Senior Production Planner

As a Senior Production Planner, you create and manage production schedules that align manufacturing output with customer demand while optimizing resource utilization. You coordinate between sales, procurement, and operations to balance competing priorities — rush orders, equipment capacity, material availability, and delivery commitments. The senior title means you're handling the most complex scheduling challenges and improving planning processes.

Your day starts early and adjusts constantly. You review the production schedule against current status, address overnight issues, coordinate with procurement on material availability, negotiate priorities with sales and customer service, and adjust schedules when machines break down or orders change. You need ERP/MRP proficiency, strong organizational skills, and the diplomatic ability to tell stakeholders no when their requests conflict with capacity reality.

The reality is that no plan survives contact with the shop floor. Machine breakdowns, quality holds, material delays, and rush orders constantly disrupt your carefully crafted schedule. The skill isn't making a perfect plan — it's building a resilient one and adapting it quickly when reality intervenes.