Director of Forecast & Production Control

Airbus • Grand Prairie, TX

1d • Onsite

About The Position

Airbus Helicopters is seeking a leader to oversee forecasting and production control for its aerospace maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility. Reporting directly to the Senior Director of MRO, this role owns the Master Production Schedule (MPS) and MRO Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) cadence, consolidating commercial and military demand into forecasts and detailed part-demand models across five specialized repair shops: Dynamic Components, Blades, Tailbooms, Composites, and Avionics. The position is responsible for aligning executive commitments with shop-floor execution, supporting a portfolio exceeding $50 million in annual volume, and improving turnaround time, material availability, inventory levels, and throughput.

The role leads the Production Planning Manager and Data Analyst and provides leadership across a team of four to five specialists in production planning, shop-floor control, and MRO logistics coordination. It develops capacity, labor, shift-coverage, and skill-mix models; partners with Supply Chain and Procurement on forecasts and long-lead materials; and ensures work orders are ready for release with materials, bills of materials, and technical work packages in place. The role also reports operational performance, S&OP metrics, and resource availability to executive and senior leadership.

The position is 100% onsite in Grand Prairie, Texas when not traveling, with up to 10% domestic and international travel. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States; Airbus states it does not sponsor visas for U.S. positions unless specified. The role requires awareness of compliance risks and a commitment to integrity.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a business-related field such as Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, or Business Administration, or an equivalent combination of education and MRO/aerospace industry experience.
• Twelve years of experience in production planning, master scheduling, or capacity management in an aerospace/defense MRO, aircraft maintenance, or production environment.
• Five years of experience in a leadership or supervisory role.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, mentor, and motivate cross-functional planning and logistics teams.
• Strong financial acumen, critical thinking, and decisive judgment in fast-paced operational conditions.
• Excellent customer-centric communication and negotiation skills with commercial and military customer representatives.
• Excellent understanding of contractual obligations.
• Solid background in finance and financial reporting.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office or Google Workspace.
• Experience with SAP or similar enterprise systems, such as Oracle or Pentagon 2000, for MRO production control, work-order management, and bills of materials.
• Experience with scheduling and analytics tools such as complex Excel financial/capacity models, Smartsheet, MS Project, and business intelligence software such as Power BI or Tableau.
• Authorization to work in the United States.
• Ability to meet the stated physical requirements, including reading screens and documents, communicating in person and by phone, operating office equipment and some production tools, carrying and lifting up to 30 pounds, walking through office and production areas, and traveling independently at short notice.
• Ability to use site-required personal protective equipment, including safety shoes, safety glasses, hearing protection, respirators or masks, and protective gloves as required.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Industrial Engineering, or Business Administration, or technical specialization in Industrial Engineering, Production Management, or Advanced Data Analytics.
• Ten or more years of progressive operations management experience in a multi-shop MRO facility with $50 million or more in annual volume.
• Proven experience managing complex multi-stream demand, including PBH, commercial T&M, military contracts, and rotable pool allocations.
• APICS/ASCM certification such as CPIM or CSCP.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt.

Responsibilities

• Establish and maintain the Master Production Schedule across the specialized MRO shops and ensure adherence to turnaround-time targets.
• Own the MRO Sales & Operations Planning cadence and present consolidated volume expectations to executive leadership.
• Consolidate demand from commercial PBH programs, military obligations, commercial Time & Material orders, and internal rotable pool replenishment into unit-event forecasts.
• Translate unit-level forecasts into elementary-part demand models and refine K-factor accuracy to improve material availability and reduce excess inventory costs.
• Lead and mentor the Production Planning Manager and Data Analyst, providing leadership across a team of four to five planning, shop-floor-control, and MRO-logistics specialists.
• Oversee daily shop-floor execution priorities, manage work-in-process burndown and nominal WIP levels, and remove bottlenecks to maximize throughput.
• Convert unit- and part-level forecasts into capacity and manpower models, including direct labor headcount, shift coverage, and skill-mix requirements.
• Partner with Supply Chain and Procurement to create K-factor-driven part forecasts and ensure long-lead materials and piece-parts support planned shop inductions.
• Ensure material and service-order readiness, including kitting, bill-of-materials integrity, and technical work packages, before releasing work orders to the shop floor.
• Provide periodic performance reporting, S&OP metrics, and resource-availability models to ExCom and senior leadership.

Benefits

• Competitive base salary and incentive compensation, which may include profit-sharing schemes.
• Retirement savings plan and ability to participate in an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).
• Paid time off, including personal time and holidays.
• Paid parental leave.
• Medical insurance, including traditional and high-deductible health plans.
• Prescription coverage.
• Dental insurance.
• Vision insurance.
• Life insurance.
• Disability insurance.
• Employee Assistance Plan (EAP) and other supplemental benefit coverages.
• Upskilling and development opportunities through the global Leadership University, including access to more than 10,000 e-learning courses.
• Certification, career-path, and employability development opportunities.
• Opportunity to participate in accelerated development programs and national and international mobility.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director