Master Planner

Location: Kansas, United States of America

Thales people architect solutions that are relied upon to deliver operational advantage at every decisive moment throughout the mission. Defence and armed forces customers rely on us to deliver the full range of defensive systems for land, sea, and air. From early warning, to threat neutralisation, our platforms cover all levels from very short-range systems, to extended protection across the entire battle-space including Airspace Mobility Solutions, Vehicles and Tactical Systems and Missile Defence, Optronics, and Radar.

Master Planner

Fully onsite in Greater Kansas Area

Position Summary

Thales is looking for a Master Planner, who will play a critical role in aligning production, supply chain, and materials management functions to ensure efficient manufacturing operations and timely fulfillment of customer demand. This role is responsible for leading the Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning (SIOP) process, developing material forecasting strategies, and creating a comprehensive Master Production Schedule (MPS) to drive production and installation activities in alignment with business objectives.

In this position, you will oversee a small team of buyers to ensure supply chain requirements are effectively managed to support the production schedule, lead monthly cross-functional planning meetings to establish and optimize targets over a rolling 24-month horizon, and manage the day-to-day execution of the MPS to drive collaboration, operational efficiency, and achievement of customer and organizational goals.

Regulatory Compliance Requirements

• SUI Regulatory Compliance Requirements - Sensitive Unclassified Information.

Key Areas of Responsibility

• Ensure accurate setup, testing, and maintenance of ERP data to support production, including Material Master, Vendor Data, BOMs, and Routings.
• Develop and maintain a rough-cut capacity plan using the Master Production Schedule (MPS); identify capacity gaps or excesses and adjust procurement and production plans accordingly.
• Manage MPS and MRP runs, analyze results, resolve planning exceptions, and prioritize actions to support demand.
• Monitor and report on at-risk inventory, escalate potential impacts to leadership, drive continuous improvement initiatives, and track KPIs including projected and supplier on-time delivery, inventory accuracy and projections, operating cost performance, plan adherence, plan stability, and effectiveness of the S&OP process.
• Prepare and facilitate supply planning sessions and reviews, ensuring effective input and output management, lead S&OP and Demand Management processes.
• Collaborate on engineering change decisions to assess and mitigate production impacts, oversee procurement and production activities, and manage the lifecycle of internal orders from validation through final delivery to ensure a seamless and compliant process.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field with 5 years of relevant experience in Demand, Supply, or Sales & Operations Planning, or a Master’s degree with 4 years of relevant experience; 2–4 years of people leadership experience.
• Demonstrated ability to coach, develop, and mentor team members, hold colleagues accountable to commitments, and perform under pressure in a dynamic environment with initiative and motivation.
• Proven leadership and experience in leading Supply Chain SAP ECC implementation projects, with proficiency in SAP ECC Enterprise Resource Planning.
• Strong problem-solving, time management, and organizational skills with the ability to effectively prioritize and manage numerous projects, initiatives, and decision-making activities.
• Understanding of S&OP process and objectives, with strong experience and knowledge of key business functions such as Supply Chain, Planning, Sales & Marketing/Commercial, Finance, and Production.
• Strong written and verbal communication, interpersonal skills, and ability to influence and engage cross-functional participants, with proficiency in Microsoft Office tools including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Project for analysis and reporting.
• Eligible for Public Trust Clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• APICS Certification preferable.
• Six Sigma Black Belt or equivalent Lean problem solving skills preferred.
• BI tools capability such as Oracle/SAP BI, Tableau.

Special Position Requirements

• Schedule: 5/40
• Physical Environment: Access to Dock, Warehouse, Inventory and Production areas in addition to Office environment.

If you’re excited about working with Thales, but not meeting the requirements for this position, we encourage you to join our Talent Community!

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This position will require successfully completing a post-offer background check. Qualified candidates with [a] criminal history will be considered and are not automatically disqualified, consistent with federal law, state law, and local ordinances.

We are an equal opportunity employer, including disability and veteran status. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.

If you need an accommodation or assistance in order to apply for a position with Thales, please contact us at talentacquisition@us.thalesgroup.com.

The reference Total Target Compensation (TTC) market range for this position, inclusive of annual base salary and the variable compensation target, is between

Total Target Cash (TTC) 73,399.50 - 122,332.50 USD Annual

This reflects how companies in a similar industry and geographic region generally pay for similar jobs. This range helps the Company make pay decisions as one data point among many. Where a position falls within this range is also dependent on other factors including – but not limited to – the employee’s career path history, competencies, skills and performance, as well as the company’s annual salary budget, the customer’s program requirements, and the company’s internal equity. Thales may offer additional benefits and other compensation, depending on circumstances not related to an applicant’s status protected by local, state, or federal law.

(For Internal candidate, if you need more information, please reach out to your HR Shared Service, 1st Point)

Thales provides an extensive benefits program for all full-time employees working 30 or more hours per week and their eligible dependents, including the following:

• Retirement Savings Plan after 30 days of employment with a company contribution and a match, and with no vesting period
• Company paid holidays and Paid Time Off
• Company provided Life Insurance, AD&D, Disability, Employee Assistance Plan, and Well-being Program