IT Solution Engineer - Production Planning

IT Solution Engineer – Production Planning

Founded over 35 years ago, First Quality is a family-owned company that has grown from a small business in McElhattan, Pennsylvania into a group of companies, employing over 5,000 team members, while maintaining our family values and entrepreneurial spirit. With corporate offices in New York and Pennsylvania and 8 manufacturing campuses across the U.S. and Canada, the companies within the First Quality group produce high-quality personal care and household products for large retailers and healthcare organizations. Our personal care and household product portfolio includes baby diapers, wipes, feminine pads, paper towels, bath tissue, adult incontinence products, laundry detergents, fabric finishers, and dishwash solutions. In addition, we manufacture certain raw materials and components used in the manufacturing of these products, including flexible print and packaging solutions.

Guided by our values of humility, unity, and integrity, we leverage advanced technology and innovation to drive growth and create new opportunities. At First Quality, you'll find a collaborative environment focused on continuous learning, professional development, and our mission to Make Things Better®.

We are seeking an IT Solution Engineer – Production Planning for our First Quality Enterprises company working remotely.

The Production Planning Solution Engineer will be a key member of the in-house "Build" team, focusing on Production Planning processes that are continuous as well as discrete in the CPG industry. This role is responsible for hands-on configuration, implementation, and support of projects and enhancements within our SAP ECC landscape, including integrations with other SAP modules and non-SAP applications. The engineer will collaborate closely with business stakeholders, functional teams, and technical resources to deliver robust, efficient, and compliant PP solutions.

Primary responsibilities include:

• Collaborate with business stakeholders, Solution Architects, and other SAP configuration specialists to gather, analyze, and document requirements, and implement approved designs.
• Coordinate proactively with colleagues to understand business processes, system integrations, and dependencies to complete assigned tasks efficiently.
• Manage small projects and enhancements within the Production Planning domain, ensuring timely delivery and quality outcomes.
• Perform hands-on SAP ECC configuration, with strong expertise in Production Planning and execution, Supply Chain, Inventory Management.
• Utilize deep knowledge of SAP Data model and related master and transactional data table/ fields
• Experience with IDOC'S, User exists, BAPIs and function modules are expected
• Demonstrate a thorough understanding of PP Org Structures and relationship to Business structures, Master Data, integration into modules and systems covering the functions of covering MM, SD, QM, PM
• Well versed, technically, and functionally, in MRP & Scheduling Logic and integrations to Planning to include tools like APO /IBP and or the transitioned design in S/4 HANA
• Support Solution Architects in evaluating solution options, brainstorming design approaches, and implementing the best-fit solutions within the existing environment.
• Adapt systems and configurations to align with evolving business processes and requirements.
• This contributes to the execution of a multi-year PP roadmap, including integration of systems from newly acquired entities.
• Assist in developing an SAP S/4HANA migration roadmap and participate in downstream implementation activities.
• Provide end-user training and develop comprehensive training materials to support adoption of new processes and systems.
• Conduct unit testing, integration testing, and user acceptance testing (UAT) for PP-related configurations and developments.
• Maintain detailed configuration documentation, functional specifications, and process flows for audit and knowledge transfer purposes.
• Understands manufacturing standards and compliance requirements and be able to adhere to internal policies and procedures
• Identify opportunities to optimize PP processes, reduce manual effort, and improve system performance.
• Stay current with SAP ECC and S/4HANA PP innovations, best practices, and industry trends.
• Partner with Business and IT teams to ensure seamless requirements gathering and end-to-end PP process integration.
• Function as a subject matter expert (SME) for PP in cross-functional projects.
• Collaborate with external vendors, consultants, and integration partners to deliver solutions involving third-party systems.
• Assist in change impact analysis, communication planning, and stakeholder engagement for PP-related initiatives.

The ideal candidate should possess the following:

• 12+ years of IT experience supporting business processes within the Production Planning
• 10+ years of engineering experience, building solutions under established high-level and architectural designs.
• 2+ years of solution architecture experience, actively contributing to enterprise-level designs from process, technology, people, and data perspectives.
• Extensive hands-on SAP ECC configuration experience in the SAP PP domain– configuration, master data management, and integration with other SAP modules (MM, IM, WM, SD, QM, PM, FICO, APO, MES systems etc.
• Knowledge of Bill of Materials (BOM), Work Centers, Routing, and Production Orders.
• Relevant SAP certifications a plus
• Deep understanding of MRP (Material Requirements Planning), capacity planning, and shop floor control.
• Experience with SAP S/4 HANA a plus
• Ability to perform system testing, troubleshoot issues, and implement enhancements.
• Basic ABAP debugging skills (optional but helpful).
• Strong technical expertise with SAP tables, fields, custom fields, pricing procedures, BAPIs, and function modules.
• Proven experience integrating SAP PP processes with other SAP modules and non-SAP applications
• Familiarity with SAP S/4HANA migration concepts and roadmap planning.
• Project management experience or exposure, with the ability to manage small to medium workstreams.
• Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) manufacturing industry experience preferred.
• Business process design experience, with a focus on optimizing Production Planning and Execution Workflows
• Enterprise-level integration capabilities, including post-merger announcement systems migration and integration.
• Ensure data accuracy and compliance with company standards.
• Excellent interpersonal skills to build, develop, and maintain strong relationships internally and externally; proven ability to partner cross-functionally.
• Genuine collaborator and team player with sound judgment and integrity.
• Strategic mindset with the ability to align technology solutions to business objectives.
• Strong change management and communication skills, with experience supporting organizational adoption of new processes and systems.
• Ability to thrive in entrepreneurial, dynamic, and fluid environments while delivering results.
• Comfortable with agility, able to manage ambiguity, and pivot strategies in response to changing internal and external dynamics.
• Strong work ethic, professionalism, and a high level of integrity in all interactions that fit our culture
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify root causes and develop effective solutions
• SAP certification in PP and related modules a plus
• Adaptability and resilience in managing change, ambiguity, and evolving priorities.
• Collaborative mindset, able to work effectively as part of a team and contribute to shared goals.
• Grasp of project/delivery methodologies like SAP's ASAP methodology, Agile a plus
• Good proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook), flow charting and modeling tools, and abreast of growing AI technologies in his domain is expected
• Ability to prepare High level conceptual designs, System designs and Low-level designs and presentations professional documentation and presentations.
• Effective verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to present confidently to cross-functional teams.
• Ability to plan, prioritize, and manage multiple projects, tasks, and initiatives simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.
• Proven ability to build and maintain productive relationships with stakeholders at all levels, both internally and externally.
• High level of organizational skills and attention to detail, ensuring accuracy and quality in deliverables.
• Continuous learning orientation, staying current with emerging technologies, SAP innovations, and industry best practices in the industry.

May need to occasionally travel to manufacturing sites and other First Quality locations. We do encourage all our Team members to visit the manufacturing sites to understand the business and operations closely.

What We Offer You

We believe that by continuously improving the quality of our benefits, we can help to raise the quality of life for our team members and their families. At First Quality you will receive: