Production Planner

Location: Fountain Valley, CA | United States Employment Type: Full-Time Reports To: Operations Manager / Production Manager POSITION SUMMARY Symtech Fire is seeking an organized and proactive Production Planner to coordinate manufacturing schedules, material requirements, and production activities to ensure customer orders are completed efficiently, accurately, and on time. This position is responsible for balancing customer demand, material availability, labor capacity, and inventory levels while supporting production goals and delivery commitments. The Production Planner works closely with Operations, Production, Purchasing, Inventory Control, Engineering, Quality Assurance, and Sales to maintain an effective manufacturing schedule and minimize delays. The ideal candidate has experience in production planning or manufacturing operations, strong analytical skills, and the ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES Production Planning and Scheduling Develop, maintain, and communicate daily, weekly, and monthly production schedules based on customer orders, delivery commitments, material availability, and manufacturing capacity. Prioritize production orders according to customer needs, deadlines, and available resources. Coordinate with production supervisors to ensure schedules are realistic and achievable. Monitor production progress and adjust schedules to address material shortages, equipment downtime, changing priorities, or urgent orders. Identify potential bottlenecks and proactively resolve scheduling conflicts to minimize delays. Ensure work orders are released accurately and on time. Material and Inventory Coordination Review material requirements to ensure raw materials, components, and supplies are available to support production schedules. Coordinate with Purchasing to address shortages, expedite critical materials, and prevent production interruptions. Monitor inventory levels and account for supplier lead times and upcoming production demand. Work with warehouse and inventory personnel to maintain accurate inventory records and material availability. Identify discrepancies between system inventory, material requirements, and actual production needs. Customer Order Management Review customer orders and establish realistic production timelines and completion dates. Coordinate with Sales and Customer Service to communicate order priorities, scheduling changes, and delivery expectations. Track order progress and proactively communicate potential delays. Support expedited orders while minimizing disruptions to existing production schedules. Monitor past-due orders and help improve on-time delivery performance. Manufacturing Coordination Evaluate labor availability, equipment capacity, and production constraints when preparing schedules. Coordinate with Engineering regarding product specifications, bills of materials (BOMs), engineering changes, and special manufacturing requirements. Account for required inspections, testing, and quality control activities when scheduling production. Participate in production meetings to review priorities, material shortages, scheduling conflicts, and upcoming requirements. Identify opportunities to improve workflow, reduce work-in-process inventory, and increase manufacturing efficiency. ERP System & Data Management Maintain accurate production schedules, work orders, material requirements, and manufacturing data within the company's ERP/MRP system. Review system-generated material requirements, planned orders, and purchasing recommendations. Monitor open work orders, inventory levels, and upcoming material requirements. Identify and correct discrepancies in bills of materials, lead times, inventory records, and production data. Prepare and maintain reports to track production progress, material availability, scheduling performance, and on-time delivery. Use Microsoft Excel and other reporting tools to analyze data and support operationa…

View the full posting and apply