Material Planning Analyst - Services & Spares

Aurora Innovation Aurora Innovation · Robotics · PIT3 · Finance

This role focuses on supply chain operations for a robotics company, specifically managing spare parts inventory and repair operations to ensure fleet uptime. Responsibilities include demand forecasting, service network design, managing hardware returns and repairs, building performance dashboards, and optimizing inventory costs. The role requires strong ERP/MRP experience and analytical skills in Excel or Power BI.

What you'd actually do

  1. Develop and execute demand forecasts for spare parts to ensure high fleet uptime while minimizing excess inventory carrying costs.
  2. Support the design of the service network to determine optimal stocking locations (forward-stocking locations vs. central hubs) based on fleet density and lead times.
  3. Manage the flow of "core" returns; track damaged hardware from the field through the repair/refurbishment cycle and back into usable stock.
  4. Build and maintain dashboards to track Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as Part Availability Rate, Mean Time to Repair (MTTR), and Inventory Turns.
  5. Partner with Field Service Engineering and Reliability teams to adjust stocking levels based on real-world hardware failure rates and engineering change orders.

Skills

Required

  • Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, or a related field.
  • 3+ years in supply chain or operations, with a specific focus on service parts, aftermarket support, or reverse logistics.
  • Strong ERP/MRP experience (e.g., NetSuite, SAP, Oracle) with a proven track record of managing serialized inventory and repair orders.
  • Advanced Excel, Mode, and/or Power BI skills; ability to manage large datasets to identify "bad actor" parts or logistics bottlenecks.
  • Thrives in an 80% execution / 20% strategy role—you enjoy solving the daily puzzle of getting a part to a downed vehicle while suggesting ways to automate that process for the future.
  • Ability to collaborate with Supply Chain Managers, Field Technicians, and global Procurement teams.
  • Ability to work in a fast-paced environment where fleet priorities can shift daily.

Nice to have

  • Experience in the Automotive, Aerospace, or Robotics industries.
  • Proficiency in visualization tools (Tableau, Power BI) and SQL.
  • Knowledge of Six Sigma or Lean methodologies as applied to warehouse and repair operations.

What the JD emphasized

  • specific focus on service parts, aftermarket support, or reverse logistics
  • Strong ERP/MRP experience
  • proven track record of managing serialized inventory and repair orders
  • Advanced Excel, Mode, and/or Power BI skills
  • ability to manage large datasets
  • 80% execution / 20% strategy role