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Lightera-Creating Brighter Connections
Lightera is a global leader in optical fiber and connectivity solutions, creating technologies that help the world communicate, compute, connect, and grow. From communications networks and data centers to advanced industrial and specialty applications, our teams develop solutions that enable faster, more reliable, and more resilient connections around the world.
The name Lightera combines “light” and “era” to represent a new era of connectivity made possible by light. It reflects our roots in fiber optics and our ambition to help shape a brighter, more connected future.
At Lightera, we are creating brighter connections through innovation, expertise, and collaboration. Our principles, We Lead, We Learn, and We Care, guide how we work, solve problems, support one another, and serve our customers. Lightera is committed to safety of our employees and the communities where we operate.
Working at Lightera
Joining Lightera means working alongside people solving complex challenges in optical communications and connectivity. We offer opportunities to contribute, learn, develop your expertise, and help create technologies that connect people, businesses, and communities around the world. In addition, we offer competitive salaries and generous benefits programs including medical, dental, tuition reimbursement, and a matching 401(k) plan.
Headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, Lightera operates globally, serving customers across communications, data center, industrial, medical, aerospace, defense, and other advanced technology markets. Lightera is part of the Furukawa Electric Group
Senior Manager-Production Planning & Materials
Carrollton, GA-Onsite
Hybrid: Work is performed in both office and manufacturing environments, with responsibilities requiring time in administrative workspaces as well as production areas.
The Senior Manager, Production Planning & Materials provides strategic and operational leadership for production planning, master scheduling, material requirements planning, inventory management, and manufacturing readiness within a complex manufacturing environment. The role connects customer demand, material availability, production capacity, and factory execution to ensure the organization can manufacture the right products, at the right time, with the right materials and resources.
This leader partners closely with Operations, Procurement, Supply Chain, Engineering, Quality, Logistics, Customer Service, and Commercial teams to identify constraints, resolve shortages, improve schedule performance, optimize inventory, and strengthen planning discipline. The successful candidate brings deep experience operating inside a manufacturing environment and understands how SAP or other ERP/MRP systems, planning decisions, and material signals translate into day-to-day factory performance.
Key Responsibilities
* Lead the end-to-end production planning and materials management function for the assigned manufacturing operation, site, business unit, or network.
* Develop and govern production plans and master schedules that balance customer demand, plant capacity, labor, equipment, material availability, and inventory objectives.
* Own or oversee master production scheduling (MPS), material requirements planning (MRP), capacity planning, production scheduling, and short- and mid-range manufacturing plans.
* Ensure raw materials, components, and other production inputs are available to support scheduled manufacturing requirements.
* Identify and resolve material shortages, capacity constraints, schedule conflicts, and other risks that could disrupt production or customer commitments.
* Partner with Operations leadership to translate planning priorities into executable factory schedules and drive schedule adherence.
* Monitor inventory levels and develop strategies to improve inventory turns, reduce excess and obsolete inventory, and protect production continuity.
* Use ERP/MRP systems like SAP and planning data to improve material signals, production priorities, inventory accuracy, and decision quality.
* Lead cross-functional responses to changes in demand, supply disruptions, equipment constraints, material shortages, and customer priority shifts.
* Partner with Procurement and supplier-facing teams to align material availability with production requirements and escalation needs.
* Participate in or lead elements of Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP), Integrated Business Planning (IBP), demand/supply alignment, or related planning processes.
* Build planning standards, operating rhythms, escalation processes, and performance management practices that improve manufacturing predictability.
* Lead, coach, and develop planners, schedulers, materials professionals, and/or production control team members.
* Drive continuous improvement across planning, materials flow, inventory, scheduling, and manufacturing execution processes.
* Develop and communicate actionable reporting on production status, material constraints, inventory exposure, service risk, and key planning metrics.
* Partner with business and plant leadership on strategic capacity, materials, and operational planning decisions.
Required Qualifications
* Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations, Engineering, Business, Manufacturing, Logistics, or a related field; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
* 5-7+ years of progressive experience in production planning, production control, materials management, materials planning, manufacturing planning, supply planning, or a closely related function.
* Significant experience working directly within a manufacturing or factory environment.
* Demonstrated ownership of production planning and/or production scheduling within a complex manufacturing operation.
* Strong experience with material requirements planning (MRP), material availability, inventory planning, and production materials management.
* Experience using an enterprise ERP/MRP platform such as SAP, Oracle, JD Edwards, Infor, QAD, Epicor, Plex, Microsoft Dynamics, or a comparable manufacturing system.
* Experience working cross-functionally with Manufacturing/Operations, Procurement, Supply Chain, Engineering, Quality, Logistics, and other business stakeholders.
* Prior leadership experience managing or developing planning, scheduling, production control, materials, inventory, or related teams.
* Demonstrated ability to diagnose complex production or material constraints and drive cross-functional resolution.
* Strong analytical, communication, prioritization, and decision-making skills.
Preferred Qualifications
* Experience with SAP in a manufacturing planning/materials environment.
* Experience in a complex, multi-stage, high-mix, engineered, process, discrete, or material-intensive manufacturing environment.
* Experience supporting multiple production lines, product families, plants, or global operations.
* Experience with S&OP, IBP, demand planning, supply planning, or integrated planning processes.
* APICS/ASCM certification such as CPIM or CSCP, Lean/Six Sigma certification, or related credentials.
* Experience with make-to-order, make-to-stock, configure-to-order, and/or engineer-to-order manufacturing models.
* Experience improving planning processes, ERP discipline, schedule attainment, inventory performance, or material availability.
Manufacturing Backgrounds Considered
* Fiber optics, wire and cable, electronics, electrical equipment, semiconductors, industrial equipment, machinery, automotive, aerospace, medical devices, chemicals, specialty materials, plastics, packaging, metals, building products, consumer products, food, pharmaceutical, paper/pulp, textiles, and other engineered or material-intensive manufacturing environments.
Key Competencies
Factory & Operational Acumen
Understands how planning decision