Operations Planning Specialist

Spectrum Killian; Santa Ana (CA); On-site; USD 62,000 - 83,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Inclusive environment

Career growth

401(k) plan

Job summary

Spectrum Killian (SKDLA) is seeking an Operations Planning Specialist to own daily production planning across the lab floor, coordinating with the BU Director and cross-functional teams. This hands-on role drives on-time delivery by balancing load, monitoring aging work, and ensuring visibility into every case.

The ideal candidate is highly organized, analytical, and proficient in Excel (pivot tables, lookups, reporting).

Qualifications

• 2+ years in production coordination, scheduling, dispatch, or production control in a manufacturing or lab setting.
• Strong Excel skills with pivot tables, lookups, filtering, and reporting.
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent cases and priorities under pressure.

Responsibilities

• Plan daily/weekly production, balance load across stations and shifts.
• Track aging, due dates, and identify risks to delivery.
• Coordinate rush/remake/test cases with cross-functional teams.
• Maintain real-time visibility of all open cases and report KPIs.

Skills

Excel pivot tables

Data analysis

Organization

Communication

Education

High school diploma

Associate's degree

Tools

Smartsheet

Power Query

Job description

Spectrum Killian (SKDLA) is a nationally recognized leader in restorative dentistry, passionate about helping people smile with confidence. We partner with dental professionals across the country to deliver world-class restorations, advanced dental equipment, and trusted services that make a difference for patients every day.

At SKDLA, we combine craftsmanship, cutting-edge technology, and a deep commitment to quality to create beautiful, lasting results. Our operations are centered around two advanced Centers of Excellence located in Orange County and Los Angeles, where our skilled technicians innovate, mentor one another, and consistently deliver outstanding results.

Overview:

The Operations Planning Specialist is a temporary to permanent position serving as the right hand to the Business Unit Director and the single point of control for workflow across the production floor. This hands on, high tempo role owns the daily production plan, determining what runs, in what order, on which station, and by when, while maintaining clear visibility into the status and location of every case. Working from live dashboards and lab system data rather than a traditional MRP engine, the Operations Planning Specialist is expected to both execute and continuously improve the planning process, with success measured by On Time Delivery (OTD), Turnaround Time (TAT), and the ability to anticipate and prevent disruptions.

The ideal candidate is a highly organized, analytical coordinator or production professional who thrives in a fast-moving environment. They can manage dozens of concurrent cases, competing priorities, escalations, and rush requests without sacrificing accuracy or follow through. They are cool under pressure, proactive in identifying constraints, comfortable challenging priorities when supported by data, and confident escalating risks before they become problems. This person should also be comfortable building and optimizing processes, trusted by the production floor, and highly proficient in Excel, including pivot tables, lookups, filtering, and creating their own trackers and reporting tools.

What You’ll Be Responsible For:

Daily Production Planning & Load Balancing

• Review backlog and output by bucket, address aging and late cases, proactively identify cases at risk of missing their due date, and coordinate the handling and tracking of special cases.
• Build and publish the daily and weekly production plan, sequencing work by due date, stage, and available capacity.
• Balance load across stations, shifts, and locations, identifying where the plan will not fit before the shift starts.
• Level demand against known constraints, including technician availability, mill and printer capacity, and outsource partner lead times, and present options to the BU Director when the plan is short.
• Release work to the floor in a controlled sequence, holding back work that would create queue or churn.
• Confirm the plan at the start of each day in the huddle and reconcile actual output against plan at the end of the day.
• Maintain real-time visibility on every open case, including stage, owner, age, due date, and hold reason.
• Monitor aging and at-risk orders daily using the lab’s dashboards and reporting tools, escalating before a case is late.
• Own the escalation process by identifying blockers, driving follow-up to closure, and confirming the case moved.
• Chase and clear holds, including doctor approvals, missing RX information, incoming impressions or scans, model or component shortages, working directly with Customer Service, Clinical, and BU technical leads.
• Provide clear, current status to BU leadership, Customer Service, and Sales on request without needing to dig for it.

