Production / Material Planner: 26-00082

PRODUCTION / MATERIAL PLANNER

Location; Irvine, CA (100% onsite)

JOB DESCRIPTION

The Production / Material Planner is responsible for developing, optimizing, and maintaining production schedules and material planning activities to support manufacturing operations. This role balances customer demand with plant capacity while ensuring material availability, inventory optimization, and adherence to production timelines in a fast-paced, regulated environment. The position works cross-functionally with Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality, Engineering, Facilities, and IT.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop, finalize, and communicate weekly production schedules that balance customer demand with efficient plant utilization.
• Plan, prepare, and control production schedules while coordinating material requirements to ensure uninterrupted workflow.
• Monitor work-in-progress, material availability, and potential production constraints, escalating issues as needed.
• Schedule equipment usage and establish reorder points and order quantities based on forecasts and capacity.
• Generate and manage work orders and purchase requests aligned to the master production schedule and inventory requirements.
• Coordinate across Quality Assurance, Manufacturing, Purchasing, Facilities, and Materials Management functions.
• Schedule and expedite material approvals to support production requirements.
• Maintain compliance with departmental policies, procedures, safety standards, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Develop and maintain scheduling KPIs including production schedule adherence and inventory performance metrics.
• Prepare and present key operational metrics and reports to site and corporate stakeholders.
• Support training of team members as needed.
• Manage supply chain change control activities.
• Ensure uninterrupted material supply to meet production, shipment, and cost objectives.
• Execute replenishment activities including purchase orders and work orders from system-driven requirements.
• Monitor supplier performance and follow up to ensure on-time delivery.
• Expedite or reschedule deliveries to align supply with demand and reduce excess inventory risk.
• Communicate forecasts and demand changes to suppliers.
• Source components and services from approved and new suppliers.
• Maintain ERP planning parameters and ensure data integrity.
• Process supplier deviation requests and obtain required internal approvals.
• Participate in project and production readiness initiatives.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree required.
• 3+ years of experience in production scheduling within a cGMP manufacturing environment.
• Experience with ERP or MRP systems for data entry and reporting.
• Strong understanding of pharmaceutical production scheduling concepts.
• Experience working in a fast-paced, highly regulated manufacturing environment.
• Proficiency with SAP or Oracle ERP systems.
• Advanced Excel skills.
• APICS and Lean Six Sigma certifications preferred.