Production Planner

Production Planner

The Production Planner forecasts, plans, and schedules products to ensure customer needs are met in a timely and efficient manner. This role manages the flow of externally procured materials into the factory, optimizes inventory levels, and plans both purchased and manufactured parts using a variety of ordering approaches. The Production Planner utilizes planning systems such as Oracle to balance supply and demand, coordinates closely with customer service and shop floor teams, and drives continuous process and systems improvements within materials and production activities.

Responsibilities

• Forecast, plan, and schedule products to meet customer requirements in the most timely and efficient manner.
• Plan and execute the flow of externally procured materials from suppliers into the factory for assigned products, ensuring inventory optimization and smooth material flow.
• Plan all purchased and manufactured parts using appropriate ordering approaches such as EOQ, min/max, fixed days, Kanban, and MRP.
• Schedule manufacturing orders to ensure customer requirements and delivery commitments are met.
• Set and maintain accurate planning parameters within planning systems, including Oracle.
• Use Gains to create, adjust, and maintain product and component forecasts that drive the Oracle planning system, while analyzing supply and demand.
• Provide work direction and prioritize production schedules on the shop floor to meet operational and customer needs.
• Communicate regularly with customer service to align priorities and ensure customer requirements are clearly understood and met.
• Keep leadership proactively informed of manufacturing challenges and issues, including capacity constraints, machine downtime, and fluctuations in resources.
• Manage inventory levels to ensure cell objectives are achieved and aligned with overall company inventory goals.
• Proactively communicate supply shortages, delivery changes, or quality issues to appropriate personnel in a timely manner.
• Collaborate with internal cross-functional teams on capacity utilization and sourcing strategies for assembly and machine resources.
• Attend and lead meetings with other departments as needed to implement new procedures or resolve inter-departmental issues.
• Define, drive, and implement process improvements and systems enhancements for materials-related activities.
• Deliver timely and accurate results that streamline and improve production planning and materials management processes.

Essential Skills

• Production planning experience in a manufacturing and/or distribution environment.
• Production scheduling expertise with a focus on meeting customer requirements and optimizing efficiency.
• Strong understanding of supply chain principles, including material flow and inventory optimization.
• Hands-on experience using ERP and MRP systems for planning and scheduling.
• Knowledge of inventory management practices and techniques.
• Ability to plan and schedule using approaches such as EOQ, min/max, fixed days, Kanban, and MRP.
• Proficiency with planning systems such as Oracle, including setting planning parameters and analyzing supply and demand.
• Effective communication skills to collaborate with customer service, shop floor personnel, and cross-functional teams.
• Ability to identify, communicate, and address manufacturing challenges related to capacity, machine downtime, and resource availability.
• Capability to lead meetings and provide work direction to support production priorities.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Operations Management, Logistics and Supply Chain Management, or a related field is preferred.
• 4+ years of proven planning experience in a manufacturing and/or distribution environment.
• Knowledge of supply chain and lean manufacturing concepts, practices, and procedures.
• Experience utilizing ERP/MRP systems for production planning and materials management.
• Experience in planning scheduling, ERP systems, and inventory management.
• Ability to define and implement process and systems improvements within materials and production activities.

Job Type & Location

This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Champlin, MN.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $38.00 - $48.00/hr. Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors. Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following: Medical, dental & vision Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital 401(k) Retirement Plan Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents) Short and long-term disability Health Spending Account (HSA) Transportation benefits Employee Assistance Program Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

Workplace Type

This is a fully onsite position in Champlin, MN.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Sep 17, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email View email address on click.appcast.io for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.