Outsourcing Control Planner

Position Summary

The Outsourced Control Planner controls the release, execution visibility, material-transfer coordination, return, and recovery of outsourced fabrication work for metal, copper, GPO-3, and Lexan. The planner selects approved vendors and places work within established standards, maintains current evidence in the project tracker, and escalates risks that could affect the required delivery date, material traceability, or product conformity.

Essential Responsibilities

• Assemble and verify complete outsourced work packages using the current approved drawings, specifications, quantities, material requirements, required dates, and applicable quality requirements.
• Select approved vendors and place outsourced fabrication work within established pricing, Engineering, Quality, and schedule standards.
• Maintain the project tracker with the vendor, work package, package revision, PO or reference, required date, vendor commitment, material-transfer status, issue status, recovery actions, and closeout evidence. Selection rationale is not a required tracker field.
• Coordinate purchase-order confirmation, material availability, and external execution readiness with the appropriate supporting functions before release.
• Coordinate Material Transfer Authorization activity for SPIKE-owned material sent to vendors. Maintain traceable transfer, receipt, status, reconciliation, and return evidence through closeout.
• Maintain regular vendor contact, verify progress using quantities and completed operations, and record current status, blockers, commitments, and recovery actions.
• Coordinate transportation and documented handoffs to and from vendors, including quantity, condition, and required paperwork.
• Coordinate resolution of unclear requirements, material discrepancies, unapproved changes, and outsourced quality concerns. Identify and segregate affected material and escalate the issue for disposition.
• Monitor vendor package, material-control, delivery, and documentation compliance; record findings, assigned actions, due dates, and closure evidence.
• Maintain current outsourced-work completion and closeout records, including required receipt, acceptance evidence, documents, material reconciliation, and outstanding exceptions.

Decision Rights and Boundaries

• Vendor selection and placement. May select an approved vendor and place outsourced fabrication work within established standard practice.
• Exception authority. Must obtain direction before placing work that would deviate from standard practice determined by the pricing matrix, Engineering documents, or Quality standards.
• External release control. May hold an external release, dispatch, or affected return when required records are incomplete, a requirement is unclear, a material discrepancy exists, an unapproved change is identified, or product conformity or traceability is uncertain.
• Functional boundaries. The planner coordinates and maintains evidence. Engineering provides technical direction; Quality authorizes product acceptance and disposition; and Purchasing maintains the commercial transaction and purchase-order process.
• Schedule boundary. The planner reports verified outsourced-work status and recovery actions. The role does not independently change customer commitments or the master schedule.

Qualifications

• Fabrication planning experience and the ability to read drawings, bills of material, specifications, and work-package requirements.
• Experience coordinating external vendors, material flow, schedules, quantities, records, and recovery actions.
• Strong communication, follow-through, and judgment when requirements are incomplete or a commitment is at risk.
• Working proficiency with the tracker, assigned planning systems, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft 365.

Role Outcome

The role provides a controlled outsourced-fabrication path: complete package evidence, an approved-vendor placement, traceable material status, verified vendor progress, documented recovery when needed, and complete closeout records.