a build that a good plan should have already flagged as at risk. We are scaling quickly, with production volume expected to grow substantially year over year. That trajectory is exactly why this role exists: the cost of catching a capacity or demand mismatch late gets more expensive every time volume steps up. This role starts as an individual contributor. As the team grows, we expect a dedicated materials execution hire to report into this role or into a logistics function, allowing you to focus on planning full time. Who this role is for You have personally stood up an S&OP or demand-capacity planning process from scratch before, ideally at an early-stage or resource-constrained company. Not inherited a mature process and kept it running, built one: defined the cadence, built the first forecast and capacity model with imperfect data, and got skeptical stakeholders to actually show up and use it. You know what that looks like because you've lived it. You know how to get engineering, sales, and leadership into the same room on a recurring basis to reconcile demand against actual capacity, not just circulate a spreadsheet nobody looks at. You know how to get people with competing priorities to align around a shared plan. You are also comfortable rolling up your sleeves on hands-on execution: expediting a supplier, chasing a shipment, working a part shortage list. You don't see this as beneath the planning work, you see it as the ground truth that makes your planning credible. You think in terms of constraints, not just demand. Capacity at a contract manufacturer, equipment throughput, long-lead cell supply, these all shape what's actually possible, and you build your plan around real constraints rather than an idealized demand curve. You are analytically strong and comfortable building your own models and tools in a resource-constrained environment, without an existing S&OP platform or planning team to lean on. You are comfortable in early-stage environments where the playbook is still being written, and you're motivated by the idea of building a function from the ground up rather than inheriting a mature one. This role is not a fit for Your experience is purely strategic planning without any hands-on execution background. This role is hands-on in the near term. Your experience is purely tactical expediting without S&OP or demand-capacity planning experience. This role is planning-led. You need a mature planning system or dedicated planning team already in place to be effective. You will build this. You would find a startup operating tempo frustrating What you'll do S&OP and planning Build the initial planning cadence and tooling from scratch: a rolling demand forecast, a capacity model spanning contract manufacturer throughput, equipment constraints, and cell supply, and a recurring review cycle with defined inputs, outputs, and decision owners. Partner with sales and engineering to build and maintain the rolling demand forecast, and translate that forecast into a supply and capacity plan. Run scenario planning against demand and supply variability (acceleration, supplier slips, capacity changes) so leadership has real options in hand before being asked. Identify capacity or supply constraints early and drive cross-functional decisions to resolve them before they become shortages. Escalate constraints that can’t be resolved through the normal process, with clear options and trade-offs. Own long-lead cell capacity planning in partnership with our cell procurement team. Materials execution (near term) Own the part shortage list and drive recovery plans to closure. Place and manage purchase orders against forecast and production schedule; follow up directly with suppliers on committed ship dates and expedite when at risk. Run material readiness reviews ahead of build events with our contract manufacturers. Team and cross-functional leadership Partner with our sourcing and procurement team on supplier delivery performance and long-term capacity commitments. Partner with supplier quality on shipments affected by a quality hold or corrective action. Help define and hire for a dedicated materials execution role as volume grows, and transition day-to-day execution to that role once it lands. Required Qualifications 7+ years in supply chain planning, S&OP, or demand planning in a hardware or industrial product environment. Direct, hands-on experience standing up an S&OP or demand-capacity planning process from scratch, not just running or maintaining one that already existed. Early-stage or resource-constrained company experience strongly preferred. Direct experience reconciling demand forecasts against manufacturing or supplier capacity constraints. Hands-on materials execution experience: purchase order management, supplier expediting, and build readiness tracking. Strong analytical and modeling skills; comfort building planning tools in Excel or similar without a dedicated planning system. Demonstrated ability to run a cross-functional process that gets engineering, sales, and leadership aligned on a shared plan. Preferred Qualifications Experience in battery, energy storage, power electronics, or other hardware-adjacent categories. Experience planning around long-lead, high-value components such as battery cells or semiconductors. Experience working with a contract manufacturer in a component-direct sourcing model. Experience scaling a company through a steep production ramp. Compensation & Benefits Base salary of $175,000 to $195,000, plus equity. Health, dental, and vision insurance. Flexible PTO with a generous holiday policy. Carlsbad, CA preferred. Open to fully remote for the right candidate. Occasional travel to contract manufacturers. Ready to work on power systems that matter? Let's talk. Please note that we are unable to provide visa sponsorship for this position. Recruiting agencies: Proper Voltage does not accept unsolicited candidate submissions. Please do not contact any employees directly unless you have an existing engagement with the company. About Proper Voltage Proper Voltage is unlocking the next generation of battery technology across robotics, data centers, and defense. We're building intelligent battery systems that make advanced chemistries (sodium-ion, lithium-titanate, lithium-silicon) work in products that were never designed for them. Humanoid robots can upgrade power systems without redesigning their entire platform. Data centers get safer, cheaper backup power. Drones and autonomous vehicles get higher energy density without lengthy integration cycles. If you want to work on hard engineering problems that matter this is the place.