Assistant Production Planner - Presque Isle, ME

SUMMARY OF DUTIES: • The Assistant Production Planner is responsible for developing, coordinating, and executing production schedules and managing material flow to meet customer delivery requirements, optimize resource utilization, and maintaining product quality and regulatory compliance. Working closely with Production, Purchasing, Quality Assurance/Regulatory, Engineering, and Shipping teams, this role ensures that production orders are planned, resourced, tracked, and closed out efficiently.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES: Essential Functions: (listed in accordance to their importance and/or frequency)

The essential functions include, but are not limited to the following:

• Develop and maintain the Master Production Schedule (MPS) and short-term production schedules based on customer orders, forecasts, capacity, and material availability.
• Use ERP/MRP systems to release manufacturing orders, monitor status, and adjust schedules in response to changes such as capacity constraints, machine downtime, or material shortages.
• Coordinate with Purchasing/Materials to ensure raw materials, consumables, and components are available when needed; escalate potential shortages or bottlenecks.
• Collaborate with Production and Maintenance to understand available capacities, shift patterns, downtime, change-over times, and resource constraints; adjust plans accordingly.
• Assist with the organized flow of raw materials, finished goods and WIP to/from CT facility.
• Monitor production progress and track key metrics, including on-time delivery, schedule adherence, backlog, scrap/defect rates, and capacity utilization.
• Work with QA/Regulatory to incorporate inspection, quality hold, and rework activities into production schedules.
• Identify and implement continuous improvement initiatives in planning, materials flow, inventory optimization, and production performance.
• Lead or participate in daily/weekly/monthly production planning meetings with cross-functional teams.
• Ensure documentation of production planning activities is properly maintained in accordance with company policy and regulatory requirements.
• Support inventory management by maintaining WIP, raw material, and finished goods inventory levels within established targets.
• Participate in Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) and demand-planning discussions.
• Collaborate with management on manpower planning and resource allocation to ensure production schedules are achievable and adequately staffed.
• Support the development and maintenance of finished goods and raw material stocking programs in alignment with inventory targets and forecasted demand.
• Participate in or support continuous improvement initiatives, including Kaizen events and waste reduction projects, to enhance production efficiency and reduce lead times.
• Prepare or contribute to production reports and analysis to support operational decision-making and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Provide supervisors with timely schedule information and support workflow coordination and training needs to ensure smooth production operations.

EDUCATION LEVEL: • Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations, Industrial Engineering, or a related fie

EXPERIENCE: • 3+ years of production planning/scheduling experience in a manufacturing environment; precision metal manufacturing experience is a plus.