Master Scheduler and Planner for Aerospace and Defense Manufacturing

Job Description

Job Description:MASTER SCHEDULER & PLANNERPrecision CNC Machining | Aerospace • Defense • Semiconductor Location: [Location]Employment Type: Full-TimeReports To: [Operations Director / VP of Operations / General Manager] THE OPPORTUNITY We are looking for an elite Master Scheduler & Planner to take ownership of the production schedule and planning process for a highly sophisticated CNC machining operation serving the aerospace, defense, and semiconductor industries. This is not a traditional production scheduling position. We are a high-mix, low-volume precision machine shop producing complex, mission-critical components where tolerance, quality, delivery, and process discipline are non-negotiable. Our work requires sophisticated planning across CNC machining, programming, tooling, raw materials, outside processing, inspection, engineering, and final delivery. The right person will understand that a schedule is not simply a spreadsheet of due dates. It is a living manufacturing system that must account for machine capacity, labor, setup time, tooling, material availability, inspection capacity, outside services, engineering changes, process routing, bottlenecks, and the realities of running extremely tight-tolerance work. We need someone who can look at the entire factory, understand what is happening at the machine level, identify what will prevent us from hitting our commitments, and proactively drive the organization around those constraints. You should be the person who knows what needs to happen next — before everyone else realizes there is a problem. WHAT YOU WILL OWN MASTER PRODUCTION SCHEDULING Own and continuously optimize the master production schedule across a complex, high-mix CNC machining environment. You will: • Develop and maintain a realistic, executable master production schedule.• Translate customer demand, sales orders, forecasts, and committed ship dates into a detailed manufacturing plan.• Schedule work based on finite capacity, not theoretical capacity.• Balance machine capacity, labor, tooling, inspection, material, outside processing, and other constraints.• Identify bottleneck machines and processes before they become schedule failures.• Establish appropriate priorities across competing customer requirements.• Continuously re-sequence work as conditions change while protecting critical customer commitments.• Maintain visibility to the next several weeks and months of production capacity.• Develop recovery plans when jobs fall behind schedule.• Provide leadership with an accurate picture of what can realistically ship, when it can ship, and what is preventing it from shipping sooner. DETAILED PRODUCTION PLANNING Build detailed production plans that connect the master schedule to the actual work being performed on the shop floor. You will coordinate: • CNC machine availability• Routing operations• Setup and run times• Material availability• Tooling requirements• Fixtures and workholding• CNC programming readiness• Engineering requirements• First Article requirements• In-process inspection• Final inspection• Outside processing• Special processes• Deburr / finishing operations• Rework and nonconformance activity• Packaging and shipping requirements You will understand the difference between a job being scheduled and a job actually being ready to run. SHOP FLOOR CONTROL You will work closely with machinists, programmers, manufacturing engineers, quality, inspection, purchasing, and operations leadership to ensure that the schedule reflects reality. You will regularly be on the shop floor. You will: • Monitor actual production performance against the schedule.• Identify jobs at risk of missing their committed dates.• Escalate issues early rather than after the schedule has already failed.• Remove constraints preventing jobs from moving forward.• Coordinate priorities between departments.• Drive schedule adherence and on-time delivery.• Help establish realistic production priorities without creating unnecessary chaos on the floor.• Ensure that jobs are released in the correct sequence and at the correct time.• Prevent premature job release and unnecessary WIP.• Maintain control of WIP through every stage of the manufacturing process. You will not manage the schedule from behind a desk. You will manage it from the intersection of the ERP system, the planning process, and the shop floor. CAPACITY PLANNING A major part of this position is understanding our true manufacturing capacity. You will: • Develop and maintain capacity models by machine, work center, department, and critical process.• Analyze machine utilization and available capacity.• Identify future capacity constraints.• Model the impact of new orders and schedule changes.• Identify opportunities for overtime, additional shifts, subcontracting, or capital investment.