Role: Production Planner
Location: Wilmington, MA
Duration: 6 Months (Potential for Extension)

Job Summary
We are seeking a Production Planner to support manufacturing operations by developing and managing production schedules, coordinating with cross-functional teams, and ensuring materials, labor, and resources are available to meet production commitments. This role requires strong planning, scheduling, and communication skills in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

Top Must-Have Skills

1. 3+ years of production planning/scheduling experience in manufacturing.
2. Experience coordinating with Supply Chain, Engineering, and Production teams.
3. Strong Excel/planning tool proficiency and organizational skills.

 
Key Responsibilities
Production Planning & Scheduling

• Own weekly and monthly production schedules for multiple build programs.
• Translate engineering demand into executable production plans.
• Manage the Clear-to-Build (CTB) process by verifying:
  • Material availability
  • Tooling readiness
  • Work instruction completeness
  • Labor capacity
• Create and maintain work orders, production sequences, and build milestones.
• Balance production capacity across multiple concurrent programs.
• Adjust schedules based on engineering changes, supply constraints, or quality issues.
• Lead daily and weekly production meetings to communicate priorities, identify blockers, and track progress.

Supply Chain Coordination

• Coordinate with Procurement and Supply Chain teams to ensure timely delivery of materials and components.
• Monitor long-lead and critical-path items and proactively escalate supply risks.
• Manage material requirements planning (MRP) using available planning tools and manual processes.
• Coordinate with Receiving and Warehouse teams to ensure inventory is staged for production.
• Track Bill of Materials (BOM) consumption and resolve discrepancies.

Capacity & Resource Planning

• Plan weekly labor and staffing requirements.
• Monitor production capacity and workstation utilization.
• Identify bottlenecks and recommend resource balancing or overtime.
• Coordinate schedules with Machine Shop and Additive Manufacturing teams.
• Incorporate equipment maintenance and downtime into production schedules.

Reporting & Continuous Improvement

• Maintain production dashboards and schedule adherence metrics.
• Prepare weekly production status reports for leadership.
• Perform root cause analysis for schedule delays and missed production targets.
• Recommend improvements to planning processes and scheduling efficiency.
• Support implementation of new planning systems and process improvements.

 
Required Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• 3+ years of experience in:
  • Production Planning
  • Production Scheduling
  • Materials Coordination
  • Manufacturing Operations
• Experience coordinating across Engineering, Supply Chain, and Manufacturing teams.
• Strong organizational and multitasking skills.
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, Smartsheet, or similar planning tools.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Comfortable working in environments with limited or evolving ERP systems using manual planning methods.

 
Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, or a related field.
• 5+ years of production planning experience in:
  • Low-volume/high-mix manufacturing
  • Prototype manufacturing
  • Aerospace
  • Defense
  • Research & Development (R&D)
• APICS CPIM, CSCP, or similar certification.
• Experience with ERP/MRP systems such as:
  • SAP
  • Oracle
  • NetSuite
• Experience managing Clear-to-Build (CTB) processes.
• Experience planning production with complex, multi-level BOMs.
• Knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, Kanban, and Pull Production systems.
• Experience supporting New Product Introduction (NPI) environments.
• Experience establishing planning processes in growing organizations.
• Strong analytical and forecasting skills.

 
 
At SPECTRAFORCE, we are committed to maintaining a workplace that ensures fair compensation and wage transparency in adherence with all applicable state and local laws.This position's pay range is $30.00/hr - $31.74/hr.