Production Planner III

Position Summary

The Production Planner III is responsible for developing, maintaining, and optimizing the master production plan to align customer demand with manufacturing capacity, material availability, and inventory targets. This role serves as a key cross-functional link between Sales (estimating), Project Management, Supply Chain, Engineering, and Operations, ensuring seamless coordination and execution of production activities.

By balancing constraints and priorities, the Production Planner III drives on-time delivery while minimizing cost, excess inventory, and waste. The role requires advanced proficiency in ERP and project management systems, strong analytical and problem-solving skills, and the ability to proactively adjust plans in response to demand shifts, supply chain disruptions, and forecast variability.

Key Responsibilities

Production Planning & Scheduling

• Partner with Engineering, Purchasing, Estimating, and Project Management teams to align production plan with overall business objectives.
• Lead cross-functional meetings to communicate project status, gather updates, and drive accountability.
• Manage multi-site production capacity, balancing workloads to maximize efficiency and meet delivery targets.
• Analyze and optimize planning processes to improve throughput, reduce bottlenecks, and enhance operational performance.
• Maintain and update ERP system data, including routings, operation timelines, and shop floor calendars.
• Track project progress across the full value stream, adjusting schedules and buffers to ensure on-time delivery.
• Proactively communicate project status, risks, and schedule changes to key stakeholders.
• Develop and maintain reporting tools to monitor performance, identify trends, and highlight constraints.

Communication & Coordination

• Collaborate closely with Project Management, Planning, Engineering, and Purchasing teams to ensure timely completion of project milestones.
• Act as a central point of communication for schedule changes and issue resolution post-release.
• Provide leadership with accurate, data-driven insights on scheduling performance and capacity planning.
• Maintain and communicate order lead times across product lines based on work center capacity and supplier considerations.

Process Optimization

• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to increase efficiency and support company-wide operational goals.
• Maintain a working knowledge of the full production lifecycle, from order entry through shipping.
• Support the Production Scheduling team with daily operations, process improvements, and special projects.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Technical Proficiency: Advanced expertise in ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle, and Microsoft Dynamics, with preferred experience in Epicor and JD Edwards. Highly proficient in data analysis tools including Excel and Smartsheet.
• Analytical Thinking: Demonstrated ability to analyze complex data sets, identify root causes of delays, and resolve scheduling conflicts effectively.
• Communication: Strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to negotiate priorities across departments and manage stakeholder expectations.
• Supply Chain Knowledge: In-depth understanding of lean manufacturing principles, inventory management, logistics, and demand forecasting.

Education & Certifications

• High school diploma or equivalent required; Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management or a related field preferred.
• APICS CPIM certification preferred.

Experience

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in a manufacturing environment.
• 3-5 years of scheduling or production planning experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Work Environment/Travel Requirements

Mostly an office environment with occasional visits to the manufacturing floor (proper PPE must be worn on manufacturing floor).

This job description outlines the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified.

Our Benefits

Apogee and our brands are an Equal Opportunity Employer.