Team Lead, Supply Chain

At Watlow's Manufacturing Center of Excellence in Columbia, Missouri, we combine precision manufacturing with forward-thinking innovation. Part of a global thermal solutions leader founded in 1922, our Columbia facility is a critical hub for high-performance manufacturing, engineering, and operational excellence.#PoweredByPossibility

We are hiring a: Team Lead, Supply ChainColumbia, Missouri (Onsite)Watlow is seeking a Team Lead, Supply Chain who will drive the master production schedule and coordinate material flow to meet customer backlog and sales forecasts, while balancing production and inventory levels against target inventory turn goals. This role acts as a subject matter expert and mentor within Supply Chain, partnering closely with Materials, Operations, Sales, and Finance to align supply and demand, resolve risk, and continuously improve how the team plans, schedules, and executes. The ideal candidate brings strong analytical rigor, hands-on materials management expertise, and the ability to coach others through complex, fast-moving priorities.

What you'll do:

Master scheduling & optimization: Develop and continuously optimize the master production schedule to meet customer backlog and sales forecast, monitoring resources, materials, and capacity availability to hit target inventory turn goals.Sales, Operations & Financial Planning execution: Coordinate the execution of the SIOP process to align supply and demand, establish optimized production and inventory levels, and meet objectives for profitability, productivity, and customer lead times.Material flow leadership: Support production scheduling on all material flow issues, and plan and coordinate the physical movement of materials, parts, finished goods, and information to optimize cost and service levels.Schedule management: Review the master production schedule and work orders, establish priorities for specific customer orders, and revise schedules according to work order specifications, priorities, and availability of workers, parts, materials, machines, and equipment.Risk mitigation & problem solving: Provide risk mitigation and management planning, resolve complex issues, recommend process enhancements, and ensure adherence to policies, procedures, and systems.Continuous improvement: Facilitate, coach, and mentor supply chain rapid improvement events, applying lean concepts, pull systems, and Material Requirements Planning (MRP) to drive measurable gains.Cross-functional partnership: Develop strong relationships and provide effective communication, prioritization, and alignment across value streams, sites, business units, and functions, including seamless engagement with external business partners.Mentorship & team development: Serve as a subject matter expert and role model, facilitating, coaching, and mentoring others, and identifying team member development needs to provide career coaching and planning assistance.

What you'll need to succeed:

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Operations, Business, or a related field, or equivalent experience (5-8 years)Demonstrated experience in materials management, Material Requirements Planning (MRP), pull systems, flow, and lean implementationProject management experience, including the ability to determine scope, budget, and implementation timeframes of assigned projectsLeadership training or experience mentoring and coaching team members, even without formal direct reportsExcellent customer service, interpersonal, organizational, and communication skills, with high attention to detail and follow-upProficient in Excel and other Microsoft Office tools

Preferred qualifications:

Relevant certification such as APICS (CPIM, CSCP, CFPIM), ISM (CPM, CPSM, CSM), or equivalentSilver Lean certification or equivalent continuous improvement credentialExperience with ERP systems, including Oracle, SAP, or similar platforms, especially during system implementations or transformationsExperience in a manufacturing, industrial, or product-based company operating across multiple sites or business unitsDemonstrated experience facilitating kaizen or rapid improvement events within a supply chain or production environmentExperience supporting or participating in a Sales, Inventory, and Operations Planning (SIOP) process