How to hire a senior production planner

How to hire a senior production planner, step by step

Here's a step-by-step senior production planner hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a senior production planner job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new senior production planner
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a senior production planner do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your senior production planner job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a senior production planner for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

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   Hiring the perfect senior production planner also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list shows salaries for various types of senior production planners.

   Type of Senior Production Planner	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Production Planner	Material recording clerks track product information in order to keep businesses and supply chains on schedule. They ensure proper scheduling, recordkeeping, and inventory control.	$30-49
   Material Coordinator	A material coordinator is in charge of processing requisitions and ensuring that all departments receive necessary goods and materials within a company. Aside from this, they must maintain positive engagements with vendors, suppliers, and business partners, negotiate contracts, manage schedules of deliveries, and prioritize cost-efficient goods... Show more	$14-25
   Expeditor	The role of expeditors is to ensure the timely and efficient preparation and delivery of food. To accomplish this task, they also perform other duties, including managing inventory levels, managing supply requisition, and coordinating with subcontractors... Show more	$13-25

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Production Planning
   • ERP
   • Logistics
   • Lean Manufacturing
   • Capacity Constraints
   • Purchase Orders
   • Material Availability
   • On-Time Delivery
   • Master Production Schedule
   • Supply Chain Planning
   • Customer Orders
   • Material Flow
   • Inventory Control
   • BOM

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage forecast product as required by customer needs, including VMI and KANBAN programs.
   • Manage cost effective inventory levels for purchase & manufacture assemblies through ERP maintenance of WIP, safety stock & lead-time settings.
   • Set up reverse logistics supply chain to manage customer returns enabling timely replacement or repair to customers satisfying contractual agreements.
   • Manage customer requirements including factory schedules/production, planning and order integrity by directing manufacturing and logistics to optimize supply chain availability.
   • Reconcile inventory and make sure the allocated inventory is flushed out against work orders in process (WIP).
   • Perform key tasks, including BOM accuracy and shipment of materials that enable successful transfer of tools to volume manufacturing.

   More senior production planner duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the senior production planner job description is a good way to get more applicants. A senior production planner salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a senior production planner in Utah may be lower than in Idaho, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level senior production planner. Additionally, a senior production planner with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average senior production planner salary

   $81,198yearly

   $39.04 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior production planner salary

   $64,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 18, 2025

   Average senior production planner salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$97,299	$47
   2	New Hampshire	$92,518	$44
   3	New Jersey	$90,944	$44
   4	Texas	$90,219	$43
   5	Massachusetts	$84,258	$41
   6	Illinois	$84,055	$40
   7	Virginia	$79,492	$38
   8	Minnesota	$79,359	$38
   9	Colorado	$78,167	$38
   10	Indiana	$76,022	$37
   11	Maryland	$74,192	$36
   12	New York	$73,031	$35
   13	South Carolina	$72,173	$35

   Average senior production planner salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Intuitive Surgical	$95,293	$45.81	3
   2	Bunge	$92,720	$44.58	15
   3	Waters	$89,533	$43.04	17
   4	Broadcom	$89,365	$42.96	2
   5	Coherent	$84,816	$40.78	3
   6	Cirrus Logic	$84,411	$40.58
   7	Skyworks Solutions	$83,453	$40.12	2
   8	PepsiCo	$82,619	$39.72	3
   9	Alnylam Pharmaceuticals	$81,975	$39.41
   10	Henkel	$81,614	$39.24	33
   11	Analogic	$79,704	$38.32
   12	Symrise	$78,582	$37.78	3
   13	MacLean-Fogg	$78,462	$37.72	3
   14	Elbit Systems of America	$77,873	$37.44	1
   15	MKS Instruments	$77,176	$37.10
   16	Honeywell	$76,856	$36.95	8
   17	Boston Scientific	$76,530	$36.79	20
   18	Danfoss	$76,016	$36.55	12
   19	FN America	$75,924	$36.50
   20	Harmonic Drive	$75,862	$36.47

4. Writing a senior production planner job description

   A job description for a senior production planner role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a senior production planner job description:

   Senior production planner job description example

   We heard you knock!
   
   Overview
   
   The Senior Production Scheduler plans and establishes daily and weekly production schedules. This role monitors material inventory, tracks progress of production, and reviews factors, which affect schedules. This leader is responsible for analyzing and interpreting data to drive production efficiencies. This role will also include work order planning, scheduling, capacity monitoring and planning, and transfer order planning. Additional duties will include revising and rescheduling orders when necessary and collaborating with Business process areas to achieve Business objectives in MRP environment. This role will be responsible for maintain accurate BOMS, routing, and components scheduling in the MRP database. This leader will also oversee the Scheduling department and have direct responsibility for the Production Scheduler and Clerk.
   
   Responsibilities
   Create daily and weekly production schedules within the MRP environment.Create daily and weekly run-in schedules within the MRP environment.Analyze and interpret data to ensure that scheduling requirements are met to maximize productional efficiencies.Analyze, interpret, and coordinate material for operations requirement with in the MRP environment to achieve business objectives.Identify alternative material requirements to meet MRP schedule date demands.Collaborate with Business functional areas to implement workflow, process improvements and standard operating procedures.Coordinate with Business functional areas to plan and release work orders based on changing demand, material, capacity, freight and Business objectives.Prepare replenishment requests as required.Ensuring alignment of priorities and expectations by communicating with Inside Sales, Purchasing, Master Planning, Production, and Logistics Team.Develop and implement performance SLA's for on time and complete order delivery and provide Supply Operations with detail priority run lists, monitoring progress and providing feedback to respective parties.Full coordination with customer service and plant management on all issues relating to product scheduling for production Coordinates remake items and communicate information to the floor Coordinates of all production orders delivered to production shop floor (Includes all primary and secondary operations) Processes stock orders and date production base on department capacity - Communicate issues with operations
   
   Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:
   Competent PC skills (Excel, Word and Masonite systems knowledge Master-pack Production Scheduling) Degree of creativity and latitude is required Ability to interact and communicate effectively with individuals at all levels of the organization Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information Ability to document, review and analyze workflow processes, company policies, and legal requirements to be able to help establish, train and maintain new improved processes Must be cross trained in shipping clerk functions, and inbound scheduler functions
   
   Qualifications
   Bachelor's DegreeMinimum of 1-year experience within Supply Chain and/or OperationsPrevious experience with MRP/MPS, Microsoft AX and/or SAP
   
   #LI-JH1
   
   Open to extraordinary!

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find senior production planners for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any senior production planners they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level senior production planners with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your senior production planner job on Zippia to find and recruit senior production planner candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with senior production planner candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new senior production planner

   Once you have selected a candidate for the senior production planner position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new senior production planner first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a senior production planner?