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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for CNC Production Planner

💰 $50,000 - $95,000

ManufacturingProduction PlanningCNCSupply Chain

🎯 Role Definition

The CNC Production Planner is responsible for translating sales orders and engineering drawings into a practical, optimized production schedule for CNC machining operations. This role coordinates material availability, machine capacity, tooling and labor to meet delivery targets while minimizing lead times and inventory. The ideal candidate blends solid shop-floor experience in CNC machining with strong planning skills, ERP/MRP expertise, and continuous improvement mindset.

Key SEO phrases: CNC Production Planner, production scheduling, CNC machining, capacity planning, MRP/ERP scheduling, inventory optimization, shop floor coordination.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • CNC Operator or CNC Setup Technician
  • Production Coordinator / Scheduler
  • Materials Planner or Inventory Control Specialist

Advancement To:

  • Production Supervisor / Shop Foreman
  • Production Manager / Operations Manager
  • Supply Chain Manager or Plant Planner

Lateral Moves:

  • Process Engineer (CNC machining focus)
  • Quality Engineer (inspection/GD&T specialization)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Develop and maintain detailed production schedules for all CNC machining operations based on sales orders, customer delivery dates, engineering releases, and capacity constraints; proactively update schedules to reflect priority changes and communicate impacts to stakeholders.
  • Translate engineering drawings, Bills of Materials (BOMs), routings and work instructions into actionable work orders and shop travelers in the ERP/MRP system, ensuring correct routing steps, operation times, and tooling requirements are captured.
  • Perform capacity planning and load leveling across CNC centers, lathes, mills and cell-based machining to maximize machine utilization while ensuring on-time delivery and respecting setup/changeover constraints.
  • Manage material and component availability by issuing planned orders, monitoring supplier lead times, and expediting critical purchases or subcontracted machining when necessary to prevent production delays.
  • Create and maintain accurate master production schedules (MPS) and material requirements plans (MRP), review exception messages daily and resolve demand/supply mismatches through rescheduling or purchase adjustments.
  • Calculate and validate lead-times and operation times for new and existing parts, including setup, cycle, inspection, and packing times; use data to refine standard times and improve planning accuracy.
  • Coordinate daily with shop floor supervisors, CNC programmers, setup technicians and quality inspectors to confirm work center readiness and resolve machining bottlenecks, tooling shortages or quality escapes affecting schedule adherence.
  • Generate and analyze production performance metrics (OTD, schedule attainment, WIP levels, scrap, throughput) and produce weekly/monthly reports for Plant Management with recommended corrective actions.
  • Prioritize orders and create short-term and long-term production plans that align with customer commitments, seasonal demand fluctuations and available inventory while minimizing expedite costs.
  • Work with CNC programmers and CAM engineers to align programming timelines and machine availability, ensuring new jobs are programmed, proven and released in time for production start.
  • Maintain and update routing and work instructions in the PLM/ERP system whenever process improvements, tooling changes or inspection requirements change.
  • Implement and maintain kanban or pull systems for high-volume parts and collaborate with materials handling to position inventory close to point-of-use for reduced lead times.
  • Schedule preventive maintenance windows around production cycles to minimize downtime impact; coordinate with Maintenance to plan machine repairs and major overhauls with minimal schedule disruption.
  • Lead capacity and "what-if" scenario planning during sales spikes or product launches, modeling impacts of overtime, shift changes, subcontracting and capital equipment additions.
  • Liaise with procurement to qualify alternate suppliers and source critical machining services or specialty tooling when in-house capacity or capabilities are exceeded.
  • Ensure compliance with quality standards and regulatory inspection documentation by incorporating inspection steps and hold points into the production sequence and work orders.
  • Actively participate in new product introduction (NPI) by building initial production plans, forecasting material needs, aligning resources and supporting first-article inspections.
  • Track tooling and fixture availability and coordinate reorders or maintenance to ensure setups are not delayed due to missing fixtures, cutters or toolholders.
  • Optimize lot sizes and batching strategies for machining operations to balance setup frequency, inventory carrying cost and on-time delivery performance.
  • Investigate root causes of schedule disruptions (machine breakdowns, quality rejects, supplier delays) and drive corrective actions with cross-functional teams to prevent recurrence.
  • Maintain up-to-date documentation of job routing histories, operation cycle times and work center capabilities to support continuous planning improvements and knowledge transfer.
  • Review backlog and aging orders regularly, implement recovery plans for late jobs, and communicate realistic delivery expectations to sales and customers.
  • Provide backup support for master scheduling and coordination of non-CNC production lines as needed to ensure plant-wide delivery performance.
  • Train and mentor junior planners, schedulers and production coordinators on ERP/MRP best practices, shop-floor communication, and planning rationale.

