Production Controller

Production Controller San Angelo, TX Area The Company

Our client is a high-growth startup in one of the most critical pockets within the defense industry: explosives production. They are further increasing our country’s capacity to provide the energetic materials necessary for the numerous defense systems that keep us safe; both here at home and around the world. Now more than ever, explosives production is an extremely crucial component, while also being a major bottleneck, in the deployment and utilization of defense systems.

Our client is leveraging decades of industry expertise to alleviate this concern and help the United States maintain its military excellence.

Our client is seeking a Production Controller. This person plans, schedules, and tracks production, materials, and shipping activity in support of a Department of Defense (DoD) industrial base manufacturing operation. This role serves as the operational hub that keeps the master production schedule, raw-material flow, work-in-process, and finished-goods movement aligned with contract delivery schedules, program milestones, and the strict federal regulatory controls that govern defense and energetic-materials manufacturing.

Working within ERP/MRP and Palantir Foundry-based planning systems, the Production Controller builds and maintains work orders, schedules, and reporting that give Program Management, Contracts, and Operations leadership real-time visibility into schedule adherence, material availability, and delivery status against government contracts. The position is heavily compliance-aware: all activities are performed in accordance with DFARS, ITAR/EAR, ATF, DOT, OSHA, and applicable customer and government contract requirements.

• Develop, maintain, and execute the master production schedule (MPS) to meet contract delivery schedules, CLIN due dates, and program milestones.
• Run and analyze MRP outputs to convert demand, forecasts, and contract backlog into feasible, capacity-constrained production schedules.
• Release, sequence, and track shop orders/travelers through work centers, balancing line loading against capacity, tooling, and magazine/storage constraints.
• Monitor schedule adherence and work-order status; identify, quantify, and communicate the root cause of variances (material, labor, equipment, quality holds, GFP/GFM availability).
• Support what-if scenario planning for new task orders, rush requirements, engineering changes, and line changeovers.
• Expedite critical path items and coordinate recovery plans when schedules slip against contractual delivery dates.

• Track inbound raw materials, chemical precursors, packaging, components, and Government-Furnished Property/Material (GFP/GFM) against production requirements, flagging shortages, lead-time slips, and single-source risk.
• Maintain accurate inventory positions, reorder points, safety-stock levels, and material master data within the ERP/MRP environment.
• Reconcile physical inventory of controlled/regulated and government-furnished materials against system records; support cycle counts, DCMA reviews, and audits.
• Coordinate with Procurement on supplier performance (on-time delivery, quality holds, certificate-of-conformance/analysis receipt) and surface risks affecting the production schedule.

• Monitor outbound finished-goods shipments and inbound deliveries, ensuring movements align with the production schedule, contract delivery schedules, and CDRL due dates.
• Verify that shipments of regulated/hazardous and defense-related materials are documented, classified, marked, and routed in compliance with DOT 49 CFR (HMR), ITAR/EAR export-control requirements, and applicable carrier requirements.
• Coordinate with logistics providers, freight forwarders, and internal shipping/receiving on scheduling windows, transport mode selection, and required permits/approvals.
• Track shipment exceptions, delays, and holds; proactively communicate delivery status to Program Management, Contracts, and the customer/government representative.

• Serve as a production-status point of contact for Program Management, Contracts, and on-site government representatives, including DCMA/DCMA-equivalent personnel.
• Support contract data requirements (e.g., CDRLs) related to production status, schedule performance, and delivery forecasts.
• Track and reconcile Government-Furnished Property/Equipment (GFP/GFE) per contractual and DFARS property-management requirements.
• Participate in program reviews, production readiness reviews, and customer/government audits as the scheduling and production-status subject-matter representative.

• Build, maintain, and enhance dashboards, reports, and data pipelines in Palantir Foundry (and connected ERP/MRP systems) for schedule performance, material availability, and shipment/delivery metrics.
• Develop and…