Demand Planner

Location: Alhambra, CA (Hybrid)

Job Summary:

Semtech is seeking a Demand Planner to own the demand forecast for assigned SPP product families at our Alhambra, California facility. This role sits at the center of the monthly Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) cycle — translating sales input, distributor sell-through, and statistical baselines into a single consensus demand plan that drives supply commitments, inventory targets, and quarterly revenue execution.

The role extends beyond demand. The Demand Planner is also accountable for translating the consensus demand plan into an executable supply plan — running MRP, maintaining the bill of material and planning master data that drive it, and monitoring supply coverage against inventory, lead time, and service targets across the foundry and OSAT network.

The successful candidate is analytical, comfortable defending a forecast position with data, and able to work credibly with Sales, Business Unit leadership, Operations, and Finance. This is a high-visibility role: the output of this position directly informs wafer starts, assembly and test capacity bookings, and the revenue commitments the business makes to executive leadership.

Key Responsibilities

Statistical Forecasting & S&OP

• Own the baseline forecast. Build, maintain, and continuously improve statistical demand models in SAP APO for assigned SPP product families across a rolling 18-month horizon.

• Drive the consensus cycle. Lead the demand review step of the monthly S&OP process — prepare the pre-consensus package, reconcile Sales, BU, and statistical views, and publish the agreed demand plan on cycle.

• Segment and prioritize. Apply ABC/XYZ and volume-volatility segmentation so forecasting effort and model selection match the value and predictability of each part.

• Measure and close the loop. Track forecast accuracy (MAPE) and bias at multiple aggregation levels and lags; run root-cause analysis on major misses and drive corrective actions with the responsible stakeholders.

• Model demand scenarios. Quantify upside, downside, and design-win ramp scenarios; translate them into supply and inventory implications for the S&OP executive review.

Revenue Execution & Backlog Management

• Convert plan to revenue. Partner with Order Management, Sales, and Operations to align backlog, scheduled ship dates, and supply availability against the quarterly revenue plan.

• Manage supply-demand balance. Identify shortages, allocation conflicts, and excess positions early; recommend pull-ins, push-outs, substitutions, or reallocation with a clear revenue and margin rationale.

• Improve linearity. Monitor weekly billings pace against plan, flag back-end-loaded risk, and drive actions that smooth quarterly shipment profiles.

• Support the quarterly close. Provide reliable weekly revenue outlooks and gap-to-plan analysis for BU and Finance review.

• Own upside and risk visibility. Maintain a documented view of committed, probable, and at-risk revenue, with the assumptions behind each clearly stated.

Customer & Channel Demand

• Manage channel demand signals. Analyze distributor POS and POI data, inventory-in-channel positions, and sell-through trends; incorporate them into the demand plan rather than relying on ship-in alone.

• Collaborate with key accounts. Work with Sales and Customer Service on direct customer forecasts, EDI/portal signals, consignment and hub programs, and forecast commitments.

• Monitor channel inventory health. Track weeks-of-inventory at distribution and escalate over- or under-stocked positions before they distort demand.

• Validate demand quality. Reconcile customer forecasts against historical consumption and design-win pipeline; challenge unsupported step changes with data.

Supply Planning & Execution

• Generate the supply plan. Convert the consensus demand plan into a constrained, executable supply plan in SAP APO — running MRP/SNP, netting against on-hand, WIP, and die bank, and releasing planned orders across the foundry, assembly, and test network.

• Balance the multi-stage network. Plan wafer starts, die bank positions, and assembly/test builds against long lead times, ensuring front-end commitments are placed early enough to support the back-end build plan.

• Monitor supply targets. Track supply coverage against inventory targets, days-of-supply, safety stock, and on-time-delivery goals; identify gaps before they become shortages and drive recovery actions with Operations and the supply base.

• Manage exceptions. Work MRP exception messages, reschedule-in/out signals, and pegging conflicts daily; resolve or escalate with a clear impact statement on revenue and customer commitments.

