Material Handler Jobs in Los Angeles, CA
Material handlers in Los Angeles keep metal service centers, aerospace plants and hospitals supplied, and posted pay runs from about $21 to more than $30 an hour. The biggest cluster of openings is at metals service centers in Santa Fe Springs. Here are the current openings, followed by who is hiring and what it takes.
Current material handler Openings in Los Angeles, CA
Listings marked External are sponsored openings provided by the Jobs2Careers network.
Material Handler Work in Los Angeles
In Los Angeles a material handler is less a package mover than the person who keeps production fed. Metal service centers in Santa Fe Springs and Los Angeles receive steel, aluminum and tubing, stage it and ship it to manufacturers, while advanced manufacturers in the South Bay, such as Divergent in Torrance, kit parts for their production lines. Many of these jobs involve a forklift and an inventory system, so they often pay above a general warehouse job.
Health care is the other big buyer of this work. Hospital materials management teams receive, store and deliver supplies to hospital units, from Keck Medicine of USC, whose hospital sits on the Boyle Heights health sciences campus, to Cedars-Sinai, which also runs a biomanufacturing center in West Hollywood. Many of those jobs run on day shifts, and Keck's are union positions.
Top Los Angeles Employers Hiring Material Handlers
These employers have material handling openings posted on their own career sites:
- Cedars-Sinai - the medical center hires materials handlers for its biomanufacturing center in West Hollywood and material inventory coordinators in Los Angeles.
- Keck Medicine of USC - the academic health system hires union material management clerks for central distribution in Los Angeles.
- Divergent - the Torrance advanced manufacturer hires material handlers for ERP receiving, kitting and forklift work.
- Phoenix Metals - the Reliance metals service center hires first-shift warehouse material handlers in Los Angeles.
- Service Steel Aerospace - the aerospace metals supplier runs a second-shift warehouse material handler crew in Santa Fe Springs.
- Fry Steel - the Reliance metals service center hires warehouse material handlers in Santa Fe Springs.
Material Handler Salaries in Los Angeles
- Entry level: about $20 to $25 an hour; Fry Steel posts $23 to $25 and Keck's material management clerks start at $21.
- Experienced: roughly $25 to $31 an hour, such as $25.54 at Phoenix Metals and $25 to $31.05 at Cedars-Sinai.
- Senior / specialized: $30 to $41 an hour at advanced manufacturers such as Divergent, and up to $36 at Service Steel Aerospace.
These are estimates from current employer postings and 2025 federal wage data for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro, where hand freight and material movers earned a median of $20.38 an hour. Forklift skills, ERP or inventory system experience, aerospace or GMP work, and second shift all push pay toward the top of the range.
How to Become a Material Handler in Los Angeles
Most material handler jobs ask for a high school diploma or GED, the ability to lift and move heavy stock, and basic computer skills for scanning and inventory entries. California has no license for material handlers. Jobs that include a forklift fall under Cal/OSHA's Title 8, Section 3668, which makes your employer train, evaluate and certify you on the truck, and federal rules require you to be 18. LAUSD's Harbor Occupational Center in San Pedro offers a 25-hour Warehouse Operations - Forklift course, and Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson runs a Global Logistics Certificate for handlers moving toward inventory and planning work.
What the Job Involves
Material handlers receive deliveries, check them against purchase orders, enter them into an inventory or ERP system, and put stock away. They pull and stage materials for production or hospital units, kit parts, run cycle counts, label and wrap outgoing loads, and keep aisles and storage areas safe and organized. In regulated settings such as aerospace and biomanufacturing, they also follow traceability and documentation rules for every lot.
Skills Employers Look For
- Forklift certification and experience with long or heavy stock
- ERP, inventory and RF scanner systems
- Accurate receiving, counting and paperwork
- Reading purchase orders, pick tickets and part numbers
- Safe lifting and handling of heavy or long stock
- Following GMP or aerospace documentation rules
Career Path and Advancement
Many Los Angeles material handlers start in a warehouse or loading job, add forklift and inventory system skills, and move into material handling at a plant or hospital. From there the ladder runs to inventory coordinator, lead handler, shipping and receiving lead and materials supervisor, with planning and buyer roles for those who learn the ERP side. Aerospace suppliers in Santa Fe Springs and the South Bay pay the most for that progression.
Related Careers in Los Angeles
If material handling interests you, these related Los Angeles roles are close matches:
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need a license to be a material handler in Los Angeles?
No. California has no license for material handlers. If the job includes a forklift, Cal/OSHA requires your employer to train, evaluate and certify you on that equipment before you drive it.
How much do material handlers make in Los Angeles?
Current postings run from about $21 to $31 an hour for most jobs, and advanced manufacturers such as Divergent in Torrance post $30 to $41. The 2025 metro median for hand freight and material movers was $20.38.
What is the difference between a material handler and a warehouse associate?
A warehouse associate usually picks and ships finished goods to customers. A material handler usually feeds a plant or hospital, receiving raw materials or supplies and staging them where they are used, often with inventory system entries for every move.
Do hospitals in Los Angeles hire material handlers?
Yes. Cedars-Sinai and Keck Medicine of USC both post materials management jobs that receive, store and deliver supplies to hospital units, and Cedars-Sinai's biomanufacturing center in West Hollywood hires handlers for GMP warehouse work.
Do material handler jobs in Los Angeles have night shifts?
Some do. Metals service centers in Santa Fe Springs run second shifts, such as Service Steel Aerospace's 2 pm to 10:30 pm crew, while many hospital materials jobs stay on day shifts.
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