Planner IV in Traverse City, Michigan at Attalon, Inc.

Attalon / Location Overview

Attalon is a leading technology partner to the global aerospace and defense industry, specializing in the physics of light and heat. With over 500 employees in the U.S., Attalon engineers critical optical, laser, and coating technologies that enable systems to see farther, target faster, and survive the harshest environments. From high-energy directed laser systems to satellite optics and hypersonic thermal protection, Attalon equips the warfighter with the advantage of precision.

ATTALON in Traverse City, Michigan is a vertically integrated manufacturing and R&D campus specializing in high‑performance optical isolators, photodetectors, and laser solutions for aerospace, defense, industrial, medical, scientific, and research applications.

At ATTALON inc. in Traverse City, MI we foster a culture of innovation and collaboration. Our teams work in a state-of-the-art facility with advanced cleanrooms, precision manufacturing, and cutting-edge R&D labs, enabling us to deliver world-class optical solutions. We value continuous improvement, technical excellence, and teamwork, leveraging vertical integration to accelerate design cycles and meet challenging customer requirements. Employees thrive in an environment that combines high-tech engineering with hands-on problem solving, where ideas move quickly from concept to production.

Role Overview:

We are seeking a Production Planner IV to lead production planning, materials forecasting, and scheduling for our laser and optical components product lines. This role is critical in ensuring operational execution in a complex, high‑mix manufacturing environment. The Planner IV will own the planning process end‑to‑end—demand analysis, materials requirements, scheduling logic, and cross-functional alignment—while driving data accuracy, schedule integrity, and disciplined communication.

This leader must bring strong organizational skills, reliable execution, and the ability to establish structure in a fast-paced, engineering‑driven environment.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the creation and maintenance of the finished‑goods forecast in partnership with product line management and operations.
• Translate forecasted demand, customer purchase orders, and R&D requirements into clear, actionable material and production plans.
• Maintain accurate production schedules, applying logic‑based planning (capacity, lead time, buffers, material) to ensure schedule integrity.
• Monitor capacity and lead-time performance and report key metrics to site and business unit leadership.
• Respond to customer delivery inquiries with accurate, data‑driven updates.
• Drive material flow through the full production lifecycle, ensuring data accuracy in work orders, routing, and planning parameters.
• Establish and maintain strategies for safety stock, WIP levels, and finished‑goods inventory.
• Partner with engineering, manufacturing, and purchasing teams to ensure alignment on material status, schedule risks, and priority shifts.
• Ensure planning data in ERP tools are complete, accurate, and utilized effectively; coach team members to improve system use and discipline.
• Maintain strong documentation and communication standards across all planning activities.
• Represent materials planning in weekly management reviews and cross-functional decision forums.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in business, manufacturing, supply chain, or related field.
• Extensive experience in Microsoft Office.
• 8+ years of experience in material procurement / planning / purchasing role.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex planning data and driving schedule execution in a manufacturing environment.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with Oracle or IFS (EBS or similar ERP/MRP systems).
• Strong ability to apply planning logic to real-world constraints—capacity, lead time, variability, and customer priorities.
• Proven track record of establishing structure in complex or evolving processes.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage across engineering, operations, supply chain, and leadership.
• High reliability, sense of ownership, and personal accountability for commitments and data accuracy.
• Ability to work independently, prioritize effectively, and execute consistently in a fast‑paced technical environment.

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