• Recognize when a machine is technically available but functionally unavailable due to tooling, programming, maintenance, setup requirements, inspection constraints, or material shortages.• Provide leadership with forward-looking capacity analysis and recommendations. You should be comfortable answering questions such as: “If we accept these three new aerospace jobs, what does that do to our 5-axis capacity over the next eight weeks?” “Which jobs are going to compete for the same machine, tooling, inspection resources, or outside process?” “What is the real constraint in this schedule?” “What happens if this machine goes down tomorrow?” “Which jobs can we move without jeopardizing delivery?” If those questions are exciting rather than intimidating, we want to talk to you. ERP / MRP / PRODUCTION CONTROL You will be a power user and steward of our ERP/MRP planning environment. Experience with systems such as JobBOSS, E2 Shop System, Epicor, Global Shop Solutions, IQMS, NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, or similar manufacturing ERP/MRP platforms is highly desirable. You will be expected to understand and work with: • Manufacturing orders• BOMs• Routings• Work centers• Labor standards• Machine standards• Lead times• Material requirements• Purchase orders• Outside processing• WIP• Inventory• Safety stock• Job release• Scheduling parameters• Capacity planning• MRP signals• Shortage reports• Past-due orders• Demand and supply alignment You should be able to look at an MRP/ERP system and determine whether the data is actually telling the truth. Garbage data creates garbage schedules. You will help establish and maintain the planning discipline necessary for the system to become a reliable source of operational truth. AEROSPACE / DEFENSE / SEMICONDUCTOR ENVIRONMENT Our customers operate at extremely high standards, and our planning process must reflect that. Experience supporting aerospace, defense, semiconductor, medical, space, or other highly regulated / high-precision manufacturing environments is strongly preferred. You should understand the operational implications of requirements such as: • AS9100• ISO 9001• ITAR-controlled environments• Customer-specific quality requirements• First Article Inspection / AS9102• Full material traceability• Lot control• Certifications• Special processes• Outside processing• Configuration control• Engineering revisions• Nonconforming material• Customer-driven delivery requirements You do not need to be the Quality Manager. But you must understand how quality requirements affect manufacturing flow and schedule performance. A part that is “machined” but waiting three weeks for outside processing or inspection is not a completed part. OUTSIDE PROCESSING & SUPPLY CHAIN COORDINATION Our manufacturing process does not end when a part leaves the CNC. You will maintain visibility and schedule control across outside processes including, where applicable: • Heat treatment• Plating• Anodizing• Coatings• Passivation• Grinding• EDM• Laser processing• Welding• NDT• Chemical processing• Cleaning• Special inspection• Other customer-required special processes You will work closely with purchasing and suppliers to identify and mitigate schedule risks. You will understand that outside processing lead time is part of the manufacturing schedule — not an afterthought. WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE Within your first year, we expect this person to become one of the most important operational control points in the company. Success means: • Improved on-time delivery• Improved schedule adherence• Fewer schedule surprises• Better machine utilization• Better visibility into future capacity• Reduced unnecessary WIP• Fewer jobs waiting on material, tooling, programming, inspection, or outside processing• Earlier identification of constraints• Better coordination between Sales, Engineering, Quality, Purchasing, and Operations• A production schedule the shop actually trusts• Leadership having a clear and accurate view of the factory• Customers receiving what we promised, when we promised it THE IDEAL CANDIDATE We are looking for someone with deep practical manufacturing experience, not someone who has simply taken a scheduling course. REQUIRED EXPERIENCE • 7+ years of experience in CNC machining, precision manufacturing, production planning, scheduling, or manufacturing operations• Significant experience in high-mix / low-volume CNC machining• Strong understanding of CNC machining processes and manufacturing routings• Demonstrated experience scheduling multiple machines/work centers simultaneously• Strong finite-capacity planning experience• Strong ERP/MRP experience• Experience working directly with machinists, programmers, engineers, quality, purchasing, and operations• Proven ability to manage competing priorities and rapidly changing schedules• Demonstrated success improving on-time delivery and schedule performance• Strong