Engineering Lab Planner

Generac•Waukesha, WI

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Engineering Lab Planner supports the Lab Portfolio Manager by developing and maintaining long-range plans and forward-looking schedules for lab resources in a technically complex environment. This role partners cross-functionally with NPI/NPD project teams, Technical Engineering, Lab Operations, Test Engineering, and program leadership to translate project demand into executable lab capacity plans across test cells, test technicians, and specialized test tools. The Planner evaluates capacity, capability, and resource constraints to identify conflicts, recommend scheduling tradeoffs, and enable timely decisions that protect project milestones and safe, efficient lab utilization.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a technical field (Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Technology, Industrial Engineering, or similar)
5 years’ experience in planning, scheduling, or project coordination roles supporting engineering and test preferred
Experience in planning, scheduling, or program coordination in technically constrained environments, with demonstrated ability to identify schedule conflicts and escalate resource/capability risks
Experience creating resource-loaded schedules, capacity models, and iterated project schedules to quantify the impacts of competing demand on constrained lab resources
Experience building and maintaining forward looking schedules
Ability to plan work requested by project teams and functional groups to align demand, dependencies, and priorities into a single plan
Comfortable working in dynamic environments where project priorities, test needs, and inputs shift, with the ability to adjust plans and clearly communicate any schedule impacts
Understanding of test lab operations and the ability to learn and apply technical constraints and capabilities (e.g., load banks, fuel compatibility, floor space, HVAC/heat rejection limits, instrumentation/tooling availability).
Strong planning and coordination capability and comfort building long-range schedules, resource allocation views, and capacity outlooks.
Demonstrated ability to communicate lab capacity/capability constraints, resource conflicts, and schedule tradeoffs to project leadership, including recommendations and mitigation options.
Strong written and verbal communication skills
Proficient with common planning, scheduling, and analysis tools such as Smartsheet and OnePlan
Proficient in MS Office applications

Responsibilities

Develops, publishes, and maintains long-range lab resource plans and forward-looking schedules for test cells, test technicians, and specialized test tools
Builds and maintains resource-loaded schedules that account for capacity, changeover/set up time, and technical constraints; updates schedules as priorities and test definitions evolve
Identifies capacity/capability conflicts and communicates risks and tradeoffs with recommended mitigation options
Partners with Lab Operations to maintain a lab resource catalog and ensures planning assumptions are current and auditable
Establishes and maintains lab planning cadence, intake, and prioritization views
Surfaces conflicts and decision needs, document assumptions, and escalate resource/capability constraints to the Lab Portfolio Manager and relevant stakeholders (execution remains with Technical Engineering/Lab Operations/Test Engineering)
Supports NPI/NPD planning by integrating test readiness, facility needs, and prerequisite activities into the schedule
Facilitates alignment across accountable teams and escalates constraint impacts and decisions as needed
Prepares and presents lab capacity and schedule health to the Lab Portfolio Manager and program stakeholders
Drives continuous improvement of lab planning processes, scheduling governance, data quality, and tool utilization to improve visibility and reliability of long-range plans