Production Planning Lead

Greenjets; Milton Keynes; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Greenjets, a UK-based propulsion company, is seeking a Production Planning Lead to bring structure, visibility and direction to manufactured plans in a fast-moving engineering environment.

You will own the overall production plan, translate changing demand into a clear schedule, and work with Production, Engineering, Procurement, Programmes and Commercial to prioritise and deliver. The role emphasises challenge, decision-making and collaboration.

Qualifications

• Strong experience in production planning, manufacturing planning or materials planning.
• Track record turning unclear or changing demand into workable plans.
• Ability to challenge requests and push for decisions.
• Turn competing demands into one clear, achievable plan.
• Knowledge of production processes, lead times and capacity.
• Experience using ERP, MRP or production planning systems.
• Strong spreadsheet and data-handling skills.

Responsibilities

• Own and maintain the overall production plan.
• Turn changing or incomplete demand into a clear, realistic schedule.
• Coordinate with Production, Engineering, Procurement, Programmes and Commercial.
• Challenge unclear requests and establish what is needed and when.
• Identify conflicts between priorities, materials, people, equipment and deadlines.
• Recommend which work should take priority when not everything can be delivered.
• Present options and trade-offs for business decisions.
• Bring teams together to agree priorities and record decisions.
• Ensure production teams understand the current plan and changes.
• Track progress and act early when delivery is at risk.
• Monitor capacity, lead times and materials availability.
• Support introduction of new products and changes to builds.
• Keep planning data accurate and useful.
• Improve planning systems and processes.

Skills

Production planning

Demand prioritisation

ERP / MRP experience

Data analysis

Strong influencing skills

Clear communication

Attention to detail

Tools

ERP/MRP systems

Job description

About Us:

Greenjets is an innovative engineering company developing high-performance propulsion systems for the aviation market. Our work spans research and development, engine production, aircraft systems, technical integration and flight testing. We are committed to delivering high-grade engineering and best-in-class propulsion for unmanned aircraft.

We do things differently. We move fast, we experiment and we adopt technologies that push beyond the current state of the art. Our aim is to go further, faster and more efficiently, while keeping costs competitive.

All our propulsion systems are designed, developed and manufactured in the UK. We focus on high-quality, reliable and cost-effective products supported by a robust, secure and ethical supply chain.

About the Job:

We are looking for a Production Planning Lead to bring structure, visibility and direction to our manufacturing plans.

This is a senior individual contributor role for someone who can turn changing and sometimes conflicting demand into clear priorities and a production plan the business can deliver.

Demand will come from customers, development programmes and different internal teams. It will not always be complete, consistent or clearly prioritised. You will need to understand what is being requested, challenge assumptions and bring the right people together to reach decisions.

You will not be expected to make major business decisions alone. You will be expected to make the choices and trade-offs clear, recommend a sensible way forward and ensure decisions are made by the right people.

This role needs someone who is comfortable navigating ambiguity, influencing across teams and creating order in a fast-moving engineering environment.

What You'll Do:

• Own and maintain the overall production plan.
• Turn changing or incomplete demand into a clear, realistic schedule.
• Work with Production, Engineering, Procurement, Programmes and Commercial to understand upcoming requirements.
• Challenge unclear requests and establish what is needed, why it is needed and when it is genuinely required.
• Identify conflicts between priorities, materials, people, equipment and deadlines.
• Recommend which work should take priority when everything cannot be delivered at once.
• Present clear options and trade-offs to the people responsible for making business decisions.
• Bring teams together to agree priorities and ensure those decisions are recorded.
• Make sure production teams understand the current plan and any changes to it.
• Track progress and act early when delivery is at risk.
• Monitor capacity, material availability, lead times and other constraints.
• Work with Procurement to ensure parts and materials are available when required.
• Support the introduction of new products and changes to existing builds.
• Keep planning data accurate and useful.
• Improve the systems and processes used to plan production.
• Help the business develop a more stable and predictable approach to demand and prioritisation.

Desirable Qualifications, Experience & Attributes:

You may come from aerospace, automotive, motorsport, advanced manufacturing or another complex engineering environment.

We are looking for someone with:

• Strong experience in production planning, manufacturing planning, materials planning or a similar role.
• A track record of creating workable plans when demand and priorities are unclear or frequently changing.
• The confidence to question requests, challenge assumptions and push for decisions.
• The ability to turn competing demands into one clear and achievable plan.
• Good knowledge of production processes, material planning, lead times and capacity.
• Experience using ERP, MRP or production planning systems.
• Strong spreadsheet and data-handling skills.
• A practical understanding of how engineering changes affect purchasing and production.
• The ability to identify the real issue behind conflicting requests.
• The judgement to know when to resolve an issue directly and when to raise it for a wider decision.
• The confidence to explain when a request is not achievable and suggest realistic alternatives.
• Strong influencing skills, particularly when working with people you do not manage.
• Clear communication and the ability to make complicated planning issues easy to understand.
• A calm, organised and persistent approach.
• Strong attention to detail without losing sight of wider business priorities.

Experience in a fast-growing business, low-volume manufacturing or a development-led production environment would be particularly useful.

Above all, we are looking for someone who can bring clarity when the answer is not obvious, help people make difficult choices and create a production plan the whole business can work towards.