What are the responsibilities and job description for the Industrial Maintenance Work Planning Specialist position at ATS - Industrial Maintenance?
A day in the life
You start the morning reviewing the work order backlog and key KPIs. With your safety glasses on, you walk the floor to scope newly submitted non-emergency requests, clarify the scope with stakeholders, and note job-site conditions. Before lunch, you’ve gathered the drawings, schematics, and specifications you need, checked OEM manuals and equipment histories in the Knowledgebase, and confirmed that every required spare part is available. If a task calls for a specialized tool or auxiliary equipment, you line it up.
Midday brings a planning and scheduling touchpoint with Production. Together you set priorities, share status, and—when the situation calls for it—adjust planned maintenance. Your goal: maintain a Ready Backlog at or above 80% and build a Weekly Technician Schedule that fully utilizes 100% of available technician labor hours across priority planned jobs and preventive maintenance.
In the afternoon, you fine-tune job plans for clarity and safety, capture lessons learned, and improve them through continuous improvement. You review maintenance metrics to boost planning and scheduling effectiveness, keep meticulous records and files for meaningful analysis and reporting, and coach site employees on the CMMS so the system remains accurate, trusted, and actively used.
What you’ll do
- Evaluate non-emergency work requests, define scope, and inspect job locations to determine requirements.
- Estimate labor hours, craft skill mixes, and identify parts, materials, equipment, and special tools for safe, efficient proactive maintenance.
- Compile technical documentation (drawings, schematics, specifications, spare parts lists from equipment histories, OEM manuals, Knowledgebase) and verify part availability ahead of scheduling.
- Arrange special tools and auxiliary equipment when needed.
- Maintain an organized, prioritized backlog and keep the Ready Backlog 80%.
- Lead weekly planning and scheduling meetings with Production to confirm priorities, communicate status, and adjust plans as needed.
- Create a Weekly Technician Schedule that assigns priority planned work and PM tasks to utilize 100% of available technician hours.
- Continuously improve job plans and elevate planning/scheduling effectiveness using review processes and maintenance metrics.
- Maintain records and files to support robust analysis and reporting of maintenance activities.
- Train site personnel on CMMS, protect data integrity, and drive utilization.
What you’ll bring
- Associate Degree in a technical field and 1–3 years of maintenance planning/scheduling experience; or 5–10 years as a machine repair technician; or an equivalent blend.
- Comfort in an industrial manufacturing environment with strong electro-mechanical aptitude.
- Computer proficiency (CMMS and Microsoft Office) and familiarity with maintenance applications.
- Excellent verbal communication, facilitation, and presentation skills; ability to build and sustain professional relationships.
Preferred
- Leadership growth mindset.
- Background in job plan development, job scheduling, and work execution.
- Project management and capital project exposure.
- Certifications: CMRP, Green Belt, STS.
Core competencies
- Drive & Motivation
- Interpersonal Skills
- Task Management
- Strategic Skills
- Customer Focus
Physical demands and work environment
Expect to stand and walk frequently; use hands and fingers; reach with hands and arms; climb and balance at heights using ladders or lifts; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl in confined spaces. You will regularly talk and hear and occasionally sit. You may occasionally lift or move more than 50 pounds. Close and color vision are regularly required. Work may include exposure to outdoor weather and risk of electrical shock. The factory setting is typically very loud and may include hazardous materials and greasy or slippery floors.
Compensation & benefits
ATS believes in fair and equitable pay. Actual salaries may fall within, above, or below a given range based on factors including (but not limited to) education, training, experience, professional achievement, business need, and location. We offer market-leading benefits: Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage; PTO; a 401(k) with employer match; tuition reimbursement; and more.
Salary Range