Master Planner

Kinovate Life Sciences, Inc. established in 2004 in Oceanside, California. A wholly owned subsidiary of Nitto Denko Corporation ( Kinovate was spun-off from Oceanside, CA based R&D facility Nitto Denko Technical Corp ( with a mission to provide the highest quality materials to niche life science markets worldwide.

Since its inception, Kinovate has grown to become the market leader in solid support in the oligonucleotide synthesis field. We are bringing the most creative minds in science and technology to develop medical discoveries and breakthroughs. Our customers are well-known in the biotechnology industry. We are in a growth phase within ISO work environment and leading towards a GMP Certification. KLS is seeking extraordinary people to join the team. We are proud to be an EEO employer.

Why Work Here Great place to work. Small subsidiary of large international company headquartered in Japan. Generous discretionary bonuses. Health, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance effective from date of hire. Additional benefits include 401(k), 3 weeks vacation in your first year, 12 paid yearly holidays, 5 paid sick days, tuition reimbursement and more.

JOB SUMMARY:

Under strategic guidance, develop material requirements planning (MRP), manage the production scheduling and day-to-day planning operations to meet purchase and production objectives through ERP (Oracle NetSuite) workbench. Collaborate closely with Sales, Purchasing, Manufacturing and Warehouse teams to ensure quality improvements and the utilization of capacity planning and resources. Drive the optimization of E-2-E Order-To-Cash processes and workflows, enhancing productivity, inventory optimization and reducing costs.Analyze the production schedule, ensuring maximization of capacity, profitability, and meeting customer requirements while aligning efforts with overall business objectives.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES and/or RESPONSIBILITIES :

1. Champions and optimize the performance of every step in the supply chain, production, and product release value streams, ensuring all stakeholders’ deliverables are accurate and on time.
2. Develops and delivers accurate production schedules to align with customer demands and optimize resource utilization, in collaboration with Sales and Purchasing departments for accurate demand forecasting.
3. Utilizes and ensures accuracy of advanced production control tools and systems, such as Oracle NetSuite and JDE software, for planning and scheduling, integrating production control data into company systems.
4. Ensures accuracy and consistency of planning data within ERP/MRP systems (Oracle NetSuite); manage planning tools and technologies to support data-driven decision-making.
5. Leads inventory management, minimizing stockouts and managing obsolete inventory, and work with cross-functional teams (sales, warehouse, procurement) to develop effective inventory management strategies and minimize Lead Times.
6. Collaborates with QC, QA, Production, and Warehouse to collect timelines and deliverables, ensuring raw materials and documentation are prepared in advance to accommodate potential schedule changes.
7. Analyzes production capacity, ensuring skillful use of resources, and partners with sales, procurement and manufacturing teams for optimal capacity planning, operational productivity, and resource allocation.
8. Manages daily production planning results, focusing on process value and success while identifying and implementing process improvements to enhance productivity and reduce costs.
9. Creates, implements, and sustains comprehensive Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all scheduling, planning, ERP NetSuite operations and production coordination activities to ensure consistency, compliance, and process clarity across departments.
10. Conducts root cause analysis of planning discrepancies, system errors, or performance deviations, and drives continuous improvement through structured problem-solving methodologies, such as PDCA or Sig Sigma or Kaizen
11. Creates, evaluates, and reports key performance indicators (KPIs) related to inventory optimization, lead time, production planning and control, schedule adherence, and resource utilization.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES and/or RESPONSIBILITIES (continued) :

1. Fosters collaborative relationships across departments to align production plans with broader company objectives, asserting clear oral and written communication with stakeholders to ensure transparency in production activities.
2. Leads or contributes to cross-functional initiatives, including digital transformation, ERP upgrades, sustainability projects, or strategic sourcing efforts, to improve end-to-end supply chain visibility and performance.
3. Serves as a subject matter expert (SME) on planning processes and tools, providing mentorship, training, and support to planning team members and other stakeholders.
4. Other duties as assigned.

MINIMUM EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE:

1. Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain or Operations Management, Management Science, Data Analysis, Statistics, Cost Accounting, or equivalent experience.
2. Five to ten (5-10) years’ experience in material planning or production planning data analysis, or data-driven decision-making or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
3. Master’s degree in a related field, preferred.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS and/or ABILITIES:

1. Strong understanding of MRP systems (Preferably Oracle Net Suite) and materials planning in a manufacturing environment using statistical forecasting methods and data analysis techniques.
2. Advanced Software and Microsoft Suite skills: Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) software such as Oracle Net Suite, Power BI, Excel, and PowerPoint.
3. Strong project management skills and the ability to handle multiple projects concurrently.
4. Excellent knowledge of production control methods, including capacity planning and inventory management.
5. Exceptional ability to achieve goals with a commitment to continuous improvement.
6. Proficient in prioritizing work to meet deadlines, and multi-task while maintaining flexibility and adaptability in a dynamic fast-paced manufacturing team environment while working in accordance with Nitto Denko’s Business Conduct Guidelines.
7. Work independently and foster a cooperative spirit within a large and/or small team of diverse cultures.
8. Strong leadership skills, including selection, training, coaching, mentoring, developing, disciplining, conflict resolution, performance evaluation, team development and team goal setting. Proven leadership capabilities with experience in team management and development.
9. Strong organizational skills with attention to detail, high-level of accuracy and strong follow-through and follow-up. Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, adept at making data-driven decisions.
10. Ability to lead teams towards enhanced production success and profitability through process optimization.
11. Strong interpersonal and communication skills, capable of collaborating and influencing at various organizational levels.
12. Ability to present data-driven insights and recommendations to senior management effectively.
13. Advance language skills with the ability to read, analyze and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or government regulations. Write clear processes, manuals and reports for management review and present technical information in understandable terms and respond to questions from groups of customers, employees and/or public.
14. Strong application of critical thinking skills along with exceptional problem solving.

CERTIFICATES and/or LICENSES:

1. Certificate Production and Inventory Management (CPIM), a plus.
2. Certification in Data Analytics or Supply Chain Analytics, a plus.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS and/or WORK ENVIRONMENT: (Typical physical demands and the work environment characteristics an employee must meet and encounter while performing the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.)

1. Works in a typical office environment.
2. Operates a computer terminal for extended periods of time.
3. Availability and willingness to travel if required.
4. Ability to work under demanding requirements and hard deadlines (e.g., product deliverables).
5. Must be able to work extended hours per the demands of the business.