Production Planner III

Crane Aerospace and Electronics has an exciting opportunity for a Production Planner III at our West Caldwell, NJ location.

Crane Aerospace & Electronics supplies critical systems and components to the aerospace and defense markets. We operate in some of the toughest environments, from engines to landing gear, from satellites to medical implants, and from missiles to unmanned aerial systems (UAS). Our West Caldwell facility produces industry‑leading microwave components and systems for space, defense and commercial applications, including GPS III satellites.

With over 60 years of expertise, the Microwave group has proven capabilities in military, communications, electronic warfare, radar and satellite systems.

The Production Planner III is responsible for developing work orders, scheduling production, and ensuring the smooth flow of materials to meet MRP schedules. This role coordinates with operations and procurement teams to manage resources across departments, supporting complex assemblies or multiple production lines to keep production on track.

• Create and manage work orders in Oracle ERP for standard, non‑standard and NPI requirements; ensure accurate material allocations and MRP parameters.
• Review manufacturing outlines and assist with new part number setups, Kanban, and MRP parameter maintenance to optimize production flow.
• Establish and distribute production schedules; run scheduling meetings, provide reports, and coordinate with supervisors to level‑load work.
• Identify and resolve material shortages, expedite operations, and collaborate with teams to adjust routers and flow paths when constraints occur.
• Analyze capacity impacts for pull‑ins, non‑standard requests, and OEM returns; revise schedules as needed due to design changes or resource shortages.
• Communicate schedule risks and recovery plans to stakeholders; prepare production reports (risk, on‑time delivery, aged WIP).
• Audit and maintain MRP data in Oracle; assist Master Scheduler with setting MRP for assigned value streams or product lines.

• Support Crane Business System initiatives by participating in kaizen events and continuous improvement activities.
• Update and maintain KPIs for assigned value stream/product line related to production planning.
• Review, analyze, and approve engineering change requests; implement ECOs and BOM changes in Oracle, reconciling WIP impacts with Manufacturing Engineering.
• Evaluate customer reschedule requests for material availability and coordinate with internal and external supply chain partners.
• Assist Value Stream Managers in assessing in‑sourcing or out‑sourcing opportunities for production lines.
• Develop reporting requirements in Qlik to support planning functions and decision‑making.
• Mentor and guide less experienced planners to build team capability.

• Experience:
  
  Minimum of 7 years in scheduling, supply chain or fulfillment; minimum 4 years in a lean manufacturing environment.
• Knowledge:
  Advanced knowledge of manufacturing, production planning and materials control functions; scheduling and capacity planning tools; strong understanding of Kanban Systems, JIT, POU, FIFO, Level loading and their application; advanced knowledge of MRP and MRS planning parameters; knowledge of raw components and their interchangeability.
• Skills/Abilities:
  Skilled in using Oracle ERP; proficient with Microsoft Office Suite including advanced Excel; strong detail orientation; strong analytical and problem‑solving abilities; effective communication (verbal and written); effective interpersonal skills; ability to coordinate materials and production schedules with multiple inputs; high degree of understanding of complex interdependencies; ability to recommend raw component substitutes.
• Education/Certification:
  
  BA degree in Supply Chain or related field, or equivalent work experience and a high school education.
• Eligibility Requirement:
  This position may require access to controlled data or information. Where access is required, only US persons will be considered under ITAR requirements.

• Previous experience using analytics…