Production Planner

Position Summary

The Production Planner is responsible for detailed production scheduling, planning, and coordination of manufacturing activities to ensure on-time delivery, efficient use of resources, and compliance with customer and quality requirements. In a make-to-print aerospace environment, this role is heavily focused on creating, maintaining, and actively managing daily and weekly production schedules across all work centers.

This is a hands-on role well-suited for someone who is comfortable working closely with the shop floor, quality, purchasing, and management in a small-company setting, with primary accountability for schedule integrity and execution.

Key Responsibilities

Production Planning & Scheduling (Primary Focus)

- Develop, maintain, and actively manage detailed daily and weekly production schedules by work center

- Sequence and prioritize jobs to meet customer delivery commitments while optimizing machine and labor utilization

- Release, adjust, and re-prioritize work orders in response to changing customer demands, material availability, or capacity constraints

- Own the master production schedule and ensure alignment between customer due dates and shop-floor execution

Capacity & Load Management

- Analyze capacity and load across forming, secondary operations, and inspection work centers

- Identify schedule conflicts, bottlenecks, and overload conditions before they impact delivery

- Recommend schedule adjustments, overtime, subcontracting, or resequencing to maintain on-time performance

- Provide realistic, schedule-driven input into quoted and promised lead times

- Support realistic lead-time commitments by providing data-driven input to Sales and Contracts

Cross-Functional Coordination

- Work closely with Purchasing to ensure timely availability of raw material, tooling, and outside processing

- Coordinate with Quality to ensure inspection and certification requirements are planned into schedules

- Communicate priorities clearly to Production Supervisors and Operators

- Collaborate with Engineering on routing accuracy and planning standards

Schedule Execution & Recovery

- Track schedule adherence daily and monitor work-in-process (WIP) against the plan

- Proactively expedite and re-sequence jobs to recover from delays or disruptions

- Communicate schedule changes and priorities clearly to supervisors and operators

- Coordinate with Quality, Shipping, and Documentation to ensure schedule-driven shipment readiness

Systems & Documentation

- Maintain accurate routings, lead times, and planning parameters in the ERP/MRP system

- Ensure travelers, routers, and work orders reflect current revisions and contract requirements

- Generate and maintain planning reports related to schedule adherence, WIP, and delivery performance

Qualifications

Required

- Associate or Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Industrial Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience)

- 3+ years of experience in production planning or scheduling within a manufacturing environment

- Experience working in a make-to-print environment

- Strong understanding of manufacturing workflows and shop-floor operations

- High attention to detail with strong organizational skills

- Proficiency with ERP/MRP systems and Microsoft Excel

Preferred

- Aerospace manufacturing experience

- Familiarity with AS9100 requirements

- Experience with metal forming, fabrication, or machining operations

- Experience in a small or mid-sized manufacturing environment

Skills & Competencies

- Production scheduling and prioritization

- Capacity and load analysis

- Clear and effective communication across departments

- Problem-solving in a fast-paced, changing environment

- Ability to balance competing priorities and deadlines

Work Environment

- Office-based with frequent presence on the shop floor

- Regular interaction with production, quality, and purchasing teams

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $75,000.00 - $85,000.00 per year

Benefits:

- 401(k)

- 401(k) matching

- Dental insurance

- Health insurance

- Life insurance

- Paid time off

- Vision insurance

Work Location: In person