Production Planner

Overview

Role:
Production Planner

Location:

Richland, WA

Company:
Columbia Energy & Environmental Services, Inc.

Employment Type:

Full-Time, Exempt

Columbia Energy & Environmental Services, headquartered in Richland, WA, is a well-established small business with over 30 years of experience supporting the nuclear, defense, energy, and hazardous waste industries. Originally founded to support nuclear cleanup efforts at Hanford, we have grown into a full-service engineering, design, and fabrication company serving both federal and commercial clients.

This role plays a key part in keeping fabrication projects on track by aligning schedules, materials, and resources across multiple teams. We offer competitive compensation, comprehensive benefits, and the opportunity to work on technically complex projects that support important national missions.

The Production Planner is responsible for developing, maintaining, and executing production schedules for custom-engineered equipment. This role works closely with Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Procurement, and Project Management to balance capacity, materials availability, and project priorities in a regulated, low-volume, high-complexity manufacturing environment.

The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, adaptable, and comfortable coordinating across disciplines while managing shifting priorities.

• Develop and maintain production schedules for engineered-to-order and make-to-order equipment
• Translate project requirements, drawings, and bills of material into executable manufacturing plans
• Sequence work orders to optimize labor, equipment availability, and critical path activities
• Monitor schedule performance and proactively identify risks to delivery milestones

• Coordinate with Procurement to support timely availability of materials, including long-lead items
• Perform capacity planning across machining, fabrication, assembly, testing, and inspection
• Evaluate make/buy decisions and subcontracting impacts on schedule and workload

• Ensure production plans align with applicable quality and regulatory requirements
• Support audits, inspections, and customer surveillance activities as needed

• Serve as the primary scheduling interface between Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, and Project Management
• Incorporate engineering changes, nonconformances, and rework into updated production plans
• Participate in production meetings, project kickoff discussions, and schedule risk reviews
• Identify planning and scheduling improvements to reduce bottlenecks and lead times
• Perform other job-related duties as assigned

• Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Supply Chain Management, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
• 3–7 years of production planning or scheduling experience in a manufacturing environment
• Experience supporting custom or project-based manufacturing
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications
• Working knowledge of bills of material, routings, and engineering change control

• Experience in nuclear, defense, aerospace, or other highly regulated industries
• Familiarity with quality programs such as NQA-1, ASME, or ISO standards
• General understanding of machining, welding, fabrication, and assembly processes
• APICS/ASCM certification (CPIM, CSCP) or equivalent

• Strong organizational and prioritization skills
• Analytical mindset with the ability to solve scheduling and capacity challenges
• Clear, professional communication across technical and non-technical teams
• Ability to work effectively in a deadline-driven, compliance-focused environment
• High attention to detail with a commitment to quality and safety

• Primarily on-site in a fabrication and manufacturing environment
• Regular interaction with the shop floor and cross-functional teams
• Must meet eligibility requirements for projects subject to customer and regulatory access controls

Columbia Energy is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.