Manager, Operations Planning

Saab•East Syracuse, NY

15h•$132,000 - $171,600•Onsite

About The Position

The Operations Planning Manager is responsible for leading a tactical planning function, ensuring that program demand is communicated and integrated and represented across master demand scheduling, production planning, and material planning. This role owns the Production Master Demand Schedule (ERP) and serves as the primary integrator of capacity, material availability, and supplier commitments, surfacing execution risks and enabling fact-based decision making. The Operations Planning Manager leads a team of Operations Planners who will collaborate closely with Manufacturing Operations, Program Excellence, and Finance to maintain plan integrity, stability, and audit readiness. This role is located at our Syracuse, NY office.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Operations, Engineering, Business, or related field
8+ years of experience in production planning, master scheduling, or material planning within a manufacturing environment
3+ years of people leadership experience
Demonstrated experience working in ERP-driven planning environments (e.g., SAP, Oracle, MRP systems)
Strong understanding of capacity planning, MRP, and production scheduling concepts
Ability to obtain a U.S. Secret security clearance
Must be a U.S. citizen. Applicants selected may be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information.
As a condition of employment, candidates will be required to pass a pre-employment drug screen.

Nice To Haves

Experience operating in regulated or highly controlled environments preferred (e.g., aerospace & defense)
Experience supporting defense or government programs
Familiarity with EVMS, IMS, and program schedule integration
Experience with S&OP / SIOP processes
Lean, Six Sigma, or APICS/ASCM certification (CPIM, CSCP) a plus

Responsibilities

Planning Ownership & Integration Own the Production Master Demand Schedule (MDS) within ERP systems and ensure alignment to programs’ IMS baseline program schedules
Integrate production capacity, material availability, and supplier commitments into a single executable plan
Ensure planning outputs are realistic, constraint-based, and time-phased
Team Leadership & Capability Development Hire, lead, develop, and coach Operations Planners
Establish clear roles, responsibilities, and planning disciplines across the team
Build scalable planning capability to support program growth and complexity
Execution Feasibility & Risk Management Identify and quantify execution risks related to capacity, materials, and suppliers
Drive proactive mitigation and recovery planning
Ensure planning issues are surfaced early with options and data
Change & Replan Management Respond to and manage changes to execution plans driven by upstream program changes, execution reality, or supplier performance
Ensure impacts are assessed and escalated appropriately to Program Excellence and S&OP
Maintain separation between baseline control and execution planning
Cross-Functional Collaboration Partner with Operations to ensure production plans are feasible and aligned
Collaborate with Procurement team and Supplier Program Managers on long-lead and constrained materials
Support Program Excellence with data-driven schedule impact assessments
Support Supply Chain’s interface with Finance to support schedule, cost, and cash visibility
Process, Systems & Data Discipline Enforce standard planning processes, rules, and governance across sites
Partner with Manufacturing and Supply Chain to ensure accuracy and usability of planning data (BOMs, routings, lead times, calendars)
Support continuous improvement of planning tools and ERP functionality
Performance Management Establish and monitor planning KPIs (schedule adherence, material readiness, replan drivers)
Drive continuous improvement in planning stability and predictability
Support audit readiness and compliance expectations (e.g., DCMA, DCAA)