Production Planning Lead

Design and own a constraint‑driven production planning and scheduling framework across all manufacturing activities. Translate incoming demand, engineering readiness, and material availability into realistic, capacity‑based production plans. Identify the system’s true bottlenecks and actively manage queues, priorities, and release logic to protect them Build scenario‑based planning models to answer:

When can we realistically deliver?

What is the true capacity of the system?

When do we need to hire or invest in equipment?

Define and maintain ERP routing logic, standard times, and capacity assumptions, challenging existing system behavior when it does not reflect reality. Establish rules for schedule stability, including frozen windows and exception‑based changes. Reduce daily rescheduling, firefighting, and shop‑floor confusion through disciplined planning logic. Develop visibility tools to track OTD, WIP, queue times, throughput, and cycle time. Partner with Engineering and Operations to improve release readiness, planning accuracy, and execution repeatability.

Serve as the single source of truth for production commitments, balancing customer urgency with operational reality. Provide data‑driven recommendations for headcount and capital equipment investments.

• Proven experience in high‑mix, low‑volume or job shop manufacturing environments Industry experience in semiconductor, photonics, aerospace, or medical devices.
• Demonstrated ability to plan and prioritize work in uncertain, fast‑changing conditions with imperfect data.
• Strong understanding of capacity planning, bottleneck identification, and constraint management
• Experience designing production planning systems, not just maintaining or updating schedules Hands‑on experience working with ERP systems (Epicor preferred; SAP, Net Suite, or similar acceptable).
• Ability to define and implement routings, standard labor times, and capacity assumptions where structure is limited or incomplete.
• Advanced Excel skills with strong analytical and scenario‑planning capability Strong cross‑functional communication skills, particularly with Engineering, Operations, and Customer‑facing teams Comfortable pushing back on system outputs when logic or assumptions are flawed.