Production Planner

The Production Planner I supports daily and weekly production scheduling in a high-mix manufacturing environment that produces high-quality components through additive manufacturing (3D printing), CNC machining, welding, sheet metal fabrication, powder coating, and assembly. This role focuses on building and maintaining accurate production schedules, monitoring capacity, tracking job progress, and ensuring reliable data in the manufacturing execution system. You will collaborate closely with customer-facing, engineering, and operations teams, working within established processes while developing the skills and experience to take on full ownership of production planning. Responsibilities

- Support the creation of daily production plans and assign work based on individual training, cross-training, and machine availability.
- Allocate jobs against machine capacity using calculated estimates across CNC machining, 3D printing, welding, sheet metal fabrication, powder coating, and assembly.
- Assist in projecting production capacity and workload 12 weeks into the future to support reliable delivery commitments.
- Plan around equipment outages, maintenance, and customer due dates to minimize disruption and ensure on-time delivery.
- Communicate delivery timeline expectations clearly to the Customer Success team and other stakeholders.
- Identify scheduling conflicts and capacity issues early and escalate them appropriately to operations leadership.
- Monitor machine utilization and flag capacity constraints before they impact production schedules or customer commitments.
- Track machine availability and communicate constraints to Application Engineers and operations leadership to support planning decisions.
- Support capacity planning discussions by providing accurate data on machine utilization, job status, and available capacity.
- Assist in maintaining an accurate view of available capacity across all manufacturing modalities, including additive and subtractive processes.
- Develop and maintain a master production schedule across all manufacturing modalities, ensuring coverage of CNC machining, 3D printing, welding, sheet metal fabrication, powder coating, and assembly.
- Build and refine a scheduling system tailored to the business needs when existing ERP scheduling modules do not fully support workflows.
- Keep the master schedule current and accurate throughout the day as jobs move, priorities shift, and capacity changes.
- Ensure the master schedule serves as the single source of truth for all production activity across the facility.
- Generate reports and status updates from the schedule to support operational decision-making and performance tracking.
- Review historical data to support planning projections and capacity analysis, focusing on key performance indicators such as on-time delivery and capacity utilization.
- Provide status reports on production metrics to operations management and highlight risks or issues that may affect performance.
- Identify trends in production data and flag opportunities for improvement in planning, scheduling, and capacity utilization.
- Communicate daily production requirements and priorities to operators and operations management.
- Collaborate with Customer Success, Application Engineers, and operations teams to understand weekly production priorities and align schedules accordingly.
- Coordinate across manufacturing departments to support smooth workflow and minimize bottlenecks.
- Proactively escalate production issues and capacity constraints to ensure timely resolution.
- Participate in planning process improvement projects and contribute ideas to enhance workflows and tools.
- Suggest improvements to planning workflows, scheduling tools, and reporting mechanisms to increase efficiency and accuracy.

Essential Skills

- High school diploma or equivalent education.
- 12 years of experience in production planning, manufacturing coordination, operations support, or a related role.
- 1+ years of mechanical assembly experience or equivalent technical training.
- Manufacturing experience with exposure to shop-floor operations and workflows.
- Planning experience with experience supporting or managing production schedules.
- Basic familiarity with manufacturing execution systems (MES), ERP, or similar planning tools.
- Intermediate proficiency with Excel, Word, and other productivity software.

Work Environment This role is fully onsite at a manufacturing facility located on the first floor in Seattle, WA. The team operates in a high-mix production environment that specializes in additive manufacturing (3D printing), CNC machining, welding, sheet metal fabrication, powder coating, and assembly, serving internal design, engineering, operations, and product concept testing stakeholders. You will work closely with shop-floor personnel, engineers, and customer success professionals in an ISO 9001 certified facility that emphasizes quality, safety, and continuous improvement. The typical workday runs from approximately 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with staggered and flexible start times as needed to support production demands. Occasional overtime, weekend, or holiday work of around five hours may be required based on business needs. The environment is fast-paced and data-driven, using MES, ERP, Excel, Word, and reporting dashboards to manage workflows and capacity. Standard manufacturing attire and appropriate personal protective equipment are used to support safe operations around machinery and production processes.
Job Type & Location
This is a Contract position based out of Seattle, WA.
Pay and Benefits
The pay range for this position is $33.00 - $34.00/hr. Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors. Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job
classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be
subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits
available for this temporary role may include the following:

Medical, dental & vision
Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
401(k) Retirement Plan Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
Short and long-term disability
Health Spending Account (HSA)
Transportation benefits
Employee Assistance Program
Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)
Job Type & Location
This is a Contract position based out of Seattle, WA.
Application Deadline
This position is anticipated to close on Oct 16, 2026.
Workplace Type
This is a fully onsite position in Seattle,WA.

About Aston Carter

Aston Carter provides world-class corporate talent solutions to thousands of clients across the globe. Specialized in accounting, finance, human resources, talent acquisition, procurement, supply chain and select administrative professions, we extend the capabilities of industry-leading companies. We draw on our deep recruiting expertise and expansive network to meet the evolving needs of our clients and talent community with agility and excellence. With offices across the U.S., Canada, Asia Pacific and Europe, Aston Carter serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® Platinum Award winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email [email protected] for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.