Senior Aerospace Production Planner & Control

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Pasadena (CA); On-site; USD 101,000 - 119,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Wellbeing programs

Paid time off

Retirement plans

Learning & development

Flexible schedule

Job summary

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena seeks a Production Planning & Control professional to optimize manufacturing flows, manage work orders, and ensure on-time, within-budget delivery of flight and ground hardware.

You will apply industrial engineering and Lean methods across engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, quality, and finance, coordinating with project teams to translate drawings into manufacturable plans and monitor KPIs and risk mitigation.

Qualifications

• Typically requires a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related field with 6 years of related experience (or master’s with 4 years).
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes, production planning, capacity analysis, MRP/ERP systems, inventory management, and material flow.
• Ability to read and interpret engineering and manufacturing drawings.
• Strong analytical, statistical, and problem‑solving skills; proficient.

Responsibilities

• Manage MRP‑driven supply, demand, and fulfillment planning; release work orders, requisitions, kits, and maintain accurate part master data and configuration.
• Coordinate with engineering and project teams to review drawings, translate requirements into manufacturable plans, and support IBAT/ manufacturing issue resolution.
• Review and level‑load production schedules to optimize resources, capacity, and throughput; assess manufacturing capabilities to meet project requirements cost‑effectively.
• Monitor material availability, resolve shortages, identify alternate sourcing, expedite subassemblies, and ensure components are available at point‑of‑use.
• Analyze MRP/ERP output, troubleshoot exceptions, adjust lead times, and ensure valid order policies, safety stocks, and build readiness.
• Provide material status, factory priorities, WIP visibility, KPIs, and corrective action plans; identify risks to build schedules and develop mitigation strategies.
• Optimize production workflows, reduce waste, shorten cycle times, improve productivity, and remove bottlenecks using industrial‑engineering methods.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives across operations using Lean, Six Sigma, VSM, RCA, and data‑driven analysis.
• Collaborate across engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, quality, finance, logistics, and project management teams to maintain material flow, resolve issues, and align priorities.
• Contribute to capacity planning, manpower planning, change management, configuration control, and operational improvement projects requiring strong analytical and cross‑functional leadership.

Skills

Manufacturing processes

Production planning

Capacity analysis

MRP/ERP systems

Inventory management

Material flow

Reading drawings

Analytical skills

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering

Bachelor's degree in Manufacturing Engineering

Bachelor's degree in Systems Engineering

Master's degree (related field)

Tools

Oracle MRP

SQL

Python

R

PowerBI

MS Project

Advanced data analysis tools

Job description

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena seeks a Production Planning & Control professional to optimize manufacturing flows, manage work orders, and ensure on-time, within-budget delivery of flight and ground hardware.

You will apply industrial engineering and Lean methods across engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, quality, and finance, coordinating with project teams to translate drawings into manufacturable plans and monitor KPIs and risk mitigation.