Manufacturing Planning Engineer

Janicki Industries•Hamilton, WA

5d•Onsite

About The Position

Janicki Industries is hiring an on-site Manufacturing Planning Engineer in Hamilton, Washington. The role is responsible for estimating, planning, and controlling manufacturing work across the organization. It develops estimating tools and comparable-job references for Sales, maintains planning standards and process controls, monitors exceptions, and manages production constraints. Working across Sales, Operations, Engineering, Planning, Program Management, and Supply Chain, the engineer assesses whether the manufacturing system has the capability and capacity to meet current and future demand and customer commitments. The successful candidate is intellectually curious, eager to understand how processes and systems work, and willing to investigate problems beyond their surface symptoms. They should be comfortable questioning established approaches while collaborating with employees who know the processes best. The position regularly involves time in manufacturing areas observing work, speaking with employees, and validating assumptions. It also requires producing data-supported recommendations and explaining complex manufacturing issues clearly to Operations and executive leadership. This position requires the ability to obtain a U.S. Secret Security Clearance, and U.S. citizenship is required for that clearance. Special Access Program or other Government Access Requirements are mandatory, including agreement to participate in a Continuous Evaluation program. Applicants must also be U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents under the stated ITAR and EAR requirements.

Requirements

A bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Operations Management, Supply Chain Management, or a related technical field is preferred; relevant manufacturing experience and demonstrated analytical capability may be considered in place of specific educational requirements.
Experience working in a manufacturing environment is strongly preferred.
Experience in production planning, capacity planning, manufacturing engineering, industrial engineering, operations analysis, or continuous improvement is preferred.
Strong analytical and problem-solving ability, including the ability to work through ambiguous problems without an immediately apparent answer.
Ability to understand relationships among demand, capacity, constraints, WIP, inventory, labor, equipment, and production performance.
Ability to develop models and analyze data using tools such as Excel, Power BI, SAP, or similar systems.
Ability to think beyond information presented by ERP/MRP systems and manufacturing scheduling tools.
Ability to work independently, seek out information, develop recommendations, and collaborate across Operations, Engineering, Program Management, Planning, and Supply Chain.
Effective verbal and written communication skills in English.
Must be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) to meet stated ITAR and EAR requirements.
Must be able to obtain a U.S. Secret Security Clearance; U.S. citizenship is required for the clearance.
Must meet mandatory Special Access Program or other Government Access Requirements and agree to enter a Continuous Evaluation program.
Must pass the required preemployment drug test; the company also states that federal contractor drug-testing requirements apply.

Nice To Haves

Experience with ERP/MRP systems and manufacturing scheduling tools.
Relevant manufacturing experience and demonstrated analytical capability in lieu of a specific degree.

Responsibilities

Develop and maintain labor and machine standards, including routings, standard times, and production rates, based on demonstrated performance.
Work with Operations to understand process capability, production rates, labor and material requirements, equipment limitations, and sources of variability.
Enforce process controls that align planning data, schedules, and shop-floor execution, and maintain exception reports for effective data-based production control.
Investigate exceptions and schedule performance to identify underlying systemic causes.
Analyze manufacturing demand against demonstrated capacity across cells, equipment, buildings, and sites to identify constraints before customer commitments are affected.
Evaluate WIP, inventory, buffers, variance, and production sequencing to ensure constraints are fully utilized and protected.
Identify and recommend ways to elevate constraints, including shifting work across equipment, cells, shifts, facilities, sites, or suppliers and using available organizational capacity.
Develop capacity models and scenario analyses for staffing, overtime, alternate equipment, process improvements, outsourcing, capital investment, and other production decisions.
Use production data to form hypotheses about constraints and performance, recommend actions, define expected outcomes, and assess results.
Develop and maintain estimating calculators that convert part geometry, materials, and processes into labor hours, machine time, lead time, and cost.
Build and maintain a library of comparable past jobs with actual hours, routings, and lessons learned to support consistent estimates.
Support Sales and Program Management with estimates, lead-time assessments, and capacity assessments.
Work with the Master Planner, Program Management, and Operations Directors to translate new and future demand into realistic manufacturing capacity requirements and make/buy recommendations before commitments are made.
Compare estimates with actual performance and update calculators, comparable-job references, and assumptions to improve accuracy.
Regularly observe work in manufacturing areas, talk with employees, validate assumptions, and learn process and equipment capabilities and limitations.
Develop clear, data-supported recommendations and explain complex manufacturing problems simply to Operations and executive leadership.
Run reports and develop analytical tools, models, and visualizations to support manufacturing decisions.
Research manufacturing, operations, systems thinking, planning, and continuous-improvement concepts and apply relevant ideas to production problems.
Perform other duties as assigned.
Meet multiple deadlines under pressure, demonstrate cooperative behavior with colleagues and supervisors, and maintain punctuality and good attendance.