Production Planning Manager
About The Position
Job Summary: The Planning Manager is responsible for leading the end-to-end production planning, master scheduling, and material coordination processes to ensure on-time delivery, optimized capacity utilization, and accurate inventory levels across machining, assembly, and kitting operations. This role oversees a team of planners, schedulers, and/or buyers to translate the sales forecast and customer demand into executable production plans aligned with operational capabilities and strategic business objectives. The ideal candidate is a hands-on, data-driven leader who thrives in a fast-paced environment, demonstrates strong cross-functional communication, and models company values through integrity, teamwork, and continuous improvement. They can balance customer requirements, manufacturing constraints, and inventory strategies to drive predictable, stable, and high-performing operations.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Operations Management, Engineering, or related field.
- 5–8+ years of experience in production planning, scheduling, or supply chain in a manufacturing environment.
- Strong ERP experience (Syteline/CloudSuite preferred but not required).
- Demonstrated experience leading and developing teams.
- Exceptional analytical skills, with proficiency in Excel and planning analytics.
- Strong communication, collaboration, and conflict-resolution skills.
Nice To Haves
- Experience in aerospace, defense, or other high-mix, low-volume manufacturing
- APICS/ASCM certifications (CPIM, CSCP).
- Familiarity with Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement tools.
- Understanding of machine shop workflows, assembly operations, and routings.
Responsibilities
- Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing planning team responsible for scheduling, capacity planning, and material readiness.
- Establish clear expectations, performance metrics, and accountability for planning workflows.
- Promote a culture of transparency, collaboration, and problem-solving with Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, Procurement, and Production.
- Translate backlog, sales forecasts, and stocking strategies into weekly and monthly production plans.
- Balance machine and labor capacity across machining and assembly lines to ensure feasible schedules.
- Oversee material planning to ensure component availability while maintaining optimal inventory levels.
- Partner with Supply Chain to establish safety stock, reorder points, and planning parameters.
- Drive excellence in ERP (e.g., Syteline/CloudSuite) planning parameter accuracy—lead times, batch sizes, safety stock, BOM integrity, etc.
- Develop planning dashboards and reports for operations leadership.
- Lead continuous improvement initiatives within planning tools and ERP processes.
- Act as the primary liaison between Sales, Operations, Procurement, and Manufacturing Engineering regarding demand changes, constraints, and plan execution.
- Support Lean initiatives such as kitting, material flow optimization, and cycle time reduction.
- Develop standard work for planning processes and ensure consistent application across the team.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Manager
