Master Planner

About Ardena

Ardena is a global Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) and Contract Research Organization (CRO) specializing in precision medicine development. Ardena supports pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in bringing innovative, complex molecules from discovery to market.

The Ardena Group operates from five sites across Europe and the United States, employing more than 750 professionals. Ardena European sites are located in Oss and Assen (the Netherlands), Ghent (Belgium), and Pamplona (Spain). Ardena US facility is based in Somerset, New Jersey.

Ardena provides integrated services spanning drug substance development, drug product formulation, GMP manufacturing, bioanalytical services, clinical logistics, fill and finish, and CMC regulatory support.

Ardena is hiring a Master Planner to join the Supply Chain team at our Somerset (US) site. You will work in a regulated pharmaceutical environment, ensuring that all work meets GMP, GxP, and applicable ISO standards.

The Master Planner develops and manages the site’s 45-day production plan to optimize equipment, labor, materials, and capacity while ensuring schedules are realistic, executable, and aligned with customer commitments.

This role coordinates across Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Analytical Services, Manufacturing, Project Management, and Customer Program Teams to support on-time delivery, resource utilization, and GMP-compliant operations.

• Own and maintain the rolling 45-day production schedule, translating customer demand, labor availability, equipment constraints, facility capacity, and manufacturing priorities into an executable plan that maximizes throughput and on-time delivery.
• Continuously evaluate schedule risks, laboratory and quality bottlenecks, and release constraints; coordinate mitigation plans and schedule adjustments to keep batch release commitments and customer delivery dates on track.
• Coordinate with QC, QA, Analytical Services, and Manufacturing to incorporate raw material sampling and release, in-process and finished product testing, batch record review, and final product disposition into the production plan.
• Monitor for laboratory and quality bottlenecks and coordinate schedule adjustments and cross-functional alignment to keep final product disposition, batch release commitments, and customer delivery dates on track.
• Lead weekly Ready-to-Execute (RTE) meeting, measuring project readiness in the short-term horizon.
• Act as the primary planning liaison between Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, Project Management, and Customer Program teams.
• Communicate production priorities, schedule changes, and capacity risks to site leadership.
• Support new product introductions, technical transfers, scale-up activities, and commercial launches through integrated planning.
• Facilitate schedule review meetings to ensure alignment across departments.

• Collaborate with Operations to develop finite production plans based on actual labor, equipment, and facility availability, while identifying resource constraints that may impact production commitments.
• Maintain equipment scheduling updates and monitor equipment utilization to optimize manufacturing capacity and support finite production planning.
• Support Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) through schedule visibility, capacity analysis, and participation in production planning and capacity review meetings.

• Monitor schedule adherence, capacity utilization, labor efficiency, throughput, and on-time delivery metrics.
• Analyze production data and planning performance indicators to improve planning accuracy.
• Lead initiatives to improve planning systems, processes, and workflow efficiency.
• Support internal and external audits by providing planning records and scheduling documentation.
• Assist with implementation and continuous improvement initiatives related to inventory control, warehouse operations, and ERP functionality and processes.
• Act as the ERP system subject matter expert for planning-related data accuracy, troubleshooting, escalation, and GMP-compliant documentation practices.
• Adhere to all EHS and cGMP site Requirements.
• Complete all required training on time.

• Production schedule adherence and On-time customer delivery performance
• Labor and equipment utilization
• Capacity plan accuracy
• Reduction of schedule disruptions and bottlenecks
• Successful support of GMP inspections and customer audits
• This position is responsible for ensuring that customer demand, manufacturing operations, analytical testing, quality review, and final product release activities are synchronized into a single executable production plan that drives operational excellence and customer satisfaction.

• Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, Operations Management, Engineering, Business, or a related discipline preferred; an…