Senior Production Planner

Job Description

Job Description

About A&B Aerospace
A&B Aerospace is a precision manufacturing company serving the aerospace, defense, and commercial industries. We are committed to quality, precision, innovation, and customer satisfaction and to building a workplace grounded in integrity, respect, and accountability.

We are seeking an experienced Production Planner to support our precision machining and aerospace manufacturing operations in Santa Ana.

This is a hands-on planning role that works closely with Operations, Programming, Quality, Purchasing, Shipping/Receiving, and Production to ensure customer orders move efficiently from order entry through manufacturing and final shipment.

The ideal candidate understands the day-to-day realities of a CNC machining environment and can translate customer requirements into organized, executable production plans. This person will play an important role in improving scheduling, maintaining accurate routings and work orders, strengthening ERP utilization, identifying production constraints, and helping the team meet customer delivery commitments.

We are looking for someone who can bring structure and visibility to the production floor—not simply maintain a schedule.

Responsibilities

• Develop, maintain, and communicate production schedules based on customer requirements, material availability, machine capacity, labor availability, and production priorities.
• Review customer orders and requirements to ensure jobs are properly planned and released to production.
• Create, review, and maintain manufacturing routings and work-order operations to accurately reflect how parts move through production.
• Ensure work orders contain accurate information regarding operations, materials, quantities, outside processing, and production requirements.
• Utilize JobBOSS or a comparable manufacturing ERP system to manage work orders, routings, schedules, inventory requirements, job status, and production priorities.
• Track jobs from order entry through programming, setup, machining, inspection/first article, outside processing, final inspection, and shipment.
• Partner with CNC programmers, machinists, supervisors, and operations leadership to ensure jobs are properly prepared and ready for production.
• Coordinate with Quality to identify inspection and first-article requirements that may impact production schedules.
• Work closely with Purchasing to identify material shortages, tooling needs, outside processing requirements, and other potential production constraints.
• Monitor open work orders and proactively identify jobs that are behind schedule or at risk of missing customer delivery dates.
• Establish clear daily and weekly production priorities and communicate changes to appropriate departments.
• Evaluate machine capacity, labor availability, setup requirements, and competing production demands when developing schedules.
• Help identify and resolve bottlenecks involving programming, materials, machining, inspection, outside processing, or shipping.
• Maintain accurate ERP data so production status and priorities are visible to Operations and leadership.
• Support improvements to planning, scheduling, routings, work-order management, inventory accuracy, and overall ERP utilization.
• Assist with establishing standardized production planning processes and procedures.
• Track production performance and support initiatives to improve on-time delivery, lead times, throughput, and overall production flow.
• Provide Operations leadership with clear visibility into production status, upcoming requirements, constraints, and delivery risks.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of production planning, scheduling, manufacturing coordination, or related experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience in CNC machining, precision manufacturing, aerospace manufacturing, or another discrete manufacturing environment strongly preferred.
• Strong understanding of the manufacturing process, including order entry, routings, work orders, programming, machining, inspection, outside processing, inventory, and shipping.
• Hands-on experience using a manufacturing ERP/MRP system for production planning and work-order management.
• Experience creating, reviewing, or maintaining manufacturing routings strongly preferred.
• Understanding of Bills of Material (BOMs), inventory control, material requirements, capacity planning, and production scheduling.
• Ability to read and understand manufacturing documentation and production requirements.
• Strong organizational and problem-solving skills with the ability to manage changing priorities in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• Strong Microsoft Excel skills.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to work directly with Production, Quality, Programming, Purchasing, Shipping, and Operations leadership.

Preferred Experience

• Experience with JobBOSS or a similar manufacturing ERP system .
• Aerospace or defense manufacturing experience.
• Experience supporting CNC milling, turning, Swiss machining, or multi-axis machining operations.
• Familiarity with manufacturing routings and estimating production sequences.
• Experience coordinating first articles and inspection requirements within a production schedule.
• Experience managing outside processing and supplier lead times.
• Knowledge of MRP and capacity planning.
• Familiarity with AS9100 manufacturing environments.
• Experience improving or standardizing production planning and ERP processes.
• Experience supporting multiple departments, facilities, or manufacturing business units.

What We're Looking For

We are looking for someone who understands that production planning is more than creating a schedule. The right person will take ownership of understanding what needs to run, when it needs to run, what is preventing it from running, and what needs to happen next to keep the job moving.

This person should be comfortable working directly with the production floor, programmers, machinists, Quality, Purchasing, Shipping, and Operations leadership. They should be able to identify missing information, incorrect routings, material shortages, capacity constraints, inspection requirements, and other issues before they become delivery problems.

The successful candidate will help bring greater structure, visibility, and accountability to our production planning process while ensuring our ERP system accurately reflects what is happening on the manufacturing floor.

If you enjoy solving production challenges, coordinating across departments, and helping a precision manufacturing operation improve its performance, we'd like to hear from you.

Work Environment

This is a full-time, on-site position in a practical, fast paced aerospace manufacturing environment.

This position works in a combination of office and manufacturing-floor environments. The Production Planner will spend time working at a computer utilizing ERP/MRP systems, production schedules, work orders, and other planning tools, while also regularly working on the production floor to coordinate with machinists, programmers, Quality, supervisors, and Operations.

The role requires regular interaction with an active CNC machining environment and the ability to move between office and production areas throughout the workday.

The work environment may include exposure to manufacturing equipment, machinery, noise, moving materials, and other conditions typical of an aerospace production facility.

Equal Employment Opportunity
A&B Aerospace is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, experience, merit, and business needs and are made without discrimination based on any characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. A&B Aerospace provides reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants and employees with disabilities and for sincerely held religious beliefs and practices, as required by law.

Applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation during the application or hiring process may contact A&B Aerospace for assistance.