Planning Manager

Aston Carter•Riverside, CA

4d•$126,000 - $140,000•Onsite

About The Position

Leads the integrated production planning function and owns the master production schedule for a large, complex manufacturing operation. The role establishes and runs the Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning (SIOP) process, builds planning and ERP data discipline, and translates high-level demand into executable work-center and station-level plans. In a restart and scale-up environment, the position balances capacity, inventory, lead times, and operational constraints to support reliable customer deliveries and improve planning effectiveness. This is a hands-on planning and scheduling role, not initially a people-manager position, with potential to build and lead a team as the organization grows. It maintains integrated schedules across multiple customer programs and product platforms sharing constrained manufacturing resources, and integrates demonstrations, R&D builds, pilots, validation periods, and production releases into one capacity plan. The position is permanent and fully onsite in Riverside, California, within a transit-bus manufacturing environment. It involves substantial time on the production floor and requires appropriate protective footwear and other safety-compliant attire. Core hours are typically 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with some flexibility as business needs require.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Engineering, Business, or a related field.
At least 6 years of experience in production planning, scheduling, capacity planning, or master scheduling.
Experience in automotive or aerospace manufacturing environments.
Deep understanding of manufacturing processes, production planning, inventory management, material availability, capacity planning, customer delivery commitments, and SIOP.
Proven ability to manage capacity constraints, production schedules, material requirements, and manufacturing execution workflows.
Strong knowledge of ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle, Epicor, or similar platforms, including planning master data and scheduling logic.
Experience in low-volume, high-mix, and engineered-to-order manufacturing environments with complex capacity constraints and long planning horizons.
Ability to incorporate equipment availability, planned downtime, and maintenance constraints into production capacity plans in coordination with Facilities and Maintenance.
Advanced proficiency with Excel and ERP reporting tools for scenario planning, capacity modeling, and performance analysis.
Demonstrated ability to lead SIOP or similar integrated planning processes across cross-functional teams.
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills, including the ability to work effectively with incomplete or evolving data.
Excellent communication and collaboration skills for working with cross-functional stakeholders and Operations leadership.
Ability to work fully onsite in Riverside, California, and wear appropriate protective footwear and other safety-compliant attire on the production floor.

Nice To Haves

Experience as a production planner or master scheduler in a complex manufacturing environment.
Experience in automotive or aerospace transit or vehicle manufacturing.
Hands-on experience leading or supporting ERP implementations, particularly Epicor, including stabilization and continuous improvement.
Track record of designing and implementing planning processes, standard work, and escalation rules that improve schedule reliability.
Experience establishing and running weekly planning performance reviews and Operations management routines.
Ability to develop production ramp scenarios considering model mix, propulsion variants, labor requirements, station capacity, buffers, and delivery impacts.
Comfort working in restart and scale-up environments where requirements and priorities may shift frequently.
Interest in building and mentoring a planning team over time as the organization grows.

Responsibilities

Own and manage the master production schedule, aligning customer backlog, demand forecasts, capacity, material availability, operational constraints, and delivery commitments.
Establish and lead the SIOP process, including demand and capacity assumptions, scenario recommendations, decision documentation, and follow-through on actions.
Obtain leadership approval for major commercial, spending, and capacity trade-offs and maintain alignment to a single integrated plan.
Partner with Sales, Engineering, Supply Chain, Materials, Production, Quality, Finance, and other stakeholders to maintain a unified production plan.
Develop production ramp scenarios covering customer build-slot allocation, model and propulsion mix, labor requirements, station capacity and buffers, production rates, and delivery impacts.
Establish schedule approval and change-control rules, including a protected near-term schedule, and manage changes within delegated authority.
Escalate schedule conflicts affecting customer commitments, spending, or capacity, with recommended options for Operations leadership.
Ensure scheduling activities support safety, quality, and regulatory requirements.
Own the Clear-to-Build process and verify that schedules released to the production floor are supported by required customer configuration approvals, engineering releases, BOMs and drawings, engineering changes, material availability, tooling, labor and station capacity, and quality requirements.
Implement readiness signoffs from responsible functions, including Procurement confirmation of critical material commitments, before schedule release.
Hold schedule releases when required conditions are unmet; escalate proposed exceptions with documented risks, owners, and recovery actions for leadership decisions.
Translate the master schedule into detailed work-center and station-level execution plans and engage regularly with Manufacturing leadership on the production floor to validate progress, identify constraints, and adjust plans.
Verify planning-critical BOM and lead-time inputs with Engineering and Procurement, assign discrepancies to data owners, and drive resolution to prevent shortages and delays.
Establish ERP planning data standards and validation routines for BOMs, routings, lead times, calendars, and planning parameters; maintain planning-owned ERP parameters while coordinating technical BOM ownership with Engineering and supplier commitments with Procurement.
Serve as planning lead for Epicor implementation, stabilization, and ongoing improvement so planning logic reflects operational reality.
Use advanced Excel and ERP reporting tools for scenario planning, capacity analysis, and data-driven decisions.
Act as the escalation point for complex scheduling and production planning issues across programs and product platforms.
Use reporting, capacity modeling, and scenario analysis to identify bottlenecks, constraints, schedule risks, and recovery opportunities, and refine assumptions as data quality improves.
Provide early warning of schedule, procurement, and cross-program risks and communicate data-driven recommendations to management and stakeholders.
Establish and lead a weekly planning performance review within the Operations management system, reporting planned versus actual station starts and completions, Clear-to-Build status, aging or stalled work in process, and delivery risks.
Track constraints by age, severity, owner, and recovery date and drive timely resolution.
Design and implement planning processes, standard work, meeting cadences, responsibilities, escalation rules, and a phased improvement roadmap.
Lead cross-functional adoption of planning processes, resolve barriers with functional leaders, and use performance results to reduce delays, improve flow, and increase schedule reliability.
Maintain integrated master schedules across multiple customer programs and product platforms that share constrained manufacturing resources; integrate demonstrations, R&D builds, pilots, validation periods, and production releases into a coherent capacity plan.
Make sound planning decisions in a restart and scale-up environment despite imperfect data, evolving requirements, and shifting priorities; balance customer, operational, and business priorities and propose realistic alternatives when commitments are infeasible.
Perform hands-on production planning and scheduling work as a production planner or master scheduler.