Manager, Manufacturing Planning

Manager, Manufacturing Planning

Location: Albuquerque, NM

Company Overview

Kairos Power is a new nuclear energy technology and engineering company whose mission is to enable the world’s transition to clean energy, with the ultimate goal to dramatically improve people’s quality of life while protecting the environment. This goal will be accomplished through the commercialization of the fluoride-salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor (FHR) that can be deployed with robust safety, affordable costs, and flexible operation to accommodate the expansion of variable renewables.

Job Summary

Kairos Power is seeking a Manager, Manufacturing Planning to lead planners across all manufacturing locations and build a scalable planning and production-control framework for prototype hardware, test equipment, standard components, and applicable Code jobs supporting the company’s FHR programs.

This leader bridges R&D/Design Engineering and Component Manufacturing, translating Project Management Office (PMO) priorities into achievable production plans. The role owns the integrated schedule, planning processes, and team development; coordinates readiness; and gives leadership visibility into schedule risks and cost tradeoffs. In partnership with Component Manufacturing and supporting functions, the Manager advances shared goals for timely, cost-effective production that meets quality requirements.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and improve the manufacturing planning and production-control framework across programs, sites, and planning horizons. Establish scheduling hierarchy, required inputs, procedures, decision rights, review cadence, and escalation paths with affected functions; train teams and sustain adoption.
• Manage and develop manufacturing planners across sites through hiring, onboarding, workload allocation, regular coaching, mentoring, and performance management. Establish individual development plans, stretch assignments, and cross-training to build manufacturing judgment, clear responsibilities, site coverage, and team depth.
• Recognize strong performance and effective collaboration, and create an environment where planners raise constraints early, challenge unrealistic assumptions, and share knowledge.
• Serve as Manufacturing Planning’s primary PMO interface. Translate approved priorities and milestones into shop-level plans; partner with engineers to clarify scope, quantities, design maturity, technical dependencies, and project changes. PMO retains program priority ownership.
• Own the integrated production schedule, linking near-term work to program milestones and forecast demand. Obtain validation of capacity, estimated effort, and execution constraints from the Manager of Manufacturing Operations and site leaders before publishing commitments or major changes; document assumptions and escalate unresolved feasibility concerns.
• Govern production priority, sequencing, and schedule changes through impact analysis, visibility into affected or deferred work, approvals, and communication. Resolve routine conflicts within approved program priorities, validated capacity, and established decision rights. Review tradeoffs with PMO and the Manager of Manufacturing Operations; escalate changes beyond those boundaries to leadership with downstream impacts and recommended options before implementation.
• Build scenario-planning and constraint-management capabilities to evaluate dates, costs, workload distribution, recovery options, and staffing or equipment needs. Evaluate external manufacturing support as a capacity or recovery option and coordinate recommendations with Procurement and responsible stakeholders. Obtain affected site leaders’ agreement before committing their resources.
• Coordinate material and supplier readiness with Materials, Supply Chain, and Procurement, including long-lead components, pilot materials, tooling, and outside processing. Integrate contract-manufacturer schedules through Procurement and responsible technical teams, tracking required input dates and readiness gaps.
• Verify that applicable routings, bills of materials (BOMs), test and assembly procedures, control plans, and other required documents are approved for the planned build stage by responsible functions. Coordinate resolution of readiness gaps without assuming technical approval authority.
• Own planners’ job preparation, data quality, and release processes in the company manufacturing execution system (MES) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, including validated estimates, routings, material requirements, and approved dates. The Manager of Manufacturing Operations owns execution and confirms shop readiness; Quality Control (QC) confirms inspection readiness. Supervisors retain daily personnel assignments.
• Coordinate inter-site sequences and handoffs with site planners and Materials, aligning transfer orders, transportation, receiving, and inspection with sending and receiving schedules.
• Lead schedule and capacity reviews; track recovery actions and decisions with clear owners and due dates. Report site and consolidated milestones, original commitments, current forecasts, and recovery progress to PMO and manufacturing leadership. Escalate risks early with affected work, alternatives, resource needs, and decision deadlines.
