Program Planner Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Who We Are
Applied Materials is a global leader in materials engineering solutions used to produce virtually every new chip and advanced display in the world. We design, build and service cutting-edge equipment that helps our customers manufacture display and semiconductor chips - the brains of devices we use every day. As the foundation of the global electronics industry, Applied enables the exciting technologies that literally connect our world - like AI and IoT. If you want to push the boundaries of materials science and engineering to create next generation technology, join us to deliver material innovation that changes the world.
What We Offer
Salary:
$101,000.00 - $139,000.00
Location:
Santa Clara,CA
You'll benefit from a supportive work culture that encourages you to learn, develop, and grow your career as you take on challenges and drive innovative solutions for our customers. We empower our team to push the boundaries of what is possible-while learning every day in a supportive leading global company. Visit our Careers website to learn more.
At Applied Materials, we care about the health and wellbeing of our employees. We're committed to providing programs and support that encourage personal and professional growth and care for you at work, at home, or wherever you may go. Learn more about our benefits.
This an individual role, 100% onsite (not remote or hybrid), located at our Santa Clara, CA headquarters.
We are looking for an analytically sharp and execution-driven Senior NPI Demand Planner to be the materials nerve center for our NPI programs. You will translate complex, multi-level Bills of Materials from Engineering and program managers into actionable procurement signals, using SAP MRP demand .
You will work at the intersection of engineering, procurement, program management, operations and finance. If you thrive on critical path problems, are energized by cross-functional urgency, and want your work to directly accelerate new product launches - this role is built for you.
General Profile: Requires in-depth knowledge and experience in NPI materials planning. Applies BOM, MRP, and supply chain best practices to translate engineering releases into actionable procurement signals. Solves complex critical-path problems; takes a new perspective using existing solutions. Works independently with minimal guidance across concurrent NPI programs. Acts as the supply chain point of contact for assigned Business Units and a resource for less-experienced planners.
Key Responsibilities

• Establishes measurements for new demand planning processes and collaborates cross-functionally for process improvement.
• Performs multi-level BOM assessments against engineering and NPI program requirements, evaluate material availability, and lead times to determine initial commit date. Explodes engineering BOMs in SAP to generate component-level requirements; categorizes component risk by type to calibrate planning strategy. Determine critical path demand signal in Expense vs MRP.
• Manages BOM change order and pull in / push outs including capacity constraint analysis. Utilizes Kinaxis Rapid Response software for scenario planning. Provides commit dates to stakeholders.
• Converts BOM explosions into formal demand by creating and managing SAP material reservations or Planning BOMs as the authoritative demand driver for NPI materials requirements. Generates planned orders, purchase requisitions, and works with PC planning to create production orders aligned to business unit requirements. Maintains reservations through the program lifecycle and aligns material slots with factory capacity across first-article, prototype, pilot, and pre-production phases.
• Runs and analyzes weekly shortage reports in SAP (MD04, availability check, exception messages) to identify at-risk components. Determines the material critical path and drives escalation with commodity buyers. Maintains a shortage risk register and produces delivery commit assessments for each NPI demand event.
• Serves as Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for assigned Business Units from BOM release through material kit delivery. Provides weekly materials health updates covering availability, recovery plans, commit dates, and schedule risk. Develops component-level commit dates with buyers and suppliers; represents materials planning in program core team meetings and milestone reviews.
• Tracks actual vs. planned NPI materials spend at program and component levels and delivers variance analysis to BU finance and program managers. Monitors open PO commitments against approved budgets and flags overruns. Supports budget planning via bottom-up BOM cost roll-ups and ensures POs are coded to NPI cost centers and WBS elements.
• Assesses the materials impact of Engineering Change Orders and Requests (ECO/ECR), including cut-in effectivity, inventory disposition, and procurement action. Maintains a change log of BOM revisions and required SAP material master updates. Collaborates with ECO change analysts and engineering to minimize excess and obsolescence (E&O) and keeps material master records aligned to the active BOM revision.
• Identifies gaps in NPI demand planning workflows and develops improvements to reduce time-to-demand-signal and raise BOM readiness at program kickoff. Builds standard shortage reporting cadences, escalation playbooks, and BOM readiness checklists. Contributes to NPI planning metrics including BOM readiness rate, CTB attainment, shortage closure cycle time, and E&O exposure.

Functional Knowledge

• Demonstrates expert knowledge of multi-level BOM structures, SAP MRP and material reservations, and NPI materials planning, with practical understanding of procurement, engineering change, and PLM disciplines.

Business Expertise

• Understands NPI supply chain best practices and how materials planning integrates with engineering, procurement, finance, and manufacturing; benchmarks against best-in-class OEM NPI planning practices.

Leadership

• Acts as a resource for less-experienced planners and the supply chain voice of each NPI program; may lead small process-improvement projects with manageable risks and resource requirements.

Problem Solving

• Solves complex critical-path and shortage problems; distinguishes signal from noise on shortage lists and finds the real critical path; exercises judgment based on multiple sources of information and builds plans with incomplete BOMs.

Impact

• Impacts NPI program schedules, budgets, and build readiness within own team and related engineering, procurement, and manufacturing teams; directly compresses time-to-market and protects programs from excess and obsolescence within broad guidelines and policies.

Interpersonal Skills

• Explains shortage risk, commit dates, and budget status to program managers and senior leadership; builds consensus and earns trust across engineering and procurement through accuracy and follow-through.

Education: Bachelor's Degree (Supply Chain, Industrial Engineering, or Operations)
Experience: 5+ Years (with NPI / pilot manufacturing focus)
Additional Information
Time Type:
Full time
Employee Type:
Assignee / Regular
Travel:
Yes, 10% of the Time
Relocation Eligible:
No
The salary offered to a selected candidate will be based on multiple factors including location, hire grade, job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and with consideration of internal equity of our current team members. In addition to a comprehensive benefits package, candidates may be eligible for other forms of compensation such as participation in a bonus and a stock award program, as applicable.
For all sales roles, the posted salary range is the Target Total Cash (TTC) range for the role, which is the sum of base salary and target bonus amount at 100% goal achievement.
Applied Materials is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, citizenship, ancestry, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law.
In addition, Applied endeavors to make our careers site accessible to all users. If you would like to contact us regarding accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please contact us via e-mail at Accommodations_Program@amat.com, or by calling our HR Direct Help Line at 877-612-7547, option 1, and following the prompts to speak to an HR Advisor. This contact is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.