Manufacturing Planner

Job Description

Job Description

Production Planner – Production Control

Department: Manufacturing / Production Control

FLSA Classification: Exempt

Employment Type: Full-Time

Work Location: Onsite

Travel Required: None

About Us

Velocity transforms authentic American classic vehicles from the ground up for modern driving. Our Re-Engineered Classics™ combine proven engineering, meticulous craftsmanship, and personalized design to preserve the original character while delivering modern performance, comfort, and reliability.

Creating a Velocity vehicle requires precision and collaboration across every stage from initial design and engineering through production, testing, delivery, and long-term customer support. Our team works to exacting standards to create exceptional vehicles and an elevated ownership experience for discerning clients. Together, we are setting a new standard for iconic American vehicles and building a company defined by quality, innovation, and passion.

Velocity’s Culture and Core Values

Success at Velocity requires a “whatever it takes” mentality. We embody grit, demonstrating perseverance, resilience, and unwavering determination in the face of challenges. We are adaptable, embracing change, adjusting to new circumstances, and continuously seeking ways to improve processes and outcomes—because growth does not come from comfort.

We take ownership, assuming full responsibility for tasks, decisions, and outcomes, whether successes or setbacks, without shifting blame. “That’s not my job” is not in our vocabulary; when one part of our team falls short, we all do.

Finally, our ambition fuels our drive to excel, improve, and uphold the highest standards for both personal and professional growth. This mindset defines who we are and ensures our continued success.

Overview

The Production Planner builds and owns the executable annual, rolling, and weekly production schedules for every Velocity vehicle by build number and station. This role translates the approved production plan into realistic labor and equipment loading, material readiness, and manufacturing orders (MOs), including separate build-to-stock MOs for internally fabricated, machined, assembled, and finished components.

This is a dedicated planning and production control role — not a BOM specialist, buyer, shop supervisor, or all-purpose expediter. The Planner works closely with Engineering/Process, BOM specialists, Procurement, Warehouse & Inventory, Quality, Finance, and Sales to keep the schedule realistic and visible.

Job Level

Individual Contributor

Reports To

Director of Production

Direct Reports

None

First 90 Days

Days 1–30: Audit schedule, station routing/standard-hour data, staffing assumptions and open MOs; map current internal-order workflow; present baseline and first weekly capacity dashboard.

Days 31–60: Publish rolling master schedule and controlled frozen weekly schedule; implement build-to-stock internal MOs and electronic ownership/date tracking; start daily readiness and weekly variance reviews.

Days 61–90: Demonstrate accurate weekly manpower loading and station variance reporting; reliable internal MO completion/receipts ; SOP and backup coverage; corrective actions for top planning/root-cause misses.

Duties and Responsibilities

Master Schedule & Station Capacity

• Build and maintain a 12-month rolling schedule by build number, model, approved options, major milestones, required finish date, and station flow; coordinate changes with Sales and leadership.
• Maintain an 8–12-week finite-capacity lookahead and a controlled 1–2-week execution schedule by vehicle and station; publish a weekly frozen plan with change-approval rules.
• Use approved routings and standard labor hours, plus productive staffing availability, skill constraints, absenteeism, WIP, tooling, equipment, and outside processing, to identify over- and under-loading.
• Show required versus available productive hours by station and week; flag bottlenecks and recommend sequencing, overtime, or staffing changes for leadership decision.
• Walk the floor daily to reconcile reported versus actual vehicle status and escalate gaps early.

Manufacturing Orders & Internally Processed Inventory

• Create, sequence, release, monitor, and close vehicle MOs and their station operations from the frozen, approved base and option configuration.
• Create separate, demand-driven build-to-stock and build-to-order MOs for parts requiring internal machining, fabrication, powder coating, subassembly, or other processing before receipt into inventory.
• Define for each internal MO the finished part/revision, quantity, input materials, routing and operation owner, specification, required date, planned labor, quality acceptance, and inventory receiving transaction.
• Publish the internal MO queue in Velocity View or the approved system with electronic request, department acceptance, committed delivery date, actual completion, and escalation.
• Coordinate with Supply on raw-material readiness and outside operations; make at-risk completed-component dates visible on the shortage report.
• Ensure the executing department records material and labor consumption, Quality accepts where required, Warehouse receives completed stocked parts, and Finance reconciles discrepancies.

