Material Planner - Platform 1

About Zipline

Do you want to change the world? Zipline is on a mission to transform the way goods move. Our aim is to solve the world’s most urgent and complex access challenges by building, manufacturing, and operating the first instant delivery and logistics system that serves all humans equally, wherever they are. From powering Rwanda’s national blood delivery network and Ghana’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution, to providing on-demand home delivery for Walmart, to enabling healthcare providers to bring care directly to U.S. homes, we are transforming the way things move for businesses, governments, and consumers.

The technology is complex but the idea is simple: a teleportation service that delivers what you need, when you need it. Through our technology—including robotics and autonomy—we are decarbonizing delivery, decreasing road congestion, and reducing fossil fuel consumption and air pollution, while providing equitable access to billions of people and building a more resilient global supply chain.

Join Zipline and help us deliver on our promise to build a more equitable and resilient global supply chain.

About You and The Role  

Platform 1—Zipline’s first-generation long-range autonomous drone system—is already delivering millions of medical products across Africa. The strength and agility of our supply chain is at the heart of our ability to scale this impact. We are seeking a Material Planner to design and optimize Zipline Africa’s material planning and supply chain strategy, ensuring readiness across all sites. This role will focus on long-term planning, inventory optimization, MRP implementation, and enabling efficient site expansions across the continent. You will sit at the intersection of Operations, Logistics, and Global Supply Management, building frameworks and systems that empower our Tactical teams to execute effectively and consistently. This is a high-impact, cross-functional role for someone who thrives in complexity, builds from first principles, and is motivated by the opportunity to strengthen a supply chain that directly improves millions of lives.

What You'll Do

Warehouse & Inventory Management

• Support the design and implementation of central warehouse models in each country, ensuring efficient consolidation and material flow between Zipline distribution centers (Nests) and central facilities.
• Set minimum and maximum inventory levels for central warehouses and individual Nests, monitoring and adjusting annually.
• Establish and enforce robust cycle count and audit processes to ensure accuracy, data transparency, and strong operational reporting.

Supply Chain & Coordination

• Collaborate with US logistics, purchasing, and planning teams to schedule and execute container shipments for site launches and ongoing operations.
• Develop long-term strategies for shipment optimization, container utilization, and inventory positioning.
• Partner with regional logistics teams to support trade compliance efforts, optimize freight decisions, reduce logistics costs, and navigate customs and tariff implications.
• Coordinate with logistics and sourcing teams to ensure materials flow efficiently across 3PL storage, suppliers, regional warehouses and Nests.

Site Readiness & Expansion

• Plan material readiness for new site launches, ensuring timelines and risk mitigation strategies are followed to support first-flight launch requirements.
• Coordinate with field teams to onboard new Nests, ensuring availability of equipment, spares, and operational materials.

New Product Introduction (NPI) Material Readiness

• Drive material readiness for new product ramps by partnering with Engineering, Manufacturing, and Global Supply Management teams.
• Identify supply risks early in development and guide mitigation plans to protect ramp timelines.
• Support engineering release cycles, risk buys, and last-time-buy decisions during supplier transitions to ensure continuity of supply.

Process & System Development

• Lead development, implementation and continuous improvement of MRP systems connecting BOM, forecasts, and consumption data to generate purchase and production plans.
• Build scalable processes, tools, and governance mechanisms that reduce manual effort, improve accuracy, and enable operational velocity across all African markets.

What You'll Bring

• 4+ years of experience in supply chain, materials management, or operations in high-complexity environments.
• Demonstrated success in long-term planning, inventory optimization, and cross-functional coordination.
• Hands-on experience with MRP, ERP, and/or planning tools, with strong analytical and modeling capabilities.
• Experience supporting new product introductions, ramps, or hardware transitions.
• Exceptional communication skills and comfort working across geographies, cultures, and time zones, especially in emerging markets.
• Ability to operate with limited or imperfect data, make decisions under uncertainty, and challenge the status quo when needed.
• High personal accountability, strong organizational skills, and the ability to create structure in ambiguous environments.
• Self-motivated with strong learning, multi-tasking, organizational, and documentation skills.

What Else You Need to Know   

This role is based out of our South San Francisco HQ. 

Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, mental or physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, military or veteran status, citizenship, or other characteristics protected by state, federal or local law or our other policies.

We value diversity at Zipline and welcome applications from those who are traditionally underrepresented in tech. If you like the sound of this position but are not sure if you are the perfect fit, please apply!