Production Planner

Job Title: Production PlannerJob DescriptionThe Production Planner plays a key role in planning, scheduling, and releasing manufacturing work orders to meet customer demand, sales forecasts, and business priorities. This position ensures that materials, capacity, and resources are aligned to support on-time delivery while maintaining accurate production schedules in the ERP/MRP system. The role requires close collaboration with Production, Supply Chain, Quality, Engineering, Customer Service, and Sales to manage work-in-progress, resolve constraints, and support continuous improvement in an industrial manufacturing environment with strong exposure to aerospace and metals.

Responsibilities

• Plan, schedule, and release manufacturing work orders based on customer demand, sales forecasts, material availability, production capacity, and business priorities.
• Monitor and manage production work order status from release through completion, including movement of materials and work-in-progress throughout the production lifecycle.
• Coordinate with Production, Purchasing, Warehouse, Logistics, Quality, Engineering, Customer Service, and Sales to align schedules, priorities, materials, resources, and customer commitments.
• Track jobs through each stage of production to identify delays, bottlenecks, material shortages, quality holds, or other constraints that may impact on-time delivery.
• Update and maintain production schedules in the ERP/MRP system and communicate schedule changes, priority shifts, and recovery plans to appropriate stakeholders.
• Monitor inventory levels, safety stock, raw material availability, and component readiness to support production schedules and reduce shortages or downtime.
• Respond to changes in customer demand, expedited requests, late jobs, production constraints, material rejections, or quality issues by adjusting schedules and escalating concerns as needed.
• Collaborate with Quality and Engineering to support accurate bills of material, routings, documentation, travelers, certifications, and quality records aligned with job requirements.
• Understand and apply approved material substitutions when necessary to support production continuity and prevent avoidable downtime.
• Support daily production meetings by providing updates on key orders, schedule status, constraints, work-in-progress, late jobs, and delivery risks.
• Interface with Customer Service and Sales regarding order status, customer changes, expedited requests, and potential delivery impacts.
• Generate, maintain, and review reports and tracking tools related to on-time delivery, lead time, work-in-progress aging, schedule adherence, inventory discrepancies, and production flow.
• Assist with inventory audits, ERP data accuracy, work order integrity, and corrective actions related to inventory or scheduling discrepancies.
• Work closely with operations leadership, supply chain leadership, and other planners to align priorities, resource planning, and production execution.
• Participate in continuous improvement initiatives focused on throughput, visibility, data accuracy, cost reduction, lead-time improvement, schedule adherence, and production control processes.
• Serve as the voice of the customer within planning and production control activities to help ensure customer commitments are met.
• Plan production at the machine level, managing orders as they move through specific equipment and ensuring schedules are executed on the shop floor.
• Walk the manufacturing floor regularly after releasing schedules to perform check-ins, verify progress, and address any issues impacting production flow.

Essential Skills

• 13 years of experience in production planning, production control, scheduling, materials management, or a closely related role.
• Hands-on experience with production planning and scheduling in an industrial manufacturing environment.
• Experience working with ERP or MRP systems for planning, scheduling, and work order management (any ERP system is acceptable).
• Intermediate to advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including pivot tables, VLOOKUPs, and formulas.
• Ability to develop and manage build schedules to support customer demand and production capacity.
• Strong understanding of inventory, work-in-progress, and material flow in a manufacturing setting.
• Ability to track jobs through multiple stages of production and identify delays, bottlenecks, and constraints.
• Strong communication skills to coordinate effectively with Production, Supply Chain, Quality, Engineering, Customer Service, and Sales.
• Ability to respond quickly to changes in demand, expedited orders, and production issues by adjusting schedules and priorities.
• Attention to detail in maintaining accurate production schedules, bills of material, routings, and related documentation.
• High level of ownership and accountability for on-time delivery and schedule adherence.
• Comfort working in an industrial and metals-focused environment with regular interaction on the manufacturing floor.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• High school diploma required.
• Associates or bachelors degree is preferred.
• Experience in manufacturing environments that handle metals, such as machine shops or metals-focused production facilities.
• Experience in aerospace, defense, or semiconductor-related manufacturing is preferred.
• Familiarity with production planning, scheduling, and supply chain processes in a wire or metals manufacturing context is a plus.
• Experience generating and interpreting reports related to on-time delivery, lead times, work-in-progress aging, and inventory discrepancies.
• Exposure to continuous improvement initiatives focused on throughput, cost reduction, lead-time improvement, and production control.
• Ability to work effectively within a smaller, close-knit team environment.
• Comfort representing customer needs and priorities within planning and production control activities.

Work EnvironmentThis role is based 100% onsite at an industrial metals manufacturing facility that primarily produces wire and supports industries such as aerospace, defense (heavy fasteners), and semiconductor. The site operates with a smaller team of approximately 42 employees across two shifts, with about 28 people onsite at a time, fostering a collaborative and hands-on environment. The setting is a traditional industrial manufacturing floor where the Production Planner spends roughly 20% of their time on the shop floor, planning at the machine level and checking on orders in progress. Protective boots are required due to regular time spent in production areas. The typical work schedule runs from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The role reports directly to operations leadership and involves daily interaction with production teams, regular participation in production meetings, and routine floor walks after releasing schedules to ensure smooth execution and address issues promptly. The environment offers strong exposure to aerospace-adjacent manufacturing and growth opportunities within a company that has been in a sustained growth phase and continues to project significant expansion. Job Type & LocationThis is a Contract to Hire position based out of Santa Fe Springs, CA. Pay and BenefitsThe pay range for this position is $36.00 - $40.00/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) Job Type & LocationThis is a Contract to Hire position based out of Santa Fe Springs, CA. Application DeadlineThis position is anticipated to close on Nov 11, 2026. Workplace TypeThis is a fully onsite position in Santa Fe Springs,CA.

About Aston Carter

Aston Carter provides world-class corporate talent solutions to thousands of clients across the globe. Specialized in accounting, finance, human resources, talent acquisition, procurement, supply chain and select administrative professions, we extend the capabilities of industry-leading companies. We draw on our deep recruiting expertise and expansive network to meet the evolving needs of our clients and talent community with agility and excellence. With offices across the U.S., Canada, Asia Pacific and Europe, Aston Carter serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® Platinum Award 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 astoncarteraccommodation@astoncarter.com 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.