Materials Manager at Xylem in New York, NY

Job description

Xylem is a Fortune 500 global water solutions company dedicated to advancing sustainable impact and empowering the people who make water work every day. As a leading water technology company with 23,000 employees operating in over 150 countries, Xylem is at the forefront of addressing the world's most critical water challenges. We invite passionate individuals to join our team, dedicated to exceeding customer expectations through innovative and sustainable solutions. At Xylem, we are united by a shared purpose: solving the world's most critical water challenges through innovation, technology, and sustainability. The Materials Manager plays a vital leadership role in ensuring the seamless flow of materials, services, and inventory that support manufacturing operations and customer commitments. This Materials Manager position is responsible for leading procurement, materials management, warehousing, logistics, and inventory control activities to achieve operational excellence across safety, quality, delivery, cost, and inventory performance. The Materials Manager develops sourcing strategies, strengthens supplier partnerships, drives continuous improvement initiatives, and leads teams that ensure materials are available at the right time, in the right quantity, and at the best value. Working cross-functionally with Operations, Engineering, Planning, Finance, Quality, and Global Procurement teams, this role directly supports Xylem's mission by building a resilient, efficient, and sustainable supply chain that enables the delivery of innovative water technologies to customers around the world. Core Responsibilities Lead procurement, materials management, inventory control, warehousing, and logistics operations to achieve safety, quality, delivery, cost, and customer service objectives while ensuring material availability and operational continuity. Develop and execute strategic sourcing and supplier management initiatives that optimize cost, improve supplier performance, mitigate supply chain risk, and support long-term business growth. Drive inventory and working capital performance through effective inventory planning, cycle count programs, Kanban, VMI, consignment, and other inventory optimization strategies. Partner cross-functionally with Operations, Engineering, Production Planning, Finance, and Global Procurement to support production requirements, new product introductions, engineering changes, and continuous improvement initiatives. Monitor and analyze key performance metrics including supplier performance, inventory accuracy, inventory turns, on-time delivery, and cost savings, implementing corrective actions and sustainable process improvements as needed. Build, develop, and lead high-performing teams while fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, safety, continuous improvement, employee engagement, and community involvement through Xylem Watermark initiatives. Required Qualifications Education Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Finance, Operations Management, Engineering, or a related field. Experience Minimum of 5 years of experience in materials management, procurement, supply chain, manufacturing, or a related discipline. Minimum of 5 years of leadership, supervisory, or people management experience in a manufacturing environment. Demonstrated experience managing procurement, inventory control, warehouse operations, and supplier performance programs. Proven success leading cost reduction initiatives and continuous improvement projects. Technical Expertise Strong knowledge of supply chain management, sourcing strategies, inventory planning, warehousing, and logistics operations. Experience utilizing ERP/MRP systems and inventory management tools. Familiarity with Kanban, Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI), consignment, cycle counting, and inventory optimization methodologies. Ability to analyze operational and financial data to drive business decisions and process improvem