Sr. Planning Engineer - Melrose Park, IL

Interlake Mecalux, Inc.; Melrose Park (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation with uncapped

Excellent medical insurance

401(k) plan with company match

Generous PTO and holidays

Job summary

Interlake Mecalux, Inc. in Melrose Park, IL is seeking a Sr. Planning Engineer to lead production planning activities ensuring efficient flow of materials and work across manufacturing and distribution operations.

Reporting to the General Manager, this role supports production and logistics planning across all U.S. plants and distribution centers, collaborating with Production, Sales, Shipping, Engineering, and Management to optimize schedules and achieve on-time delivery.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering required.
• 5–10 years of experience in a similar role or related experience.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to work with cross-functional teams.
• Must be organized, methodical and capable of rapid learning and adapting to change.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and expedite the flow of work and materials according to the master schedule.
• Schedule, review, follow, and control production plans according to material inventory and customer orders in SAP, conferring with production management in US and Mexico plants and distribution centers.
• Participate in the daily Plant Management meeting, conferring with department supervisors to determine progress and completion dates to plan work.
• Ensure daily manufacturing and shipping goals are met while helping reduce scrap across plants.
• Analyze delays or interruptions and adjust production schedules to meet deadlines; communicate with sales on delays affecting lead times.
• Communicate among departments like sales, shipping, plants, engineering, and management to update goals and report metrics daily.
• Work to reduce obsolete inventory and perform other duties as needed.

Skills

Production planning

Cross-functional collaboration

Analytical thinking

Leadership

Bilingual English/Spanish

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Master's degree preferred

Tools

SAP

Job description

We are seeking a Sr. Planning Engineer to lead production planning activities to ensure the efficient flow of materials and work across manufacturing and distribution operations. Based at our Melrose Park, IL corporate headquarters and reporting to the General Manager, this role serves as a senior planning leader supporting production and logistics planning across all U.S. manufacturing plants and distribution centers. Working alongside a team of approximately five planning professionals, the Sr. Planning Engineer collaborates closely with Production, Sales, Shipping, Engineering, and Management to optimize schedules, meet customer demand, improve operational performance, and achieve on-time delivery objectives.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and expedite the flow of work and materials according to the master schedule
• Schedule, review, follow, and control production plans according to material inventory and customer orders in SAP, conferring heavily with production management in US and Mexico plants and distribution centers.
• Participate in the daily Plant Management meeting, conferring with department supervisors to determine progress of work and completion dates in order to plan work.
• Ensure that the designated manufacturing and shipping daily goals are met while contributing to the efforts in the plants to reduce scrap.
• Analyze delays or interruptions and adjust production schedule accordingly to meet deadlines. Recommend methods for improving utilization of material, and utilities to reduce downtime and increase productivity. Communicate heavily with sales on delays that may affect lead times.
• Communicate among departments like sales, shipping, plants, engineering, and Management in Barcelona to update goals and report on tons manufactured and shipped on a daily basis.
• Work to reduce obsolete inventory and other duties as needed.

Bachelor's Degree in Engineering with a Master's Degree preferred.

5 - 10 years experience in a similar position or otherwise related experience.

Personality: Candidates must have integrity, be highly analytical, and have a strong desire to be deeply involved in the business. Candidates must be organized and methodical in their work, with the ability to learn quickly and adapt easily to change. Candidates must be able to persevere through difficult work challenges with the highest degree of dedication. Candidates must have strong interpersonal skills with the confidence to interact and communicate effectively with personnel from all levels of the organization.

Ability and desire to work on-site at our Melrose Park, IL headquarters

Ability to travel 10% - 20% of the time to our other U.S. facilities (mainly Pontiac, IL and Sumter, SC)

Fluency in English and Spanish is preferred.

Interlake Mecalux offers:

Competitive compensation with uncapped annual commissions.

Become part of an industry leading dynamic team with a high focus on customer satisfaction, delivering results and continuous improvement.

Excellent medical insurance plans, along with dental and vision benefits.

401(k) plan with a generous company match.

Generous Paid Time Off and Paid Holidays.

Working out of home office with all business expenses paid when working as a Sales Representative.