Manufacturing Planning & Scheduling Manager

Description

Manufacturing Planning & Scheduling Manager

US Bellows | Houston, TX | Full-Time | On-Site

About US Bellows

US Bellows, a division of Piping Technology & Products, manufactures custom-engineered expansion joints and other critical industrial equipment for customers around the world.

We’ve experienced tremendous growth, and that growth has created exciting new challenges. We’re handling more jobs, greater manufacturing complexity, and increasing demands on our production capacity.

We’re investing in the people, systems, and processes needed to support our next stage of growth—and we’re looking for someone who wants to play a central role in that transformation.

The Opportunity

We’re looking for an experienced Manufacturing Planning & Scheduling Manager to fundamentally improve how we plan, schedule, and execute manufacturing work.

Our growth has outpaced some of our existing scheduling processes. We need better visibility into production capacity, more reliable delivery forecasts, and a scheduling system that can handle the complexity of our business.

This is an opportunity to build something, not simply maintain an existing system.

You’ll be responsible for selecting and implementing finite-capacity scheduling software, establishing reliable production schedules, and developing the processes that will help US Bellows continue to grow.

You’ll report directly to the US Bellows Operations Manager and work closely with manufacturing leadership and production teams.

This Is a Hands-On, Shop Floor Role

We want to be very clear about what this job involves.

You will spend at least 50% of your time on the manufacturing floor, and we expect you to be on the shop floor every day.

Our manufacturing environment is busy, complex, and demanding. Every job is different. Priorities shift, unexpected problems arise, and solving them requires being present, understanding the work, and collaborating directly with the people doing it.

This is not a job for someone who wants to sit behind a computer managing schedules from an office.

You’ll need to be comfortable walking the floor, talking with welders, fabricators, and supervisors, understanding bottlenecks firsthand, and working through difficult operational challenges.

Some days will be frustrating. Not everything will go according to plan. We need someone who enjoys that challenge and takes satisfaction in making a complicated manufacturing operation run better.

You Won’t Be Building This Alone

We’re serious about making this initiative successful, and you’ll have substantial support.

A highly capable technology team. Piping Technology & Products has a sophisticated internal technology and software development team—an unusual strength for a manufacturing company. You’ll have access to people who can help with software evaluation, integration, data, automation, and the technical challenges involved in implementing a modern scheduling system.

We’ve already started the work. Our team previously piloted Just Plan It, a finite-capacity scheduling tool, with significant involvement from our internal software team. We ultimately paused the effort because we recognized that successful implementation required a dedicated manufacturing scheduling leader who could own the process, work closely with the shop floor, and continuously refine the system until it delivered results.

That pilot provided a starting point, but we’re not committed to a particular software solution. You’ll have the opportunity to evaluate the options and recommend the right approach.

Support from the highest levels of leadership. This initiative has the attention and support of senior leadership, including our President & COO and CEO. We recognize that improving manufacturing scheduling is essential to our continued growth, and we’re committed to providing the resources, collaboration, and organizational support needed to succeed.

You’ll own the scheduling function, but you won’t be expected to solve every technical or organizational challenge on your own.

What You’ll Do

Build a Reliable Scheduling System

• Evaluate, select, and implement finite-capacity scheduling software.
• Establish a realistic master production schedule that accounts for labor, equipment, materials, and manufacturing constraints.
• Improve the accuracy of production completion forecasts and customer delivery commitments.
• Develop clear visibility into capacity, bottlenecks, and work-in-progress.
• Build scheduling processes that can accommodate changing priorities and continued business growth.

Work Directly with Manufacturing

• Spend at least half your time on the shop floor, with daily engagement in production operations.
• Work closely with supervisors, welders, fabricators, engineering, purchasing, and other teams.
• Understand actual production workflows and identify opportunities to improve efficiency.
• Address scheduling conflicts, production delays, and capacity constraints.
• Ensure scheduling systems reflect the realities of our manufacturing operation.

Help Us Scale

• Develop systems and processes that support significantly higher production volumes.
• Identify operational bottlenecks and recommend improvements to the Operations Manager.
• Establish KPIs for schedule adherence, on-time delivery, capacity utilization, and throughput.
• Partner with our technology team to integrate scheduling software with ERP and other manufacturing systems.
• Help create the foundation for a larger planning and scheduling function as the company grows.

What We’re Looking For

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of relevant manufacturing experience preferred, with significant responsibility for production planning or scheduling.
• Must have personally selected and implemented finite-capacity scheduling software in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience in engineer-to-order, high-mix/low-volume, or similarly complex manufacturing operations.
• Demonstrated experience improving manufacturing systems and processes during periods of significant business growth.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing capacity, resource constraints, routings, bottlenecks, and production workflows.
• A genuine willingness and enthusiasm to spend substantial time on the shop floor every day.
• Strong problem-solving, analytical, communication, and cross-functional leadership skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in custom metal fabrication, welding, or industrial equipment manufacturing.
• Experience with advanced planning and scheduling (APS) systems.
• Experience integrating scheduling tools with ERP systems, including Acumatica.
• Project management experience, particularly leading manufacturing systems implementations.
• Familiarity with lean manufacturing, Theory of Constraints, or continuous improvement.

What Success Looks Like

During your first year, you’ll help us achieve:

• A reliable, capacity-constrained production schedule.
• Successful implementation of finite-capacity scheduling software.
• More accurate and dependable customer delivery commitments.
• Clear visibility into manufacturing capacity and bottlenecks.
• Better coordination between production, engineering, purchasing, and sales.
• A scalable planning and scheduling process that supports continued rapid growth.

Why This Is an Exciting Opportunity

US Bellows is at an important stage in its growth.

We’ve built a successful manufacturing business, and we’re now developing the operational systems and capabilities needed to take it much further.

You’ll have a challenging manufacturing environment, an experienced operations team, a capable internal technology organization, and the backing of senior leadership.

What we need is someone who can bring these resources together, take ownership of the scheduling challenge, and turn it into a lasting operational capability.

We’re looking for someone who sees the complexity of a rapidly growing manufacturing operation not as a headache, but as an opportunity to do the best work of their career.

Reports to: US Bellows Operations Manager
Location: Houston, Texas — 100% On-Site