Materials Specialist

Job Description

We are looking for a Materials Specialist to join our Supply Chain team in Costa Rica. This role is responsible for ensuring the right materials are available in the right quantity and at the right time to support production, while maintaining healthy inventory levels and contributing to service, cost, and working capital objectives.

The position plays a key role in materials planning, inventory management, supplier coordination, MRP execution, and production continuity. You will work closely with internal teams and external suppliers to anticipate potential supply risks, develop mitigation scenarios, and support timely business decisions.

This is an ideal opportunity for someone who enjoys combining data analysis, planning, problem-solving, and cross-functional collaboration in a dynamic supply chain environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Plan and ensure the availability of raw and packaging materials according to production requirements for internal and external manufacturing.
• Create and manage Purchase Orders, monitoring material deliveries and supplier commitments.
• Monitor material requirements through MRP and investigate discrepancies related to master data, BOMs, calendars, lead times, or planning parameters.
• Manage daily material deliveries according to production needs, supplier availability, and warehouse capacity.
• Maintain and optimize inventory and stock policies, balancing service levels, working capital, and supply continuity.
• Identify potential shortages, excess inventory, obsolete materials, and supply risks and develop mitigation plans.
• Develop supply scenarios and contingency plans for situations such as supplier delays, demand changes, production interruptions, or material constraints.
• Track and analyze inventory performance, consumption versus plan, lead-time deviations, and other planning indicators.
• Partner with Procurement and suppliers to review MOQs, supply constraints, service levels, and inventory optimization opportunities.
• Support the creation and maintenance of materials and SKUs in SAP, ensuring accurate master data.
• Participate in innovation and value engineering projects, ensuring material availability for new product launches and project timelines.
• Translate long-term production plans into future material requirements, inventory projections, and supplier capacity needs.
• Coordinate with suppliers to improve service levels and develop supply continuity strategies, including contingency plans, alternative sourcing, and inventory buffers when applicable.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives through automation, data cleansing, planning parameter optimization, alerts, and process improvements.
• Provide backup support to Production Supply Planning when required.

What We’re Looking For

• Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain, Logistics, Business, or a related field.
• Approximately 2–4 years of experience in materials planning, supply planning, inventory management, procurement planning, or a related Supply Chain role.
• Experience working with MRP and SAP. Experience with SAP MDG is a plus.
• Knowledge of inventory management, production planning, stock policies, and materials availability.
• Intermediate Excel skills; advanced capabilities are highly desirable.
• Experience with Power BI, Tableau, or other BI tools is a plus.
• Exposure to project management, product launches, or innovation projects is desirable.
• Spanish and English proficiency for working in a regional environment.

What Will Help You Succeed

We are looking for someone who is:

• Analytical and comfortable working with data.
• Proactive, with the ability to anticipate supply risks before they impact production.
• Able to work with a strong sense of urgency in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong in critical thinking and problem-solving.
• Organized and disciplined when managing master data and follow-ups.
• Able to collaborate effectively with Planning, Procurement, Warehousing, Manufacturing, Finance, and other cross-functional teams.
• Comfortable communicating and negotiating with suppliers.
• Adaptable when priorities, demand, or supply conditions change.
• Able to develop scenarios and recommendations to support business decision-making.

Why This Role Matters

Materials planning sits at the center of production continuity. In this position, you will have direct visibility into how planning decisions impact inventory, production, supplier performance, customer service, and overall Supply Chain performance.

You will have the opportunity to work across multiple functions, manage relationships with external suppliers, participate in innovation projects, and contribute to the continuous improvement of planning processes.

Location(s)

San Jose, Costa Rica Plant

Kraft Heinz is an Equal Opportunity Employer – Underrepresented Ethnic Minority Groups/Women/Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity and other protected classes.