Sr. Manager Production Planning & Materials

Lightera; Carrollton (GA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Lightera in Carrollton, GA is seeking a Senior Manager, Production Planning & Materials to lead the planning and materials function across a manufacturing operation. You will align demand, capacity, and inventory with factory execution, partnering with Operations, Procurement, Supply Chain, Engineering, and Quality teams.

Ideal candidates bring deep manufacturing planning experience, proficiency with ERP/MRP systems, and a track record of improving schedule performance and material availability.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations, Engineering, Business, Manufacturing or Logistics.
• 5–7+ years in production planning, materials management, or related function.
• Experience in manufacturing environments with ERP/MRP systems.
• Leadership experience managing planning, scheduling, or materials teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end production planning and materials management for the operation.
• Develop and govern production plans and master schedules balancing demand, capacity, and inventory.
• Own MPS, MRP, capacity planning, and short-/mid-range plans.
• Ensure raw materials and inputs are available for scheduled production.
• Identify and resolve shortages, constraints, and risks affecting commitments.
• Translate priorities into executable factory schedules and drive adherence.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Operational leadership

Analytical skills

Communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Decision making

Education

Bachelor's degree in SCM/Operations/Engineering

Tools

SAP

Oracle

JD Edwards

Infor

Plex

Microsoft Dynamics

Job description

#26-190

26-190

Job Description

The Senior Manager, Production Planning & Materials provides strategic and operational leadership for production planning, master scheduling, material requirements planning, inventory management, and manufacturing readiness within a complex manufacturing environment. The role connects customer demand, material availability, production capacity, and factory execution to ensure the organization can manufacture the right products, at the right time, with the right materials and resources.

This leader partners closely with Operations, Procurement, Supply Chain, Engineering, Quality, Logistics, Customer Service, and Commercial teams to identify constraints, resolve shortages, improve schedule performance, optimize inventory, and strengthen planning discipline. The successful candidate brings deep experience operating inside a manufacturing environment and understands how ERP/MRP systems, planning decisions, and material signals translate into day-to-day factory performance.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end production planning and materials management function for the assigned manufacturing operation, site, business unit, or network.
• Develop and govern production plans and master schedules that balance customer demand, plant capacity, labor, equipment, material availability, and inventory objectives.
• Own or oversee master production scheduling (MPS), material requirements planning (MRP), capacity planning, production scheduling, and short- and mid-range manufacturing plans.
• Ensure raw materials, components, and other production inputs are available to support scheduled manufacturing requirements.
• Identify and resolve material shortages, capacity constraints, schedule conflicts, and other risks that could disrupt production or customer commitments.
• Partner with Operations leadership to translate planning priorities into executable factory schedules and drive schedule adherence.
• Monitor inventory levels and develop strategies to improve inventory turns, reduce excess and obsolete inventory, and protect production continuity.
• Use ERP/MRP systems and planning data to improve material signals, production priorities, inventory accuracy, and decision quality.
• Lead cross-functional responses to changes in demand, supply disruptions, equipment constraints, material shortages, and customer priority shifts.
• Partner with Procurement and supplier‑facing teams to align material availability with production requirements and escalation needs.
• Participate in or lead elements of Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP), Integrated Business Planning (IBP), demand/supply alignment, or related planning processes.
• Build planning standards, operating rhythms, escalation processes, and performance management practices that improve manufacturing predictability.
• Lead, coach, and develop planners, schedulers, materials professionals, and/or production control team members.
• Drive continuous improvement across planning, materials flow, inventory, scheduling, and manufacturing execution processes.
• Develop and communicate actionable reporting on production status, material constraints, inventory exposure, service risk, and key planning metrics.
• Partner with business and plant leadership on strategic capacity, materials, and operational planning decisions.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations, Engineering, Business, Manufacturing, Logistics, or a related field; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
• 5-7+ years of progressive experience in production planning, production control, materials management, materials planning, manufacturing planning, supply planning, or a closely related function.
• Significant experience working directly within a manufacturing or factory environment.
• Demonstrated ownership of production planning and/or production scheduling within a complex manufacturing operation.
• Strong experience with material requirements planning (MRP), material availability, inventory planning, and production materials management.
• Experience using an enterprise ERP/MRP platform such as SAP, Oracle, JD Edwards, Infor, QAD, Epicor, Plex, Microsoft Dynamics, or a comparable manufacturing system.
• Experience working cross-functionally with Manufacturing/Operations, Procurement, Supply Chain, Engineering, Quality, Logistics, and other business stakeholders.
• Prior leadership experience managing or developing planning, scheduling, production control, materials, inventory, or related teams.
• Demonstrated ability to diagnose complex production or material constraints and drive cross-functional resolution.
• Strong analytical, communication, prioritization, and decision‑making skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with SAP in a manufacturing planning/materials environment.
• Experience in a complex, multi-stage, high-mix, engineered, process, discrete, or material-intensive manufacturing environment.
• Experience supporting multiple production lines, product families, plants, or global operations.
• Experience with S&OP, IBP, demand planning, supply planning, or integrated planning processes.
• APICS/ASCM certification such as CPIM or CSCP, Lean/Six Sigma certification, or related credentials.
• Experience with make‑to‑order, make‑to‑stock, configure‑to‑order, and/or engineer‑to‑order manufacturing models.
• Experience improving planning processes, ERP discipline, schedule attainment, inventory performance, or material availability.

