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L3Harris is dedicated to recruiting and developing high-performing talent who are passionate about what they do. Our employees are unified in a shared dedication to our customers’ mission and quest for professional growth. L3Harris provides an inclusive, engaging environment designed to empower employees and promote work-life success. Fundamental to our culture is an unwavering focus on values, dedication to our communities, and commitment to excellence in everything we do.

L3Harris Technologies is the Trusted Disruptor in the defense industry. With customers’ mission-critical needs always in mind, our employees deliver end-to-end technology solutions connecting the space, air, land, sea and cyber domains in the interest of national security.

Production Planner

Reference #23146

Waterdown, Ontario

About the Role

We are seeking a highly skilled, detail-oriented and proactive Production Planner to join our team.  This advanced-level role is responsible for leading complex production planning activities, driving continuous improvement initiatives and ensuring efficient manufacturing operations while aligning with broader business objectives. The ideal candidate demonstrates intense ownership, meticulous attention to detail, and strong accountability, along with the ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders and mentor junior planners.

Key Responsibilities

• Work Order & Production Scheduling
  • Lead the maintenance of Work Order (WO) date integrity, making data-driven decisions based on MRP outputs and shortage situations
  • Analyze and act on Material Availability reports, ensuring on-time WO start and completion
  • Open, release and close manufacturing Work Orders with high accuracy and traceability
  • Oversee Kanban planning processes, identifying opportunities for optimization and standardization
  • Provide strategic input into factory scheduling and ensure planning alignment with business priorities
• Inventory & Material Coordination
  • Partner with Inventory Control Group (stockroom) to proactively maintain material availability, POU replenishment and material movement for current and future demand
  • Lead collaboration with Purchasing to resolve material shortages and implement recovery actions for upcoming WOs
  • Monitor and resolve Point-of-Use inventory discrepancies, supporting root cause investigations and corrective actions
  • Support and complete monthly cycle counts and annual WIP counts
• Cross-Functional Communication & Reporting
  • Collaborate with Production Supervisors to recover at-risk schedules, prioritize WOs and optimize work center capacity
  • Provide strategic updates to the Master Scheduler, flagging risks to customer deliveries and recommending recovery plans
  • Lead reporting on schedule performance (e.g., WO completion metrics, root cause analysis) and present findings to leadership
  • Facilitate strong workflow communication across production, supply chain, quality and engineering teams
  • Contribute scheduling insights to daily Operations Status meetings and support scenario planning as needed
• Engineering & Product Changes
  • Lead and coordinate engineering change implementations (ECRs, ECOs) with minimal disruption to production
  • Ensure MRP system updates are accurate, timely, and fully reflect the impact of product transitions and inventory consumption.
• Continuous Improvement & Process Optimization
  • Drive and support Continuous Improvement (CI) and Kaizen initiatives related to planning, scheduling and material flow.
  • Generate and analyze weekly metrics related to on-time WO completions to drive improvement
  • Lead root cause investigations for scheduling misses and implement process or system-level corrective actions
  • Own and continuously improve planning documentation
  • Mentor and support junior planners, sharing best practices
  • Assist the work center supervisor with capacity planning for assigned work orders and feedback information to the Master Schedulers for consistent improvement in factory scheduling

Required Qualifications & Skills

• Education & Experience
  • Bachelor’s degree in Materials Management, Operations Management, Business, or a related field with 4+ years of experience in production planning
  • OR 8+ years of progressive experience in Production Planning within an MRPII environment
• Technical Skills
  • Advanced experience with ERP/MRP systems (SAP, Oracle, etc.)
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, with familiarity in PowerBI or similar analytics tools
  • In-depth understanding of Bill of Materials (BOMs), routings, lead times, and capacity constraints
  • Experience with Engineering Change processes and integration into planning systems
• Soft Skills
  • Intense ownership – takes full responsibility for planning outcomes and drives proactive decision-making
  • Meticulous attention to detail – ensures high accuracy across planning, system transactions, and inventory management
  • Strong accountability – consistently delivers on commitments, owns results and holds others accountable
  • Problem solving and analytical skills – uses data to drive action and resolves issues with urgency
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills – builds strong relationships across teams, influencing outcomes with clarity and credibility
  • Highly organized with efficient time management – manages competing priorities, anticipates risk, and aligns daily actions with business goals 
  • Mentorship mindset – supports peer development, shares knowledge generously and contributes to team capability growth
  • Continuous improvement advocate – identifies gaps, recommends enhancements and supports implantation of lean processes

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in manufacturing, aerospace, or defense industries
• Proven success managing engineering changes within planning organization

• APICS (CPIM) or similar certification is a plus
• Working knowledge of lean manufacturing principles and process improvement methodologies (e.g., Kaizen, 5S, Value Stream Mapping)

At L3Harris, we foster an inclusive and equitable workplace. L3Harris is committed to treating all employees and applicants for employment with respect and dignity and maintaining a workplace that is free from unlawful discrimination. For applicants with disabilities, we will provide you with accommodation so that you have what you need in order to be at your best.

L3Harris performs background checks prior to employment as all applicants must be eligible for registration with the Controlled Goods Program and obtain and maintain a positive security assessment. Some positions may require a government of Canada “Reliability” status and/or Level 2 (Secret) security clearance. In addition, L3Harris performs pre-employment substance abuse testing where required.