Planning Manager

The Planning Manager is responsible for leading production planning, scheduling, and demand forecasting activities to ensure materials, capacity, and resources are aligned to meet customer requirements and business objectives. This role works cross-functionally with operations, supply chain, sales, and customer service to drive on-time delivery, optimize inventory levels, and support continuous improvement across the planning function.
Production Planning & Scheduling
• Develop and manage master production schedules (MPS) to meet customer demand and delivery commitments
• Translate customer forecasts, blanket POs, and firm orders into actionable, capacity-feasible production plans
• Coordinate with operations and manufacturing teams to align capacity, labor, and tooling with production requirements
• Plan and manage long-lead-time materials and capacity lock-in to protect against extended supplier lead times typical of semiconductor capital equipment
• Identify and resolve scheduling conflicts, capacity constraints, and material shortages proactively
• Develop production plans and ramp schedules for new program introductions (NPI) and tool/program transfers between sites
Demand Planning & Forecasting
• Lead the demand planning process in collaboration with sales, customer service, operations, and the OEM customer
• Interface with customer demand portals and forecast systems; convert customer forecasts and blanket POs into build plans while managing forecast-to-PO conversion risk
• Analyze historical data, trends, and customer forecasts to develop accurate demand projections
• Maintain and continuously improve forecasting models and planning tools
• Communicate demand risks, volatility, and opportunities to leadership in a timely manner
Inventory Management
• Establish and maintain appropriate inventory levels to support service targets while minimizing carrying costs
• Manage customer-owned and consignment inventory, including reconciliation, accuracy, and reporting to the customer
• Monitor finished goods, WIP, and raw material inventory against targets
• Govern safety stock levels, blanket PO arrangements, and replenishment strategies in collaboration with supply chain and suppliers
• Identify and drive reduction of slow-moving, excess, and obsolete inventory
• Support inventory planning across multi-site and cross-border material flows (including drop shipment and triangular trade arrangements)
Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Partner with supply chain, operations, engineering, quality, and customer service to align planning with business needs
• Participate in and help drive Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) processes and meetings
• Support program and tool transition planning - aligning capacity, supplier qualification, training, and ramp readiness against committed milestones
• Coordinate with customs, trade compliance, and logistics on import/export of materials and finished tools
• Communicate material shortages and production risks clearly to affected stakeholders and the OEM customer
Systems & Continuous Improvement
• Manage and optimize the use of ERP/MRP systems to support planning accuracy and efficiency
• Develop and maintain planning KPIs, dashboards, and reporting for leadership and customer visibility
• Identify process gaps and lead initiatives to improve planning reliability and responsiveness
• Train, develop, and supervise planning team members on systems, processes, and best practices