• Own inventory health. Recommend inventory target changes based on demand variability, lead time, and service-level requirements; monitor and drive action on excess, slow-moving, and obsolete (E&O) exposure.

• Support capacity planning. Provide rolling capacity requirements to internal Operations and external partners, and flag where demand exceeds committed capacity in time for the S&OP supply review.

BOM & Master Data Management

• Own planning master data. Maintain and validate the master data that drives planning output — material masters, MRP types, lot sizing rules, planned and GR processing times, safety stock, reorder points, and rounding values.

• Manage bills of material. Maintain multi-level BOMs across die, package, and finished-good stages; ensure routings, production versions, and source lists accurately reflect the qualified manufacturing flow.

• Control changes. Execute BOM, source, and master data changes through the engineering change (ECN/PCN) process, assessing the demand, supply, and inventory impact of each change before release.

• Manage product transitions. Plan build-out and build-in for new product introductions, second-source qualifications, and end-of-life transitions so that changes do not strand inventory or interrupt supply.

• Enforce data integrity. Run periodic master data audits, correct defects at the root cause, and maintain documentation sufficient for internal and SOX-related audit review.

Analytics, Systems & Continuous Improvement

• Maintain demand and supply planning parameters in SAP APO to ensure clean, auditable planning inputs and repeatable output.

• Build and maintain recurring reporting and dashboards in SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) for forecast accuracy, backlog, supply coverage, inventory, and channel health.

• Identify and implement process improvements, automation, and — where appropriate — AI/ML-assisted forecasting techniques that reduce manual effort and improve accuracy.
• Document planning procedures and support internal and SOX-related audit requirements.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Engineering, Economics, Statistics, or a related field.
• 3–5 years of demand planning, supply planning, materials/production planning, or supply chain analytics experience.
• Hands-on experience with an enterprise planning system (SAP APO, IBP, Kinaxis, o9, Blue Yonder, or equivalent), including MRP execution and exception management.
• Working knowledge of ERP master data structures — material masters, multi-level BOMs, routings, production versions, and MRP parameters — and how they drive planning output.
• Understanding of inventory management fundamentals: safety stock, lot sizing, days-of-supply, and service-level trade-offs.
• Advanced Excel skills, including pivot tables, lookups, and large-dataset manipulation.
• Working knowledge of forecasting methods (moving average, exponential smoothing, seasonal and causal models) and standard accuracy metrics (MAPE, bias, WMAPE).
• Demonstrated ability to work cross-functionally with Sales, Operations, and Finance, and to present analysis clearly to management.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; able to explain a forecast position and defend it with evidence.
• Authorized to work in the United States; able to work on-site at the Alhambra, California facility.

Preferred Qualifications

• Semiconductor, electronics, or other long-lead-time manufacturing industry experience.
• Direct experience with SAP APO (DP module) and SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC).
• Familiarity with distribution channel dynamics — POS/POI reporting, ship-and-debit, price protection, and stock rotation.
• Exposure to foundry and OSAT supply models, including cycle times, die bank strategy, and capacity booking.
• Experience managing engineering change (ECN/PCN), NPI ramp, second-source qualification, and end-of-life build-out plans.
• APICS/ASCM certification (CPIM or CSCP) or IBF CPF certification.
• Proficiency with SQL, Python, Power BI, or Tableau for advanced demand analytics.
• Prior participation in a formal S&OP or IBP process at a multi-business-unit company.

The intent of this job description is to describe the major duties and responsibilities performed by incumbents of this job. Incumbents may be required to perform job-related tasks other than those specifically included in this description.

All duties and responsibilities are essential job functions and requirements and are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities.

We are proud to be an EEO employer M/F/D/V. We maintain a drug-free workplace.

A reasonable estimate of the pay range for this position is $82,000 - $117,000.  There are several factors taken into consideration in determining base salary, including but not limited to: job-related qualifications, skills, education and experience, as well as job location and the value of other elements of an employee’s total compensation package.

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