Contract Production Planning Manager

6-month contract role, fully on-site in Littleton, CO (5 days per week). Competitive hourly rate dependent on experience.

About the role

A space & defense manufacturer in the Denver area is hiring a Contract Production Planning Manager to lead its planning function through a critical production scale-up. This is a hands-on working-manager role for an established team of planners and material analysts who need immediate leadership. You’ll own the live master schedule, run the forecasting cadence, and resolve demand-capacity gaps on a busy production floor.

Responsibilities

• Own the master production schedule and finite-capacity plan across multiple concurrent programs
• Lead and mentor a team of production planners and material planning analysts—setting priorities, performance expectations, and development paths
• Convert demand into manufacturing orders and clear workflows for the production floor
• Run forecasting and SIOP meetings with Operations, Inventory, Finance, Shipping, and Purchasing
• Act as the liaison between program management, production, quality, inventory, and supply chain—resolving scheduling conflicts and setting floor priorities
• Coordinate inventory and procurement so material lands when the plan needs it
• Maintain ERP/MRP data integrity and drive planning process improvements
• Monitor KPIs across Safety, Quality, Delivery, and Cost; communicate status, risks, and recovery plans to leadership

Requirements

• 7+ years in production planning, manufacturing operations, or supply chain within a manufacturing environment
• 3+ years managing planning or operations teams—you’ve led planners, not just plans
• Demonstrated ownership of a master production schedule, ideally with finite-capacity scheduling
• Strong hands-on experience with major ERP/MRP systems, including planning data integrity
• Experience running cross-functional forecasting/SIOP cadences with operations, finance, and procurement stakeholders
• Strong analytical skills and high attention to detail—the schedule is only as good as the data behind it
• Clear written and verbal communication, with the ability to hold priorities steady in a fast-moving production environment
• Able to work fully on-site in Littleton, CO, 5 days per week

Nice to have

• Aerospace, defense, spacecraft, or propulsion manufacturing experience
• APICS CPIM or CSCP certification
• Experience implementing or optimizing ERP/MRP systems
• Lean manufacturing or Six Sigma background
• Familiarity with finite-capacity scheduling tools
• Prior contract experience—you land and add value fast