Senior Material Control Coordinator Join us at Panasonic Energy as we expand to De Soto, Kansas, where we're building the world's largest lithium-ion battery factory. This is an exciting opportunity to grow your career while contributing to the future of electric vehicles. As part of our team, you'll help push the limits of battery technology, enhancing performance and efficiency in sustainable transportation. Our state-of-the-art facility, just outside the Kansas City Metro, will be a hub for innovation in green energy solutions. If you're passionate about sustainability and eager to contribute to the electric vehicle revolution, we invite you to be part of our dynamic team. Join us and make a meaningful impact on the future of energy and transportation. The Senior Material Control Coordinator oversees the management, tracking, recovery, and disposition of waste and recyclable materials generated throughout manufacturing operations. This position leads waste and recycling activities to ensure materials are properly identified, segregated, documented, recovered, and disposed of in a safe, efficient, and cost-effective manner. The role serves as the primary liaison with waste and recycling service providers while partnering closely with Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, Environmental Health & Safety, and other stakeholders to ensure accurate material accountability and compliance. In addition, the Sr. Coordinator collaborates with the IT function to develop the necessary systems and dashboard capabilities that support real-time tracking, reporting, and reconciliation of waste and recycling activities. The role also ensures that Operations teams strictly adhere to correct waste handling and disposal practices, enabling proper waste management from generation through final treatment. Furthermore, the position plays a key role in leveraging FTZ (Foreign Trade Zone) capabilities by ensuring the precise management and documentation of valuable waste for complaint and reliable transfer, recovery, and disposition. A significant focus of this position is maintaining reconciliation between production data, inventory transactions, waste streams, and recyclable material outputs to support operational accuracy and financial integrity. This role drives continuous improvement initiatives that reduce waste, increase recycling and material recovery, improve reporting accuracy, and support sustainable manufacturing operations.
Essential Duties:
Functional Leadership & Operations: Oversee day-to-day waste and recycling operations across the manufacturing facility Strategic Alignment & Continuous Improvement: Develop and implement strategies that improve waste reduction, recycling effectiveness, landfill diversion, and material recovery performance Team Development & Knowledge Sharing: Provide guidance and subject matter expertise regarding waste management, recycling processes, material recovery, and waste-stream controls Cross-Functional Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement: Partner with Operations, Supply Chain, Warehouse, Finance, Procurement, and Environmental Health & Safety teams to ensure effective waste-management practices Quality, Safety, Compliance, & Risk Management: Ensure waste-handling activities comply with company policies, environmental standards, and applicable regulatory requirements
Qualifications:
Requirements - Required and/or Preferred Education, Certifications, and Licenses: Required: Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Management, Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Engineering, Business, Industrial Technology, Sustainability, or a related field Relevant experience may be substituted for required education Preferred: Lean Six Sigma certification or comparable continuous improvement certification Essential Qualifications: 4+ years of experience in waste management, recycling operations, materials management, manufacturing operations, environmental services, or a related field Experience managing waste streams, recycling programs, material recovery operations, or related manufacturing support functions Experience analyzing operational, inventory, production, or financial data and translating findings into actionable process improvements Demonstrated experience reconciling physical material flows with production, inventory, operational, or financial system data Strong analytical, problem-solving, and root-cause investigation skills Experience collaborating with suppliers, contractors, or service providers and driving performance improvements Proficiency with Microsoft Excel and experience utilizing operational, inventory, production, or financial data to support decision-making Ability to communicate effectively and collaborate across multiple business functions and organizational levels Must have working-level knowledge of the English language, including reading, writing, and speaking English Alignment to Panasonic's seven (7) core principles (contribution to society, fairness and honesty, cooperation and team spirit, untiring effort for improvement, courtesy and humility, adaptability, gratitude)
Preferred Qualifications:
6+ years of experience in waste management, materials recovery, manufacturing operations, environmental programs, or related industrial operations Experience within a high-volume manufacturing environment Experience with SAP, MES, WMS, or other manufacturing execution and transactional systems Experience with waste-management, environmental-management, or sustainability reporting systems Knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and continuous improvement methodologies Experience developing KPIs, dashboards, performance reporting, and operational controls Familiarity with environmental compliance requirements, waste documentation, and recycling program administration Experience with supplier invoice reconciliation, cost analysis, and operational financial reporting Physical Demands: Physical Activities: Percentage of time (equaling 100%) during the normal workday the employee is required to: Sit: 40% Walk: 30% Stand: 30% Required Lifting and Carrying: Rare (
