Production Coordinator

Reports To: Director of Operations
Position Type: Full-Time

JOB SUMMARY

The Production Coordinator is responsible for assisting in the coordination and facilitation for the successful execution of customer jobs from order entry and production release through manufacturing, delivery, and job closeout. This position serves as a primary communication and coordination link between Production Control, Sales, Manufacturing, Shipping, and customers to ensure jobs are progressing according to established schedules, customer requirements, and company commitments.

Working under the direction of the Director of Operations, the Production Coordinator monitors job status, helps identify potential scheduling conflicts and delivery risks, facilitates communication between departments, and ensures timely and accurate communication with the Sales team and customers. This individual is responsible for maintaining visibility of active jobs, communicating changes and potential disruptions, and driving accountability for timely follow-

The ideal candidate is highly organized, detail-oriented, proactive, and possesses strong communication and problem-solving skills. They must be comfortable working in a fast-paced contract manufacturing environment where customer requirements, production priorities, and changing schedules require consistent coordination and attention to detail.

The Production Coordinator plays an important role in delivering exceptional service while supporting operations, schedule adherence, and overall customer satisfaction.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Job Coordination and Production Tracking

• Work closely with Production Control Manager to ensure jobs are properly prioritized, scheduled, and communicated throughout the organization.
• Help monitor jobs against established production schedules and identify potential delays, bottlenecks, or scheduling conflicts.
• Proactively follow up with Manufacturing, Quality, and Purchasing to obtain accurate job status and help identify outstanding issues.
• Identify jobs that are not progressing according to plan and escalate concerns to the Production Control Manager.
• Assist with expediting critical jobs and customer priorities as directed.

2. Sales Team and Customer Communication

• Serve as a primary point of coordination between Production Control and the Sales team regarding the status of active customer jobs.
• Communicate directly with customers as needed regarding job status, delivery expectations, schedule updates, and other routine production-related matters, as authorized.
• Ensure customer inquiries regarding delivery dates are acknowledged and addressed in a timely and professional manner.
• Proactively communicate potential delivery delays, changes in production schedules, and other issues that may affect customer commitments.

3. Cross-Functional Coordination

• Facilitate communication between departments when issues arise that may affect job schedules, production flow, or customer expectations.
• Coordinate with Purchasing and outside processing suppliers, as necessary, to monitor material availability and outsourced operations.
• Work with Shipping to coordinate anticipated completion dates, shipment requirements, and customer delivery expectations.
• Ensure relevant stakeholders are informed of significant job changes, delays, or other issues requiring attention.

4. Schedule Management and Issue Resolution

• Bring attention to jobs that are stalled, waiting on information, materials, engineering support, outside processing, or other requirements.
• Escalate significant schedule risks, resource conflicts, and customer concerns to the Production Control Manager.
• Maintain accurate records of revised completion dates and communicate changes to the appropriate internal and external stakeholders.

5. ERP System and Documentation Management

• Ensure job information is current and accessible to appropriate personnel.
• Maintain documentation of customer communications, schedule changes, and significant job-related decisions.
• Utilize ERP information and other available reporting tools to support effective job tracking and communication.

6. Customer Service and Continuous Improvement

• Promote a customer-focused culture through responsive communication, ownership, and follow-
• Identify recurring communication gaps, scheduling issues, and process inefficiencies.
• Maintain a professional, solutions-oriented approach when dealing with customer concerns and internal challenges.

ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned by the Production Control Manager.
• Support special projects and operational improvement initiatives as needed.
• Maintain confidentiality of customer information, company information, pricing, and proprietary manufacturing processes.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Education and Experience

• Experience in production coordination, production control, manufacturing administration, customer service, or a related role preferred.
• Experience within contract manufacturing, CNC machining, metalworking, or industrial manufacturing environment strongly preferred.
• Previous experience working with ERP systems required; Made2Manage experience is a plus.
• Experience coordinating customer orders, production schedules, and delivery commitments preferred.
• Familiarity with manufacturing processes, production workflows, and job tracking within a machining environment is highly desirable.

Technical Skills

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel, Outlook, and Word.
• Ability to navigate ERP systems and accurately maintain production and job-related information.
• Ability to interpret and understand basic manufacturing documentation, including job travelers, purchase orders, drawings, and customer specifications.
• Strong organizational and administrative capabilities.
• Ability to manage multiple jobs, priorities, and deadlines simultaneously.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• Communication: Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with customers, Sales, and all levels of the organization.
• Organization: Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple jobs, priorities, and competing deadlines without losing attention to detail.
• Accountability: Takes ownership of assigned responsibilities, follows through on commitments, and ensures outstanding issues are addressed.
• Proactiveness: Anticipates potential problems, identifies risks, and communicates concerns before they become significant production or customer issues.
• Customer Focus: Understands the importance of customer relationships, responsiveness, and meeting delivery commitments.
• Attention to Detail: Maintains accurate job information, documentation, schedules, and customer communications.
• Teamwork: Works effectively across departments and builds productive working relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Adaptability: Demonstrates the ability to work effectively in a fast-paced manufacturing environment where priorities and schedules can change.
• Professionalism: Maintains a positive, solutions-oriented attitude and represents the company professionally in all customer and internal interactions.

ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

Reports Directly To: Director of Operations

Works Closely With:

• Production Control
• Manufacturing Management and Supervisors
• Engineering
• Quality
• Purchasing
• Shipping and Receiving
• Outside Processing Suppliers
• Sales Team
• Customers

AUTHORITY AND DECISION-MAKING

The position is expected to proactively identify and escalate production concerns, scheduling conflicts, customer issues, and potential delivery delays to the Production Control Manager.

The Production Coordinator does not authorize changes to production priorities, customer delivery commitments, pricing, engineering requirements, or other contractual obligations without appropriate management approval.

WORKING CONDITIONS

• Primarily shop and shop office in manufacturing facility.
• Regular interaction with manufacturing personnel and a presence on the production floor to verify job status and facilitate communication.
• Frequent interaction with customers and internal departments through email, telephone, and in-person communication.
• Must be able to function effectively in a fast-paced manufacturing environment with changing priorities and deadlines.
• Must adhere to all applicable company safety requirements when entering manufacturing areas.

There are three areas I would emphasize when implementing this role at Strohwig:

1. Establish clear ownership of job communication.

The Production Coordinator should own the communication process for assigned jobs. Sales should not have to chase Manufacturing for updates, and customers should not have to call repeatedly to find out where their jobs stand. The coordinator should be responsible for making sure the right people have the right information at the right time.

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