Manufacturing Backgrounds Considered

• Fiber optics, wire and cable, electronics, electrical equipment, semiconductors, industrial equipment, machinery, automotive, aerospace, medical devices, chemicals, specialty materials, plastics, packaging, metals, building products, consumer products, food, pharmaceutical, paper/pulp, textiles, and other engineered or material-intensive manufacturing environments.

Factory & Operational Acumen

Understands how planning decisions affect machines, labor, throughput, inventory, cost, and customer service.

Creates executable plans and establishes clear operating rhythms, priorities, and escalation paths.

Balances availability, continuity of supply, inventory investment, and production requirements.

Systems Thinking

Connects ERP/MRP signals, demand, capacity, materials, and manufacturing execution.

Cross-Functional Influence

Builds alignment across functions and resolves issues without relying solely on authority.

Analytical Problem Solving

Uses data to identify root causes, evaluate tradeoffs, and make timely decisions.

Builds capable teams, raises planning maturity, and develops talent.

Improves processes, metrics, system discipline, and manufacturing predictability.

Measures of Success

• Material availability and shortage reduction
• Inventory turns and working capital performance
• Excess and obsolete inventory reduction
• Production lead time, backlog, and constraint management
• Capacity utilization and manufacturing plan stability
• Planning accuracy, ERP/MRP discipline, and data quality
• Team capability and cross-functional planning effectiveness

Candidate Profile

A strong candidate is a senior manufacturing planning and materials leader who has personally operated at the intersection of demand, production, materials, inventory, and factory execution. They can describe how they have built production plans, managed material constraints, used ERP/MRP systems, partnered with plant leadership, improved planning performance, and led teams through changing priorities. They are comfortable moving between strategic planning conversations and the operational realities of the factory floor.

Profiles That Are Less Aligned

• Pure procurement/sourcing leaders without production planning ownership.
• Corporate demand planners or S&OP professionals with limited factory execution experience.
• Logistics, transportation, or warehouse leaders without production/materials planning responsibility.
• ERP implementation consultants without direct manufacturing planning ownership.
• BOM, master data, configuration, or engineering change specialists whose experience does not include broader production planning/materials leadership.
• Production supervisors whose experience is primarily shop‑floor people leadership without materials, scheduling, or planning ownership.

Location(s)

1 Brightwave Blvd, Carrollton , Georgia 30117 , United States

Position Type

Full-time

Employee Class

Regular Employee

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