understanding of manufacturing lead times and production constraints HIGHLY PREFERRED • Experience in aerospace, defense, semiconductor, space, or similarly demanding precision industries• Experience with 3-, 4-, and 5-axis CNC machining environments• Experience with complex multi-operation parts• Experience with tight-tolerance machining• Experience with AS9100 / ISO environments• Experience with AS9102 / First Article Inspection• ITAR manufacturing experience• Experience managing outside processing and special processes• Experience with ERP/MRP implementation, optimization, or data cleanup• Experience with capacity modeling• Experience using advanced planning/scheduling tools• Lean manufacturing / Six Sigma experience• Formal education in manufacturing, industrial engineering, operations, supply chain, or a related discipline YOU ARE PROBABLY A GREAT FIT IF... You have spent years in a machine shop and understand things that don't appear on a spreadsheet. You know that: • A “4-hour setup” isn't always a 4-hour setup.• A machine being open doesn't necessarily mean it is available.• A programmer being “almost done” isn't the same as a job being production-ready.• Material arriving tomorrow doesn't mean the job can run tomorrow.• Inspection can become the bottleneck.• One missed outside-process shipment can destroy an entire production sequence.• Moving one job can have consequences five operations downstream.• The shortest theoretical route is not always the fastest actual route.• A schedule that looks perfect in Excel can be completely impossible on the shop floor.• The best schedule is the one the factory can actually execute. You are analytical, but you're not trapped behind a computer. You are highly organized, but you can operate in controlled chaos. You are assertive, but you know how to collaborate. You communicate early. You don't hide bad news. You don't wait for someone else to discover a problem. And when something goes sideways, your first question is: “What do we need to do to recover?” PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS We value people who are: • Extremely organized• Detail obsessed• Analytical• Decisive• Proactive• Persistent• Calm under pressure• Excellent communicators• Highly accountable• Process-driven• Data-driven• Comfortable challenging assumptions• Comfortable working with senior leadership• Comfortable working directly with the shop floor• Relentless about commitments and follow-through You should have the confidence to walk into a production meeting with the facts, explain exactly where the schedule stands, identify the constraints, and recommend what we should do next. THIS IS NOT FOR EVERYONE This position will not be a good fit for someone whose scheduling experience is primarily: • Office administration• Basic calendar management• Simple dispatching• Data entry• Purchasing expediting without production-planning responsibility• High-volume commodity manufacturing• Environments where every job is essentially the same• Environments where “on time” means within a broad production window We are looking for someone who understands complex precision manufacturing at a very high level. Someone who has lived through the realities of: tight tolerances + complex routings + limited machine capacity + difficult materials + demanding customers + inspection requirements + outside processing + engineering changes + shifting priorities + impossible deadlines. And knows how to bring order to all of it. WHY THIS ROLE MATTERS The Master Scheduler & Planner sits at the center of our manufacturing operation. When this function is done exceptionally well, everything downstream gets better. Machinists know what is coming. Programming knows what needs attention. Purchasing knows what is critical. Quality knows what is approaching. Management knows where the risks are. Sales knows what can realistically be promised. And customers get their parts when they need them. You will have a direct impact on the performance, profitability, reputation, and growth of the company. This is an opportunity for a serious manufacturing professional to become a key part of an elite precision machining organization supporting some of the world's most demanding industries. If you know how to turn complex demand into an executable manufacturing plan — and you have the scars to prove it — we want to hear from you.Company Description:Manufacturing excellence starts from within. Our teams collaborate and share knowledge across our facilities. We thrive through continual learning and mentoring. From apprenticeship to leadership, our people are proud of the important work we do.

Company Description

Manufacturing excellence starts from within. Our teams collaborate and share knowledge across our facilities. We thrive through continual learning and mentoring. From apprenticeship to leadership, our people are proud of the important work we do.