Release Readiness, Execution Control & Closeout

• Run the release readiness review using Engineering-approved BOMs, released options, work instructions, kits, internal MO availability, and labor capacity.
• Maintain an integrated station-impact view of shortages, pre-shorts, and internal MO delays, and propose schedule recovery; escalate unresolved constraints before releasing work to a station.
• Track scheduled versus actual station start/finish, WIP age, bottlenecks, MO timeliness, and open internal orders; communicate changes to functional owners.
• Coordinate rework MOs from documented Quality dispositions so material and labor are visible.
• Coordinate accurate MO closure, as-built status, labor/material variance, and monthly WIP review with Production and Finance.
• Document scheduling SOPs, train backup coverage, build repeatable dashboard reporting, and identify systemic planning errors and process improvements.

Scope & Decision Rights

• Owns the executable master and weekly schedule, capacity calculations, creation and status of vehicle and internal MOs, release readiness coordination, and transaction timeliness.
• Recommends schedule and capacity adjustments; does not authorize nonstandard product changes, off-BOM items, engineering changes, customer options, unapproved spending, new headcount, or shipment release.
• Routes product and option changes to Engineering/Sales for approval and updates open orders only after release; significant customer promise-date changes require leadership/Sales approval.
• Production retains ownership of people deployment and work completion; Engineering, Procurement, Warehouse & Inventory, and Quality retain ownership of their functions. The Planner owns visibility of schedule impact and proposed recovery.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Station schedule adherence: Operations completed by planned finish date, with reasons for misses shown.
• Plan / capacity accuracy: Variance between loaded standard hours and realistic available productive hours by station.
• MO readiness at release: Share of scheduled orders with validated released BOM, materials, processing, and capacity; exceptions visible.
• Internal MO on-time receipt: Completed stocked parts received into inventory by their required dates, separating controllable planning versus execution causes.
• MO accuracy and closeout: Correct configuration, quantity, and routing, with timely closure and WIP reconciliation.

Required Skills and Abilities

• Proven ability to build a scheduling process where one did not previously operate reliably.
• Strong station-level capacity analysis and constraint management.
• Experience issuing and closing manufacturing orders, multilevel BOMs, routings, build-to-stock component orders, and outside processing in an ERP/MRP system (Fishbowl, NetSuite, or comparable).
• Advanced Excel and credible reporting/BI skills; comfort with data quality, dashboards, and thoughtful automation or AI-assisted analysis.
• Strong shop-floor communication, cross-functional follow-through, operational judgment, and escalation discipline.
• Ability to influence without owning all executing departments.

Education Background and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Operations, Supply Chain, Industrial Engineering, Business, or a related field preferred; equivalent experience considered.
• 5+ years of hands-on production planning, master scheduling, or production control in high-mix, low-volume assembly, fabricated equipment, specialty automotive, marine, aerospace, or a similar environment.
• APICS/ASCM certification (CPIM or CSCP) a plus.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & General Responsibilities

Achieving excellence at Velocity requires total alignment across every department, driven by our belief that when one part of our team falls short, we all do. To uphold this standard, team members are expected to adapt quickly, step beyond standard role boundaries, and contribute to company-wide priorities whenever organizational demands arise.

Every individual must maintain a continuous improvement mindset and exhibit unwavering accountability in supporting shop operations. While this document outlines core functional expectations, it does not detail every task required; assigned tasks will remain aligned with personal capabilities, safety standards, and operational objectives.

Physical Demands (To include but not limited to)

• Combination of desk work and time spent on the showroom or shop floor.
• Frequent standing and walking; occasional bending, reaching, or stooping.
• Occasional lifting/carrying of items up to 25 lbs.
• Ability to move safely around vehicles, equipment, and shop areas.

Work Environment

• Combination of indoor office environment and daily time on the production floor.
• Shop floor environment with exposure to noise, dust, vehicle exhaust, and temperature variation; PPE provided as required.

Benefits Include

• Compensation: Pay is based on experience and qualifications.
• Health & Wellness: Health/Dental/Vision/Life/Disability/Aflac available after 60 days.
• Retirement: 401(k) with company match after 6 months at next enrollment period.
• Paid Time Off: Paid time off and paid holidays.
• Additional Perks: Company-sponsored events, tool program, merchandise discounts, friendly team environment.