Production Planner

Role: Production Planner
Location: Richland, WA
Company: Columbia Energy & Environmental Services, Inc.
Employment Type: Full-Time, Exempt

About Columbia Energy

Columbia Energy & Environmental Services, headquartered in Richland, WA, is a well-established small business with over 30 years of experience supporting the nuclear, defense, energy, and hazardous waste industries. Originally founded to support nuclear cleanup efforts at Hanford, we have grown into a full-service engineering, design, and fabrication company serving both federal and commercial clients.

Our work is driven by technical accuracy, collaboration, and a strong commitment to safety and quality. We take pride in delivering complex projects while maintaining a respectful, team-oriented work environment.

Why Join Columbia Energy?

This role plays a key part in keeping fabrication projects on track by aligning schedules, materials, and resources across multiple teams. We offer competitive compensation, comprehensive benefits, and the opportunity to work on technically complex projects that support important national missions.

Position Overview

The Production Planner is responsible for developing, maintaining, and executing production schedules for custom-engineered equipment. This role works closely with Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Procurement, and Project Management to balance capacity, materials availability, and project priorities in a regulated, low-volume, high-complexity manufacturing environment.

The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, adaptable, and comfortable coordinating across disciplines while managing shifting priorities.

Essential Responsibilities & Duties

Production Planning & Scheduling

Develop and maintain production schedules for engineered-to-order and make-to-order equipment

Translate project requirements, drawings, and bills of material into executable manufacturing plans

Sequence work orders to optimize labor, equipment availability, and critical path activities

Monitor schedule performance and proactively identify risks to delivery milestones

Material & Capacity Planning

Coordinate with Procurement to support timely availability of materials, including long-lead items

Perform capacity planning across machining, fabrication, assembly, testing, and inspection

Evaluate make/buy decisions and subcontracting impacts on schedule and workload

Quality & Compliance Support

Ensure production plans align with applicable quality and regulatory requirements

Support audits, inspections, and customer surveillance activities as needed

Cross-Functional Coordination

Serve as the primary scheduling interface between Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, and Project Management

Incorporate engineering changes, nonconformances, and rework into updated production plans

Participate in production meetings, project kickoff discussions, and schedule risk reviews

Identify planning and scheduling improvements to reduce bottlenecks and lead times

Perform other job-related duties as assigned

Required Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Supply Chain Management, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience

3–7 years of production planning or scheduling experience in a manufacturing environment

Experience supporting custom or project-based manufacturing

Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications

Working knowledge of bills of material, routings, and engineering change control

Preferred Qualifications

Experience in nuclear, defense, aerospace, or other highly regulated industries

Familiarity with quality programs such as NQA-1, ASME, or ISO standards

General understanding of machining, welding, fabrication, and assembly processes

APICS/ASCM certification (CPIM, CSCP) or equivalent

Key Success Attributes

Strong organizational and prioritization skills

Analytical mindset with the ability to solve scheduling and capacity challenges

Clear, professional communication across technical and non-technical teams

Ability to work effectively in a deadline-driven, compliance-focused environment

High attention to detail with a commitment to quality and safety

Working Conditions

Primarily on-site in a fabrication and manufacturing environment

Regular interaction with the shop floor and cross-functional teams

Must meet eligibility requirements for projects subject to customer and regulatory access controls

Equal Opportunity Employer

Columbia Energy is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.