Senior Planning Manager - Aerospace & Defense Scheduling

Karman; Gulfport (MS); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental and vision insurance

401(k) with company match

Paid time off

HSA with company contribution

FSA

Company-paid life and AD&D insurance

Short- and long-term disability

Job summary

Karman Space & Defense is seeking a Planning Manager in Gulfport, MS to lead program scheduling, production planning, and capacity planning for advanced composite manufacturing programs. You will drive staffing, standardize planning processes, and coordinate across engineering, procurement, and operations to ensure on-time delivery.

The role requires expertise in Microsoft Project, ERP data interpretation, and cross-functional collaboration to optimize schedules and resource use while

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Project and resource-loaded scheduling.
• Experience leading planning, scheduling, production planning, project controls, or related functions in a manufacturing environment.
• Knowledge of integrated master scheduling, critical path, dependencies, baselines, resource loading, capacity planning, and forecasting.
• Experience coordinating across program management, engineering, manufacturing, operations, and supply chain.
• Ability to interpret ERP labor, cost, material, work-order, and production data.
• Strong analytical, organizational, problem-solving, and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Leads the planning function, including program scheduling, production planning, materials planning, and capacity planning.
• Manages staffing, priorities, performance, and development of Planners and Program Schedulers.
• Establishes standardized planning processes, tools, templates, and data expectations that support operational decision‑making.
• Owns the integrated planning and scheduling process using Microsoft Project and Project Server, ensuring alignment across engineering, procurement, manufacturing, inspection, and delivery.
• Maintains integrated schedules with clear logic, baselines, resource loading, progress updates, critical-path visibility, and change control.
• Develops executable manufacturing plans for advanced composite processes, incorporating materials, tooling, specialized equipment, cure cycles, inspection, and customer requirements.
• Identifies bottlenecks and develops staffing, shift, overtime, equipment‑utilization, and recovery strategies to protect delivery commitments.
• Leads production, capacity, and resource planning across functions, including labor forecasting, equipment loading, and scenario development.
• Integrates ERP, product data management (PDM), bills of material (BOMs), routings, material status, and shop‑floor data with enterprise scheduling tools to maintain a single source of truth.
• Communicates schedule, capacity, material, equipment, and manpower risks with clear data and actionable recommendations, supporting both internal and customer reviews.

Skills

Microsoft Project

Resource-loaded scheduling

Production planning

Integrated master schedule

Critical path

ERP data interpretation

Cross-functional coordination

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Deltek Costpoint

Microsoft Project Server

PDM/MRP platforms

Power BI

Job description

Karman Space & Defense is seeking a Planning Manager in Gulfport, MS to lead program scheduling, production planning, and capacity planning for advanced composite manufacturing programs. You will drive staffing, standardize planning processes, and coordinate across engineering, procurement, and operations to ensure on-time delivery.

The role requires expertise in Microsoft Project, ERP data interpretation, and cross-functional collaboration to optimize schedules and resource use while