Specialty, Rush, Remake, Sample & Test Case Management

• Own the intake, sequencing, and expediting of rush and special-handling cases, integrating them into the plan without disrupting standard work already in queue.
• Track remakes end to end, including flagging, prioritizing, routing, confirming turnaround, and maintaining records for quality and root-cause review.
• Coordinate sample runs, test cases, and new product trials with Engineering, Quality, and the BU Director, including outsourced work sent to finishing partners.
• Build and maintain recovery plans for cases or batches that have fallen off schedule, including catch-up sequencing and communication back to the customer-facing team.

Capacity Data & Rate Maintenance

• Maintain standard production rates, run times, and stage-level capacity assumptions, reviewing and updating them on a defined cadence.
• Analyze capacity versus demand by stage and value stream, surfacing structural constraints and bottlenecks with data.
• Support headcount, overtime, and outsourcing recommendations with capacity analysis for the BU Director.
• Track WIP levels and days of supply by stage, flagging build-up before it becomes a delivery problem.
• Use the lab management system and internal ClearPath OS dashboards daily as the primary planning and monitoring tools.
• Build and maintain working trackers, boards, and reports in Excel and internal web apps to close gaps the lab system does not cover.
• Report daily and weekly on OTD, TAT, past-due backlog, hot cases, and plan attainment, explaining misses in plain language with corrective actions attached.
• Partner with the analytics team to define planning views, test new dashboard modules, and flag data quality issues that could mislead the floor.

Process Development & Standard Work

• Help define, document, and continuously improve how the business unit plans, executes, troubleshoots, and manages workflow, helping build the planning function rather than simply operating an existing one.
• Write and maintain standard work for planning, escalation, rush intake, and daily status control so processes survive absence, growth, and turnover.
• Support adoption of the same planning methods across other business units so planning is consistent throughout the company.
• Provide day-to-day direction to a Production Runner, where assigned, for case movement, staging, and physical status verification.
• Partner closely with value stream managers, technical leads, Customer Service, Shipping, and Quality, working through influence and reliability rather than authority.
• Support the daily tier huddle with accurate data and clear priorities.
• Maintain planning practices consistent with the lab's ISO 13485 / FDA quality system requirements, including traceability and record accuracy.

Who We’re Looking For

• 2+ years in production coordination, scheduling, dispatch, production control, or a senior production clerk role in a manufacturing, laboratory, medical device, or high-volume service operation.
• Demonstrated ability to track and manage a high volume of concurrent jobs, orders, or cases without losing items.
• Strong Excel skills — sorting, filtering, lookups, and pivot tables used regularly in a working role, not just listed on a resume — plus the ability to learn new web-based systems and dashboards quickly and independently.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving ability; comfortable working from data to identify constraints and recommend a course of action.
• Exceptional organization and follow-through — the person others rely on because nothing gets dropped.
• Willingness to speak up: escalates early and respectfully challenges priorities or assumptions when the data supports it, in a collaborative and professional manner.
• Experience improving or creating a process, not only executing an existing one.
• Composure under pressure; able to reprioritize repeatedly through the day without losing accuracy or tone.
• Strong team orientation — this role has influence, not command, and depends on relationships across the floor.
• High school diploma or equivalent

Preferred

• Experience in a dental laboratory, medical device, or other regulated (ISO 13485 / FDA) production environment.
• Exposure to lean, theory of constraints, or visual management concepts.
• Comfort building trackers or light tooling (advanced Excel, Power Query, Smartsheet, or similar).
• Experience helping design or roll out a new process rather than inheriting a finished one.
• Associate's degree or coursework in operations, supply chain, business, or a technical field.

Why SKDLA?

• Inclusive Environment: We value diversity and are committed to creating a welcoming workplace for individuals of all backgrounds.
• Career Growth: Spectrum Killian is growing rapidly, offering new opportunities to advance within the company and promoting internal mobility.
• Compensation and Benefits: We provide competitive pay and upon conversion to full-time status, employees are eligible to enroll in comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance plans.
• 401K: Full-time employees are also eligible to participate in the company’s 401(k) plan with an employer match.

Spectrum Killian Dental Lab Alliance is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.

The anticipated hourly pay range for this role is $30-$40. Final compensation will be individually assessed and may differ based on a variety of factors such as your experience, qualifications, education, skill set, certifications, and other relevant considerations.