Secondary Functions

  • Support continuous improvement initiatives (Lean, 5S, Kaizen) by identifying waste in the production schedule and participating in kaizen events focused on setup reduction and workflow optimization.
  • Interface with customer service and sales to clarify order priorities, propose realistic delivery alternatives and negotiate lead times when capacity is constrained.
  • Maintain accurate inventory records and support periodic cycle counts; research discrepancies and initiate adjustments through proper channels.
  • Collaborate with Quality and Engineering to implement corrective actions when non-conforming parts impact scheduled production and shipments.
  • Assist procurement with supplier performance metrics related to delivery reliability and lead-time adherence; recommend suppliers for strategic partnerships or alternate sourcing.
  • Prepare and present weekly production review meetings with visual schedule boards or digital dashboards to keep leadership informed on bottlenecks and recovery plans.
  • Support training for CNC operators and setup personnel on new sequences or revised routings as production plans evolve.
  • Help maintain manufacturing documentation, route sheets, and traceability records necessary for audits and customer requirements.
  • Coordinate with logistics and shipping to align production finish dates with freight bookings and outbound shipment schedules.
  • Participate in capital project planning by providing utilization data and production forecasts to justify machinery investments.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • MRP/ERP systems proficiency (examples: SAP PP/MM, Oracle NetSuite, Epicor, Microsoft Dynamics, or similar) — create and manage work orders, change demand, and run MRP.
  • Advanced Excel skills (VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, pivot tables, Power Query, macros) for schedule modeling, reporting and scenario analysis.
  • Shop floor scheduling software / APS familiarity (e.g., PlanetTogether, Preactor, Asprova, or native ERP scheduling modules).
  • Strong ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, GD&T, and technical specifications for CNC machined parts.
  • Experience with BOM management, routings, cycle time calculation and standard costing for machined components.
  • Knowledge of CNC machining processes (milling, turning, multi-axis machining), tooling nomenclature and setup requirements.
  • Capacity planning, lead-time analysis and load leveling techniques to match demand with shop capability.
  • Inventory management and planning techniques: safety stock calculation, reorder points, lot-sizing (EOQ, lot-for-lot), and kanban.
  • Familiarity with CAM/CAD coordination and understanding of programming timelines (Mastercam, SolidCAM, Fusion 360) is a plus.
  • Ability to analyze production KPIs (OTD, schedule attainment, WIP, throughput) and use data to drive decisions.
  • Basic understanding of quality systems (ISO 9001, AS9100) and incorporation of inspection steps into production planning.
  • Experience with shop-floor data collection systems (MES) and using real-time data to update schedules.

Soft Skills

  • Excellent cross-functional communication — articulate production impacts to Sales, Engineering, Procurement and Shop Management.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a data-driven approach to scheduling conflicts and bottlenecks.
  • Prioritization and time management — balance competing orders, emergency jobs and customer commitments.
  • Attention to detail and accuracy when translating specifications into actionable production steps.
  • Proactive, collaborative mindset and ability to work effectively in fast-paced manufacturing environments.
  • Negotiation skills for managing supplier expediting, subcontractor relationships and internal trade-offs.
  • Adaptability — comfortable shifting plans quickly to respond to machine failures, quality issues or order changes.
  • Coaching and mentorship ability to develop junior planners and support continuous learning.
  • Customer-oriented focus with the ability to set and communicate realistic expectations.
  • Decision-making under pressure while preserving safety and quality compliance.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High School Diploma or GED with vocational/technical certification in machining, manufacturing, or production planning.

Preferred Education:

  • Associate's or Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing Technology, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, Supply Chain, or related field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Manufacturing Engineering
  • Industrial Engineering
  • Operations Management
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Mechanical Engineering Technology

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–7 years of production planning or scheduling experience in a machining/CNC environment.

Preferred: 5+ years planning CNC production with demonstrable experience using ERP/MRP systems, proven track record of on-time delivery improvements, and experience with continuous improvement/lean manufacturing initiatives.

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