Production Planner

About the role

Location: Sterling, VA / Chantilly, VA. Reports to: Materials Manager I. This position is within Trident Systems’ Space Electronic Systems (SES) division, which develops high‑performance, radiation‑effects‑mitigated space electronics for DoD, Intelligence Community, and civil space customers. The Production Planner II creates, schedules, releases, and maintains production orders to support manufacturing execution, material readiness, and program delivery requirements.

Responsibilities

• Create, schedule, and release production orders to the manufacturing floor in alignment with Operations Program Manager guidance, program priorities, material availability, production capacity, and site execution requirements.
• Release production orders at least 14 days in advance of the planned start date, when practical, to support timely picking, kitting, staging, inspection, and material movement.
• Partner with Operations Program Managers to confirm work‑release priorities, timing, and sequencing before releasing production orders.
• Maintain accurate production order dates, status, routing information, material requirements, and schedule updates in Microsoft Dynamics Business Central or comparable ERP/MRP systems.
• Review production order material availability before release and identify shortages, late supply, allocation issues, or other constraints that may impact start dates.
• Coordinate with Material Planning and Program Material Planning through a dotted‑line operating relationship to align release schedules, material availability, shortages, and clear‑to‑build readiness.
• Communicate material shortages and schedule risks to the Materials Manager, planners, buyers, manufacturing, and other stakeholders before they impact execution.
• Coordinate with Material Handlers to support accurate pick lists, kitting priorities, staging requirements, material movement, and point‑of‑use readiness.
• Prepare and maintain rolling dispatch lists, production schedules, and work‑order visibility for manufacturing, materials management, and supply‑chain leadership.
• Work with the Materials Manager and warehouse teams to prioritize transfer of inventory from receiving, inspection, or post‑inspection locations to designated storage, staging, or production‑use locations.
• Exercise judgment in scheduling available work to fill production gaps while maintaining discipline around priority, material readiness, and the approved schedule.
• Coordinate schedule changes, production order adjustments, and execution priorities with Operations Program Managers, manufacturing, planning, procurement, quality, and engineering.
• Monitor released and unreleased production orders for schedule adherence, material readiness, aging, holds, constraints, and execution risk.
• Support clear‑to‑build and production‑readiness reviews by providing accurate schedule status, order visibility, material readiness input, and constraint reporting.
• Help maintain accurate ERP/MRP transaction discipline by ensuring production order releases, schedule changes, material status, and related updates are entered promptly.
• Identify opportunities to improve production scheduling, work‑order release discipline, kitting flow, staging readiness, and material execution processes.
• Execute work in compliance with company procedures, quality requirements, ERP/MRP controls, and contractual obligations.
• Support occasional travel or off‑site work, as needed.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Business, Engineering, or a related field; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Minimum 2–4 years of experience in production scheduling, production planning, material control, inventory control, manufacturing coordination, or a related supply‑chain role.
• Experience using ERP, MRP, or production‑control systems to create, schedule, release, or maintain production orders.
• Working knowledge of production schedules, work orders, bills of material, inventory availability, material movement, kitting, staging, and manufacturing support processes.
• Ability to identify material shortages, schedule risks, inventory constraints, and production execution issues and communicate them clearly.
• Strong Microsoft Office skills, especially Excel, with the ability to analyze schedules, inventory status, production‑order data, and material‑readiness information.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple production orders, priorities, schedule changes, and time‑sensitive execution requirements.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills for coordination across Operations Program Managers, manufacturing, materials, planning, procurement, quality, engineering, and program teams.
• Detail‑oriented, disciplined, and able to maintain accurate records, system updates, and production‑schedule information in a fast‑paced manufacturing environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Microsoft Dynamics Business Central, Dynamics NAV, or comparable ERP/MRP systems.
• Experience in low‑volume, high‑mix manufacturing supporting aerospace, defense, electronics, space, or similarly regulated programs.
• Experience supporting production‑order release, clear‑to‑build reviews, production‑readiness reviews, kitting, staging, and material execution.
• Familiarity with electronic components, printed circuit board assemblies, cable assemblies, machined parts, mechanical hardware, or other production material