Production Planner

Verde Farms LLC•Oldmans Township, NJ

2d•$85,000 - $95,000•Onsite

About The Position

Verde Farms is seeking a Production Planner to plan, schedule, and coordinate production activities across our organic beef manufacturing operations. Reporting to the Senior Supply Chain Planning Manager, this role is responsible for developing production schedules that align with demand forecasts, inventory levels, and operational capacity. The Production Planner works closely with Inventory, production, Shipping & Receiving, and quality teams to ensure the timely availability of raw materials, optimize production flow, minimize disruptions, and support efficient execution of manufacturing plans. This position operates in a highly manual planning environment with no automated production planning or scheduling system. The role requires the ability — and comfort — to work across multiple systems simultaneously, including Microsoft Office, WMS platforms, Salesforce, Tableau, Redzone, i3PL, and other operational tools, while maintaining data accuracy and alignment. Success in this role depends on advanced Excel and Google Sheets proficiency, strong analytical capability, and the discipline to manually build, maintain, and continuously adjust production plans in response to changing conditions.

Requirements

5–7 years of production planning or scheduling experience in food manufacturing
Proven experience planning in environments with AND without automated scheduling systems
Strong understanding of:
Shelf life and perishability
Yield management
Capacity constraints and bottlenecks
USDA-regulated operations
Advanced Excel and Google Sheets proficiency required (scenario modeling, pivot tables, complex formulas, trackers)
Proficiency with ERP/MRP systems and production planning tools and custom or personalized WMS
Ability to move seamlessly between multiple systems while maintaining data integrity
Strong analytical, organizational, and cross-functional communication skills.
Bachelor’s degree in operations/supply chain Operations, or related experience in same industry
Strong communication skills, both written and verbal
Strong continuous improvement skills and ability to research problems and develop solutions
Ability to produce ad-hoc reporting, as needed
Expert Excel Knowledge required
ERP/MRP knowledge required
Ability to communicate clearly and concisely to team and across different departments of the business
Experience in collecting, analyzing, and presenting data
Ability to read, understand and follow Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), ensuring compliance by staff
Ability to multitask and meet deadlines
Ability to work in a team environment and interact with all levels of staff
Ability to maintain a safe work environment
Understand and abide by all safety regulations, SOPs, GMP guidelines, as well as policies and procedure set forth by Verde Farms

Nice To Haves

meat or protein industry strongly preferred
Production Planning Modules experience a plus

Responsibilities

Develop and manage daily and weekly production schedules based on demand forecasts, raw material availability, and plant capacity.
Release and manage production work orders, ensuring accurate BOMs, yields, and labor standards.
Adjust production plans in real time to address shortages, downtime, quality holds, or operational constraints.
Coordinate sequencing to optimize changeovers, shelf life, and product freshness.
Ensure availability and proper allocation of raw materials, packaging, and consumables to support production plans.
Monitor planned vs. actual yields and material usage; investigate variances and drive corrective actions.
Support yield optimization initiatives while maintaining product quality and compliance.
Maintain accurate inventory across raw materials, WIP, and finished goods in coolers, freezers, and staging areas.
Enforce FIFO/FEFO, lot control, organic segregation (if applicable), and full traceability.
Plan and lead cycle counts and support physical inventory activities.
Manage held, obsolete, or condemned inventory in compliance with USDA requirements.
Build and maintain manual capacity models for production lines, labor, and critical equipment
Identify bottlenecks and throughput constraints in an environment with inconsistent preventive maintenance
Re-plan around unplanned downtime, contractor availability, and premium labor costs
Avoid weekend production where possible while maintaining customer service commitments
Use historical and real-time data to support trade-off decisions between cost, service, and shelf life
Collaborate with procurement to align incoming raw materials with production needs.
Partner with operations, quality, and warehouse teams to ensure smooth execution of production schedules.
Support customer fulfillment by validating available-to-ship inventory and identifying risks to service.
Investigate shortages, misallocations, or production shortfalls and implement recovery plans.
Maintain production and inventory data in CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce), ensuring accurate transactions and records.
Maintain item masters, BOMs, routings, and production parameters.
Generate reports and dashboards for production performance, yields, scrap, and KPIs- build and refine planning tools, trackers, and analytical views in Excel, Google Sheets, Tableau, and Salesforce
Ensure data accuracy to support cost accounting, forecasting, and decision-making.
Ensure production planning activities comply with USDA, SQF, HACCP, and food safety requirements.
Support internal, regulatory, and customer audits.
Lead root-cause analysis related to production variances, inventory discrepancies, and process breakdowns.
Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on efficiency, yield, and service.