Planning Team Lead

Unigen Corporation; Newark (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Unigen Corporation in Newark, CA is seeking a Planning Team Leader to lead a team of Planners responsible for MRP, production scheduling, and material flow. This role blends hands-on planning with day-to-day leadership, mentoring staff, resolving escalations, and driving process improvements to meet OTD, inventory, and customer commitments.

Located at the Unigen Headquarters in Newark, CA, this position reports to the Planning Manager and requires strong cross-functional collaboration and a

Qualifications

• BS/BA degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, or Industrial Engineering.
• 9+ years in material planning and production scheduling in CM/EMS environments.
• 2+ years in a lead, supervisory, or senior planner role.
• Ability to lead, mentor, and resolve escalated issues.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead, supervise, or direct and mentor a team of Planners, assign priorities, and provide on-the-job guidance.
• Oversee Material Requirements Planning (MRP) across the team ensuring data integrity.
• Direct loading and creation of demand into ERP and review output for accuracy.
• Align and allocate materials to meet demand across accounts.
• Oversee Master Production Scheduling (MPS) from Demand to Ship to meet OTD goals.
• Guide the team in performing what-if analysis for demand loading and scenario planning.
• Coordinate material movement through production and monitor progress against schedule.
• Serve as escalation point for material constraints; partner with PM, SCM, Buyers.
• Resolve WO/SO issues and aging to meet MRP notification standards.
• Analyze demand schedule, material data, and inventory status for Planning Manager.
• Monitor inventory levels to align with inventory turns goals.
• Drive cost reductions through optimized production flow and inventory utilization.
• Track planner performance metrics and lead corrective actions.
• Identify and implement planning process improvements and best practices.
• Conduct performance reviews and staff development planning.

Skills

Team leadership

Material planning

Production scheduling

MRP

ERP systems

Data analysis

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, or Industrial Engineering

Tools

ERP systems

MRP

MS Excel

Job description

The Planning Team Leader leads and supervises or directs a team of Planners responsible for material requirements planning, production scheduling, and coordination of material flow through the production cycle. This role combines hands‑on planning responsibilities with day‑to‑day team leadership — assigning or directing workload, mentoring staff, resolving escalations, and driving process improvements — to ensure the team meets on‑time delivery (OTD), inventory, and customer commitments. Reports to Planning Manager. Located at the Unigen Headquarters in Newark, CA.

Job Title: Planning Team Leader

Department: Planning

Reports to: Planning Manager

Job Overview

The Planning Team Leader leads and supervises or directs a team of Planners responsible for material requirements planning, production scheduling, and coordination of material flow through the production cycle. This role combines hands‑on planning responsibilities with day‑to‑day team leadership — assigning or directing workload, mentoring staff, resolving escalations, and driving process improvements — to ensure the team meets on‑time delivery (OTD), inventory, and customer commitments. Reports to Planning Manager. Located at the Unigen Headquarters in Newark, CA.

Job Responsibilities and Duties

• Lead, supervise or direct, and mentor a team of Planners, including assigning daily priorities, balancing workload, and providing on‑the‑job training and guidance.
• Oversee and manage Project Material Requirements Planning (MRP) across the team, ensuring consistent methodology and data integrity.
• Direct the loading and creation of all demand into ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and review team output for accuracy.
• Align, prioritize, and allocate materials to meet actual demand (customer build plan/forecast (FCST), Sales Order (SO), and Plan Order) across the team's accounts.
• Oversee Project Master Production Scheduling (MPS) from Demand to Ship for the team; ensure work orders are maintained and planned to meet OTD objectives.
• Guide the team in performing material What-if-Analysis (WIA) for demand loading and scenario planning.
• Coordinate the efficient movement of material through the production cycle and monitor progress of work against the production schedule.
• Serve as the escalation point for complex material constraints and manufacturing issues; partner with Program Manager (PM), Supply Chain Management (SCM), and Buyers to resolve them.
• Oversee resolution of material issues for work orders (WO), Rework WO, pilot build, or qualification build; ensure WO and SO aging is maintained to meet MRP notification standards.
• Analyze and communicate demand schedule, material data, and inventory status to Planning Manager and cross‑functional stakeholders.
• Monitor team‑wide inventory levels to ensure alignment with Unigen's inventory turns goals.
• Drive cost reductions through optimized production flow, resource utilization, and inventory utilization across the team.
• Track and report planner performance metrics (OTD, inventory turns, schedule adherence) and lead corrective actions where needed.
• Identify and implement process improvements and standardized best practices across the planning function.
• Conduct or contribute to performance reviews, onboarding, and skill development planning for planning staff.

Other tasks and responsibilities related to Purchasing and Warehouse/Logistics functions as assigned.

Job Requirements and Qualifications

• BS/BA degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, or Industrial Engineering field.
• Minimum 9 years of work experience in material planning and production scheduling in a fast‑paced environment such as Contract Manufacturing (CM) or Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS), including at least 2 years in a lead, supervisory, or senior planner capacity.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, mentor, and develop a team, including delegating work and resolving escalated issues.
• Be able to work and coordinate with different departments and functional teams, representing the planning team, to achieve the customer's required date.
• Have in‑depth understanding of how backend operations work, from sourcing, purchasing, tracking PO, receiving, IQC, warehousing, kitting, SMT, and system integration to close the cycle of work order completion.
• Be able to plan and schedule based on materials availability, work with MPS to schedule work orders, and guide team members in doing the same.
• Strong communication and organizational skills, with the ability to report performance metrics and drive process improvement initiatives.