Senior Manufacturing Production Planner

Hanger, Inc.•Chattanooga, TN

About The Position

The Senior/Lead Production Planner is a critical contributor to manufacturing operations, responsible for constraint management, issue resolution, and planning optimization across multiple work centers and planning horizons. The role operates beyond day-to-day execution by leading scheduling discussions, analyzing capacity, labor, and material constraints, and improving demand-planning performance through effective use of ERP/MRP systems, planning parameters, and process improvements. The planner serves as the primary Planning contact and works closely with Procurement, Engineering, Quality, Machine Shop, Assembly, Warehouse, Customer Service, and Finance. The role also supports new-product launch readiness, long-range planning, financial reviews, and the development of other planners and coordinators. It may provide functional guidance to L1/L2 team members but has no formal direct reports.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, logistics, business administration, or a related field, or equivalent work experience in lieu of the degree.
At least 5 years of related experience; the posting also specifies at least 5 years in production planning, supply chain, or operations in a manufacturing environment.
Strong proficiency in ERP/MRP systems and ability to analyze and interpret system data to drive planning decisions.
Demonstrated experience managing production schedules across multiple work centers.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including identifying root causes and recommending solutions.
Experience with forecast review, inventory analysis, and demand/supply balancing.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with comfort leading cross-functional discussions.
Ability to prioritize, manage competing demands, and meet deadlines in a dynamic environment.
Understanding of manufacturing processes, bills of materials (BOMs), routings, and work-center operations.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including advanced Excel skills.
Ability to act with integrity, foster open collaboration, respond to change, and focus on superior outcomes.

Nice To Haves

Professional certification such as CPIM (Certified in Production and Inventory Management) or CSCP (Certified Supply Chain Professional).

Responsibilities

Lead daily production huddles and scheduling discussions, setting priorities across work centers.
Manage production schedules across multiple work centers and planning horizons to support on-time supply and delivery dates.
Build and assess planning scenarios in response to demand changes, capacity constraints, or supply disruptions.
Resolve complex scheduling, work-in-process, and delivery issues beyond day-to-day planner scope.
Review sales forecasts and recommend production forecasts for leadership input and approval.
Analyze inventory performance and forecast accuracy, identify risks, and recommend corrective actions.
Identify and recommend routine discontinuations or runout actions based on demand trends and inventory analysis.
Work with Production teams to identify and drive demand-planning efficiency improvements.
Analyze capacity, labor, and material constraints across functions to identify and resolve planning risks.
Identify risks to customer delivery and escalate them as needed.
Compile and maintain strategic watchlists for high-risk or high-impact items.
Partner with Procurement and Engineering on material risks and supplier constraints to protect supply continuity.
Prepare KPI and metric reporting, monitor performance against targets, identify trends and root causes of misses, and recommend actionable improvements.
Recommend process improvements and system changes to enhance planning effectiveness.
Coordinate new-product release planning across Planning, Production, Engineering, and Procurement to ensure supply readiness at launch.
Provide capacity and constraint data for long-range planning discussions.
Provide planning data for inventory and forecast analysis and collaborate with Finance on inventory performance.
Mentor and support Production Planners and Planning Coordinators; provide functional guidance to L1/L2 team members as needed.
Act with integrity; keep patients at the center of work; foster collaboration; innovate and respond to change; and focus on superior outcomes.