AstraZeneca

Senior Site Specialist Material Planner

AstraZeneca$84K — $127K *
Pharmaceuticals & Biotech
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in business administration, materials management, or a related science field.
  • Over 6 years of professional planning experience, ideally in a technical or scientific field.
  • Familiarity with cGMP manufacturing and compliance standards in the pharmaceutical industry; cell therapy expertise is a plus.
  • Proficient in SAP for material planning and inventory management; advanced planning tool experience is advantageous.
  • Strong Microsoft Excel skills, including advanced functions and data analysis capabilities.
  • Excellent interpersonal skills for collaboration with teams and suppliers.
  • Ownership mindset with an understanding of business impacts of decisions.

Responsibilities

  • Oversee material requirement planning for cell therapy manufacturing and development using SAP.
  • Manage procurement and planning for healthy donor apheresis material.
  • Balance inventory levels to align with production demand while minimizing excess and waste.
  • Collaborate with global teams to adjust material supply plans based on site constraints.
  • Ensure timely order management to maintain production schedules without interruptions.
  • Coordinate with various departments to ensure availability of materials for production.
  • Lead cross-functional meetings to review site materials KPIs and performance metrics.

Benefits

  • Qualified retirement programs and paid time off including vacation and holidays.
  • Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage according to applicable plans.
  • Opportunities for short-term incentive bonuses and equity-based awards.
Full Job Description
Site Senior Specialist Materials Planner

Introduction to role

This role is part of the Cell Therapy Site Supply Chain team located in Rockville, MD, tasked with supporting clinical cell therapy operations.

Accountabilities

As a Senior Site Materials Planner, you will be responsible for all elements of planning for assigned cell therapy raw materials used in manufacturing, QC, and development across the Rockville site. You will manage master data, execute material plans, and manage purchase orders to support on-time delivery to patients. You will ensure that required materials are available for operations. You will report to the Senior Director, Site Supply Chain. This position is based in Rockville, MD, onsite.

  • Oversee materials requirement planning for assigned raw materials that support cell therapy manufacturing, QC and development required at the Rockville site using SAP.


  • Own healthy donor apheresis (process starting material) planning and procurement to support autologous cell therapy manufacturing.


  • Monitor and balance inventory levels across the Rockville site per demand and inventory policy, managing risk to ensure availability for production and development without excess and expiration of materials.


  • Work with Global Planning team to adjust material supply plans based on local storage and resource constraints.


  • Manage purchase orders to support production schedules ensuring no interruptions to development, clinical and commercial supply.


  • Work with Logistics, Manufacturing, Procurement, Suppliers, and Quality to ensure materials are ready for use to support production schedules.


  • Initiate relevant change controls and deviations, coordinate completion of tasks, and confirm closure of the process.


  • Innovate and lead in terms of cost saving and efficiency.


  • Align with safety, quality, and environmental policies and procedures.


  • Assist in reconciliation of variances between purchase orders, invoices, shipments, and packing slips.


  • Lead cross-functional team meetings to monitor and discuss site KPIs and metrics related to materials such as material ordering, material receipts/issuance, inventory stock levels on hand, material utilization and material transfers between sites.


  • Help coordinate material returns and refund activities.


  • Analyze inventory aging reports to ensure product losses are minimized due to obsolescence, expiration, slow movement, and excess.


  • Coordinate with Engineering, QA, Manufacturing and Finance phase in/phase out of raw materials, as needed.


  • Participate in S&OP/S&OE and communicate significant current/potential supply performance problems (capacity imbalance, non-compliant material, material shortage, supplier delays).


Essential Skills/Experience

  • Bachelor degree in business administration or related materials management field, or a science.


  • Minimum of six (6) years of professional experience in planning, preferably in a technical/scientific arena.


  • Knowledge of cGMP manufacturing and regulatory/compliance requirements for pharmaceutical industry. Cell therapy experience desirable.


  • Experience using SAP for Material Planning, Purchase Orders and Inventory Management - also experience with advanced planning tool desirable.


  • Proficiency in Microsoft Excel required; experience with advanced functions and data analysis is a plus.


  • Interpersonal skills to develop collaboration with internal teams and external suppliers.


  • Excellent oral and written communication skills.


  • An ownership mindset


  • Understanding of business implications of decisions.


  • General knowledge of chemicals, reagents, and other MRO materials common to the life sciences industry preferred


  • ERP (Prefer SAP) implementation and scaling experience a strong plus


  • Ability to see detail in context to overall processes


  • Direct experience in Supply Chain planning, material requirements planning and purchasing, production scheduling for manufacturing - in the pharmaceutical or biotech industry or cell therapy preferred


  • Professional certifications like CPIM or ASCM (APICS) are a plus


The annual base pay (or hourly rate of compensation) for this position ranges from $84,894.40 -- $127,341.60. Our positions offer eligibility for various incentives-an opportunity to receive short-term incentive bonuses, equity-based awards for salaried roles and commissions for sales roles. Benefits offered include qualified retirement programs, paid time off (i.e., vacation, holiday, and leaves), as well as health, dental, and vision coverage in accordance with the terms of the applicable plans.

Date Posted
23-Jun-2026

Closing Date
09-Jul-2026

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical company that specializes in the research, development, and manufacturing of prescription drugs. The company was formed in 1999 through the merger of Astra AB and Zeneca Group plc. AstraZeneca's products are used to treat a wide range of medical conditions, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and diabetes. The company has operations in over 100 countries and employs more than 76,000 people worldwide. AstraZeneca is committed to developing innovative medicines that improve the health and well-being of people around the world.
Learn more about AstraZeneca
Size
83,100 employees
Market Cap
$211.5 billion
Industry
Net Income
$3.1 billion
Founded
1999
5 Year Trend
+10.2%
Revenue
$26.6 billion
NASDAQ

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