Strategic Production Planner

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.; Sugar Land (TX); On-site; USD 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation packages available within/9

Health and retirement plans

Generous PTO

401(k) matching

Job summary

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. in Sugar Land, TX is seeking a Production Control Planner to support day-to-day manufacturing execution through production planning, scheduling, work-order coordination, material-readiness tracking, and expedite management.

You’ll collaborate with Production, Material Control, Purchasing, Engineering, Shipping, Inventory, and Global Sourcing to align plans with material availability and delivery needs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 1-3 years of relevant experience in production control, manufacturing operations, or supply chain operations.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel with PivotTables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, and charts.
• Experience with ERP/MRP or production work-order systems to track orders, materials, inventory, or production activity.
• Understanding of how production schedules, material availability, work orders, and customer delivery requirements interact in a manufacturing environment.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills with high attention to detail.
• Clear written and verbal communication, with comfort coordinating across cross functional departments to achieve company objectives.
• Ability to work independently, manage changing priorities, and exercise sound judgment in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate customer demand, sales orders, and internal requirements to develop production schedules and issue or adjust production orders as capacity, materials, and priorities change.
• Track work orders and production schedules through completion, identifying capacity constraints, delays, or priority changes that could impact customer delivery.
• Partner with Material Control to confirm material availability against production requirements and identify shortages that could affect the manufacturing schedule.
• Communicate production status, schedule changes, and potential delivery impacts to Marketing, Purchasing, and other internal stakeholders, flagging risks early.
• Coordinate production activity across internal manufacturing teams, overseas production sites, and external manufacturing partners to keep schedules and priorities aligned.
• Create and follow up on production orders, track consigned components and inventory, and coordinate shipping instructions when production involves other sites or manufacturing partners.
• Work with Global Sourcing, Engineering, and Material Control to resolve material, technical, or scheduling issues, following open items through resolution and escalating risks that could affect production or customer delivery.
• Coordinate urgent and expedited orders across Production, Material Control, Purchasing, Inventory, and Shipping to support changing customer and production priorities.
• Identify and investigate the root causes of production constraints, including material shortages, scheduling conflicts, bottlenecks, and priority changes, and coordinate appropriate actions to keep production moving.
• Keep stakeholders informed of urgent production issues and escalate constraints that cannot be resolved through normal planning and coordination.
• Analyze production, work-order, inventory, and schedule data and prepare regular reports on production status, delivery risks, material readiness, and expedited orders.
• Identify process improvements that support production efficiency and on-time delivery.
• Keep production schedules, order records, and planning data accurate and up to date across ERP systems, Excel, and related tools.
• Support additional production control and planning activities as business needs require.

Skills

Excel (PivotTables)

Lookup functions (VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP)

Analytical skills

Communication

Problem solving

Cross-functional coordination

Independent work

Education

Bachelor’s degree in business / supply chain / operations / industrial engineering or related field

Tools

ERP/MRP systems

Microsoft Excel

Production planning software

Job description

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. in Sugar Land, TX is seeking a Production Control Planner to support day-to-day manufacturing execution through production planning, scheduling, work-order coordination, material-readiness tracking, and expedite management.

You’ll collaborate with Production, Material Control, Purchasing, Engineering, Shipping, Inventory, and Global Sourcing to align plans with material availability and delivery needs.