The Production Planner is responsible for planning, creating, releasing, monitoring, and closing work orders to support safe, efficient, on-time manufacturing operations. This role coordinates demand, material availability, labor capacity, routing requirements, and shop-floor priorities to ensure production orders are executed according to schedule, quality standards, and customer commitments. Key Responsibilities Create, review, release, and maintain production work orders in the ERP/MRP system. Verify work-order requirements, including bills of material, routings, drawings, specifications, quantities, due dates, and revision levels. Develop and maintain daily and weekly production schedules based on customer demand, inventory levels, capacity, material availability, and operational priorities. Sequence and prioritize work orders for the shop floor to optimize throughput, labor utilization, machine capacity, and on-time delivery. Monitor work-order progress from release through completion; identify delays, shortages, capacity constraints, and other risks. Coordinate with Purchasing, Materials, Manufacturing, Engineering, Quality, and Shipping to resolve work-order/nonconformance issues. Expedite material shortages and communicate expected impacts to production schedules and delivery commitments. Update work orders when requirements change, including quantities, due dates, routing steps, materials, or engineering revisions. Ensure completed work orders are accurately reported, closed in the ERP system, and reconciled against material and labor usage. Participate in daily production meetings and communicate clear priorities to supervisors and shop-floor personnel. Support continuous improvement initiatives related to scheduling, inventory accuracy, workflow, lead time, and work-order processing. Follow all safety, quality, environmental, and company procedures. Required Qualifications High school diploma or equivalent required; associate or bachelor's degree in supply chain, Operations, Manufacturing, Business, or a related field preferred. Typically, 2-5 years of experience in production planning, scheduling, manufacturing coordination, materials planning, or a similar role. Experience in creating and managing work orders in an ERP/MRP system. Working knowledge of manufacturing processes, bills of material, routings, inventory control, and production scheduling. Strong proficiency with Microsoft Excel and other Microsoft Office tools. Ability to interpret production schedules, engineering drawings, material requirements, and work instructions. Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills. Effective written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to coordinate across shop floor and office teams. Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced manufacturing environment. Preferred Experience/Skills APICS Certification Preferred ETO Manufacturing Experience Preferred Infor Syteline ERP Experience Preferred