Production Planner Senior

Illuminate USA•Pataskala, OH

41d•Onsite

About The Position

Illuminate USA is transforming solar panel manufacturing from its cutting-edge facility in Pataskala, Central Ohio. As a new standalone joint venture established by two global leaders in renewable energy, the company has rapidly grown to over 1,500 associates and is fully operational in its 1.1 million-square-foot factory. The vision is to establish one of the largest solar panel manufacturing operations in the Western Hemisphere. This role is crucial for turning the production schedule into an executable plan across eight manufacturing lines, working closely with Production leadership and the Planning team to ensure equipment, staffing, materials, work orders, and changeovers are ready before production begins. The Production Planner identifies the impact of changing conditions and helps coordinate a path to recovery.

Requirements

Undergraduate degree required, Master's degree preferred in Production Management, Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain, or a related field.
7–10 years of experience in high-volume manufacturing, production planning, production control, operations, or a related field.
Experience supporting live production, work orders, changeovers, capacity planning, and recovery from production disruptions.
Strong understanding of how equipment, staffing, materials, maintenance, and quality issues affect output.
Experience with an ERP or MRP system, such as SAP, Oracle, or Microsoft Dynamics.
Strong analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience in automated manufacturing and Lean practices preferred.

Responsibilities

Monitor production against plan, including output, schedule attainment, work-order progress, downtime, and line utilization.
Identify production gaps, forecast their impact, and coordinate recovery actions with Production and support teams.
Review upcoming schedules for equipment availability, maintenance, staffing, materials, quality status, engineering activities, and changeover requirements.
Recommend schedule adjustments when production conditions make the current plan difficult to execute.
Coordinate work-order priorities, releases, completion, and changeovers with Production and the Planning team.
Evaluate available capacity by line and identify constraints that could affect daily or weekly output.
Keep Production, Planning, Maintenance, Engineering, Quality, and Materials informed of priorities, risks, and expected completion times.
Use production data to identify recurring issues and improve schedule execution and production flow.