Production Planning Manager

Production Planning ManagerL&L Fabrication is a Rocky Mountain region ASME-certified pressure vessel and process equipment manufacturer serving the oil and gas industry. From our fabrication shops in Wyoming and Colorado, we build pressure vessels, heater treaters, separators, and process skids for a consistent regional customer base. We run a relationship-driven operation — our customers come back because we deliver on our commitments and build equipment they can stake production on.We carry a high-volume, high-complexity active backlog across multiple facilities simultaneously. Getting the right work to the right shop at the right time — and telling Sales what we can actually commit to — is one of the most valuable things this role will do for the business.The RoleWe're looking for a Production Planning Manager to own production schedule visibility, capacity forecasting, and delivery commitment communication across our fabrication facilities. This is a newly created role — one that fills a real and immediate gap in how we run the business — and the right person will have a direct, measurable impact on our ability to grow.You'll be the bridge between our shop floors and our Sales team. You'll know how far each facility is booked out, where the constraints are, what we can realistically commit to and when, and you'll lead the daily conversations that keep production, procurement, and sales aligned around the same picture.This is a builder role. You'll be creating the planning system, the scheduling infrastructure, and the data discipline that L&L needs to scale from here. The foundation exists — strong shop leadership, a Smartsheet-based tracking platform, and an experienced engineering team — but the forward-looking capacity and scheduling function needs an owner. That's this job.What You'll DoProduction Scheduling & Capacity Visibility• Own the production schedule from outside sales commitments through internal shop execution across our Douglas, WY and Northern Colorado facilities.• Maintain accurate, real-time visibility into how far each facility and key workcenter is booked out — weld booths, downstream stations, and assembly.• Track each job through the full production sequence:Not Started ? Welding ? Hydro? Sandblast/Paint? Rigout ? Electrical? Insulation? Final QC? Ready to Ship• Identify schedule risks, bottlenecks, late-job exposure, and capacity constraints before they reach customers.• Validate job status, workcenter dates, part numbers, and scheduling assumptions in our scheduling platform daily.Capacity Forecasting & Level Loading• Perform capacity forecasting across weld booths, welders, downstream workcenters, and material constraints at each facility.• Evaluate level-loading opportunities between Douglas and our Northern Colorado facility to balance workload and protect delivery performance.• Monitor material readiness for long-lead items — heads, shells, specialty components — against forecasted weld start dates.• Track empirical production performance using actual start and completion dates by workcenter to continuously improve forecast accuracy.• Review staffing, booth capacity, material readiness, and downstream workcenter needs against the forward schedule and flag gaps proactively.Sales & Leadership Communication• Provide Sales with clear, realistic delivery time frames based on actual shop capacity and current backlog — not estimates based on gut feel.• Lead and support daily production scheduling meetings with production leadership, project management, and shop teams.• Communicate schedule changes, risks, and recovery plans early and accurately — to both internal teams and as supporting data for customer conversations.• Give leadership clear visibility into backlog, booked-out capacity, and bottlenecks through consistent reporting.Systems & Continuous Improvement• Own the day-to-day accuracy of scheduling data within our Smartsheet platform and help evolve the scheduling logic, forecasting views, and reporting tools as the business grows.• Improve coordination between Sales, production, procurement, and project management through better data and more disciplined scheduling processes.• Help evaluate and shape our technology direction as we grow — including whether and how scheduling and ERP tools evolve.RequirementsWhat We're Looking ForRequired• 5+ years of production planning, scheduling, or manufacturing operations experience in a job-shop, make-to-order, or custom fabrication environment.• Experience in weld fabrication, pressure vessel manufacturing, industrial fabrication, or O&G production equipment manufacturing.• Demonstrated ability to own a production schedule across multiple facilities or production lines simultaneously.• Strong capacity forecasting and level-loading experience — you've balanced workload across workcenter constraints before.• Comfortable leading daily scheduling meetings with shop leadership and aligning cross-functional teams around a shared schedule.• Strong Excel and data skills; able to build and maintain scheduling views, capacity models, and reporting tools.• Clear, direct communication style — you can translate production complexity into plain language for Sales and leadership.Preferred• Experience with Smartsheet, ERP/MRP systems (NetSuite, Epicor, JobBOSS, SAP, or similar), or production scheduling software.• Familiarity with ASME pressure vessel fabrication stages, NDE scheduling, and QC inspection coordination.• Experience improving scheduling data discipline in an environment transitioning from informal to systematic production tracking.• Familiarity with S&OP, master scheduling, or formal production planning methodologies in a manufacturing context.• Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Operations Management, Industrial Technology, Manufacturing Engineering, or equivalent professional experience.What Success Looks LikeIn the first 90 days:• You know every active job across both main facilities — where it is, what's next, and what's at risk.• Sales has a reliable, data-based answer to 'what can we commit to and when?' instead of a judgment call.• You're leading a daily scheduling meeting that production leadership actually uses to make decisions.• You've identified the top three capacity constraints in the business and have a plan to address each one.At 6 months:• L&L has a functioning capacity forecasting model that reflects real workcenter constraints, real material lead times, and real shop performance data.• Level loading between Douglas and our Northern Colorado facility is happening systematically — not reactively when someone notices a problem.• Late-job exposure is identified weeks out, not days before the promised delivery.• The scheduling platform is trusted by operations, sales, and leadership as the single source of truth on where the business stands.Working Conditions & TravelThis position can be based in Douglas, WY or Northern Colorado, with regular travel between both fabrication facilities.Mileage reimbursement is provided per company policy. When on the shop floor, standard industrial PPE is required — hard hat, safety glasses, hearing protection, and steel-toed boots. This is primarily an office and coordination role, but regular shop presence is essential — you need to know how the floor actually runs to plan it effectively.Compensation & Benefits• Compensation: Competitive base salary commensurate with experience• Bonus: Annual bonus eligible based on company financial results and individual performance• Benefits: Health, dental, and vision insurance per company plan• Time Off: Paid time off per company policy• Mileage: Reimbursement for multi-site travelWhy this role matters: L&L has the customer relationships, the engineering capability, and the production capacity to grow significantly from here. What we don't have yet is the production planning infrastructure to systematically translate that capacity into reliable delivery commitments. This person builds that. The impact is immediate, the role is visible to leadership, and the opportunity to shape how the planning function works at a growing fabricator is real.L&L Fabrication is an ASME-certified pressure vessel and process equipment fabricator with facilities in Douglas, WY and Northern Colorado. We serve the Rocky Mountain oil and gas industry with pressure vessels, heater treaters, separators, and process skids built to ASME code. Our team includes engineers, certified welders, QC inspectors, and production professionals who take pride in building equipment that operators rely on.We're a relationship-driven company. Our customers come back because we build it right and deliver when we say we will. This role is about making sure that second part —