Production Planner

Aston Carter•Austin, TX

13d•$27 - $31•Onsite

About The Position

Role Overview The Production Planner ensures that production orders have the required materials, are scheduled realistically, and are finished on or before their committed dates. This role links Operations, Supply Chain, and Customer Service by managing material shortages, prioritizing inventory allocation, and maintaining accurate order data within the ERP system. The planner plays a key role in shifting the organization from reactive expediting to proactive planning to support growth and on‑time delivery performance. Core Responsibilities Material Readiness & Scheduling Review daily ERP shortage and exception reports to identify material constraints affecting current and upcoming production orders. Evaluate component availability and lead times to set realistic start and completion dates, updating order schedules in the ERP. Allocate and reassign materials across production jobs based on priorities, customer commitments, and capacity, escalating trade‑offs when needed. Work closely with Procurement to expedite, reschedule, or substitute components for material‑constrained jobs and provide clear priority guidance. Coordinate with internal manufacturing or sub‑assembly teams on “make” items that impact job readiness. Maintain detailed job notes in the ERP, including shortage status, planned completion dates, assumptions, and constraints. Track and report which jobs are fully kitted and material‑clear versus those blocked by shortages, ensuring visibility for production leaders. Support production managers in sequencing work and balancing the schedule to ensure material‑ready jobs move first while respecting capacity limits. Adjust production order dates as material or capacity conditions change and communicate any delivery impacts. Cross‑Functional Communication Provide timely updates to Customer Service and Sales when committed dates are at risk, including cause codes (e.g., supplier issues, engineering changes, yield impacts) and revised timelines. Collaborate with Sales/Customer Service to factor in customer priorities, historical demand, and forecast data when aligning production runs. Partner with Engineering, Quality, and Program Management when engineering changes, NPI builds, or qualification lots affect material or scheduling plans. ERP & Data Ownership Utilize the ERP system as the primary planning tool, ensuring production orders, dates, statuses, and material allocations are always current. Maintain expected completion dates based on incoming materials, labor requirements, and production capacity. Help define, validate, and maintain key ERP reports (e.g., job shortages, material‑clear status, late components vs. due dates). Identify data errors such as incorrect lead times, BOM issues, or missing planning parameters and collaborate with the appropriate teams to resolve them. Continuous Improvement & Metrics Support tracking of metrics such as on‑time delivery to promise date, percent of jobs material‑clear by planned start, and volume of expedited orders. Recommend improvements to shortage management, job release processes, and material allocation as the planning function grows. Contribute to standard work and playbooks for shortage review, job dating, and communication workflows to ensure consistent processes for future planners.

Requirements

erp
mrp
material planning
Scheduling
Supply Chain
Procurement
Customer Service
Manufacturing
Engineering
WIP Alignment
Reporting tools
Production planning
Production scheduling
Purchase order
Sap
Ordering
Inventory
Logistics
Schedule planning
Supply chain management
Inventory management

Nice To Haves

Experience with advanced scheduling tools, MES, LIMS, PowerBI, SQL, or other analytics platforms
Familiarity with Lean, Six Sigma, CI methodologies, or Kaizen practices
Exposure to manufacturing environments with complex assemblies (semiconductor, electronics, robotics, or high‑mix/low‑volume environments)
Understanding of capacity modeling, utilization analysis, and OEE concepts
Experience with vendor management or supporting external manufacturing partners

Responsibilities

Review daily ERP shortage and exception reports to identify material constraints affecting current and upcoming production orders.
Evaluate component availability and lead times to set realistic start and completion dates, updating order schedules in the ERP.
Allocate and reassign materials across production jobs based on priorities, customer commitments, and capacity, escalating trade‑offs when needed.
Work closely with Procurement to expedite, reschedule, or substitute components for material‑constrained jobs and provide clear priority guidance.
Coordinate with internal manufacturing or sub‑assembly teams on “make” items that impact job readiness.
Maintain detailed job notes in the ERP, including shortage status, planned completion dates, assumptions, and constraints.
Track and report which jobs are fully kitted and material‑clear versus those blocked by shortages, ensuring visibility for production leaders.
Support production managers in sequencing work and balancing the schedule to ensure material‑ready jobs move first while respecting capacity limits.
Adjust production order dates as material or capacity conditions change and communicate any delivery impacts.
Provide timely updates to Customer Service and Sales when committed dates are at risk, including cause codes (e.g., supplier issues, engineering changes, yield impacts) and revised timelines.
Collaborate with Sales/Customer Service to factor in customer priorities, historical demand, and forecast data when aligning production runs.
Partner with Engineering, Quality, and Program Management when engineering changes, NPI builds, or qualification lots affect material or scheduling plans.
Utilize the ERP system as the primary planning tool, ensuring production orders, dates, statuses, and material allocations are always current.
Maintain expected completion dates based on incoming materials, labor requirements, and production capacity.
Help define, validate, and maintain key ERP reports (e.g., job shortages, material‑clear status, late components vs. due dates).
Identify data errors such as incorrect lead times, BOM issues, or missing planning parameters and collaborate with the appropriate teams to resolve them.
Support tracking of metrics such as on‑time delivery to promise date, percent of jobs material‑clear by planned start, and volume of expedited orders.
Recommend improvements to shortage management, job release processes, and material allocation as the planning function grows.
Contribute to standard work and playbooks for shortage review, job dating, and communication workflows to ensure consistent processes for future planners.