• Own planning process and data requirements across PMO scheduling, ERP, MES, and shop-floor tools. Establish agreement on authoritative records, interfaces, and handoffs with PMO, IT, and system owners so technology supports consistent processes.
• Lead Manufacturing Planning’s ERP/MES implementation, enhancement, and adoption with IT, system owners, and Component Manufacturing. Define business requirements, validate workflows and data, conduct user acceptance testing, train planners, and support go-live, stabilization, and reliable daily use.
• Establish performance measures and feedback loops using actual durations, schedule stability and attainment, readiness at release, forecast accuracy, backlog, and recurring constraints. Improve estimates, planning standards, and system maturity while preserving safety, quality, and traceability.
• Set measurable expectations for planning accuracy, schedule maintenance, responsiveness, and follow-through. Use performance trends to distinguish individual, process, resource, and technical gaps; address missed commitments and recurring issues through corrective actions with clear owners and due dates.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Minimum 7 years of experience in manufacturing planning, scheduling, or production control, including integrated schedules across multiple work centers or projects.
• Experience directly managing and developing manufacturing planners through coaching, performance management, and workload allocation. Multi-site team management preferred.
• Demonstrated experience designing or substantially improving an integrated manufacturing planning and production-control framework in a complex, high-mix, prototype, or engineer-to-order environment, including cross-functional procedures and sustained adoption.
• Experience translating PMO or program priorities into executable plans and establishing governance for finite capacity, sequencing changes, schedule exceptions, and competing demands across programs or locations.
• Hands-on experience implementing and operating manufacturing ERP and/or MES systems, including requirements, workflow design, testing, training, and stabilization. Infor CSI and advanced planning and scheduling experience preferred.
• Relevant education in supply chain, manufacturing, engineering, business, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience. Regulated manufacturing experience preferred.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Strong systems-thinking and process-design skills connecting program demand, engineering maturity, BOMs and routings, material and documentation readiness, manufacturing duration, finite capacity, execution, and actual performance.
• Strong knowledge of manufacturing planning, scheduling, work-order management, and ERP/MRP concepts.
• Sufficient understanding of machining, fabrication, welding, assembly, and inspection to evaluate complexity and sequencing.
• Working knowledge of engineering drawings, material specifications, BOMs, routings, and manufacturing documentation.
• Ability to distinguish process, governance, data, and technology needs and establish sustainable practices beyond individual spreadsheets, meetings, or subject-matter experts.
• Strong analytical skills in ERP reporting, Excel, and schedule variance analysis.
• Clear communication of risks and tradeoffs to engineers, Component Manufacturing, and leadership.
• Ability to resolve competing demands, develop planners, and influence partners outside the reporting chain.
• Excellent verbal, written communication/presentation, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work with a highly collaborative team.
• Ability to solve problems quickly and efficiently.
• Prioritizes and ensures safety of oneself and others.
• Ability to proactively collect, manage and transfer knowledge.
• Ability to seek different and novel ways to create efficiencies when working on problems, challenges and issues.

Physical Demands

• Remaining in a stationary position, often standing or sitting, for prolonged periods.
• Moving about to accomplish tasks or moving from one worksite to another.
• Communicating with others to exchange information.

Environmental Conditions

• General office environment.
• Manufacturing/industrial environments, including noisy production areas.
• Low temperatures.
• High temperatures.
• Outdoor environment or elements such as precipitation and wind.
• High-concentration, demanding and fast-paced.
• Prototyping/Test Facilities.

Safety and PPE

• Reading and interpreting hazardous warning signs.
• Reporting issues with equipment or unsafe conditions.
• Wearing proper PPE, to include face mask, face shields, gloves, safety shoes, and other PPE as required.

Travel

• Travel between manufacturing locations as needed; 5%.

Certification

• APICS CPIM certification preferred.

Additional Requirements

• Occasional support outside normal business hours may be needed for critical production events or system implementation activities.

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