Job Description

Production Planning Manager

Job Summary:

The planning manager is responsible for leading 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.

Essential Job Functions:

• 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, & Production teams.
• 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 teams 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 team.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Supply Chain, Operations Management, Engineering, or related field is required.
• 5-8+ years of experience in production planning, scheduling, or supply chain in a manufacturing environment is required.
• Strong ERP experience is required. Syteline/CloudSuite experience preferred.
• Demonstrated experience leading and developing teams is required.
• Exceptional analytical skills, with proficiency in Excel and planning analytics is required.
• Strong communication, collaboration, and conflict-resolution skills is required.
• Experience in aerospace, defense, or other high-mix, low-volume manufacturing is preferred.
• APICS/ASCM certifications (CPIM, CSCP) are preferred.
• Familiarity with Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement tools is preferred.
• Understanding of machine shop workflows, assembly operations, and routings is preferred.

Management reserves the right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.

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