Demand Planner II

The future of aerospace and defense starts here. 

Ursa Major was founded to revolutionize how America and its allies access and apply high-performance propulsion, from hypersonics to solid rocket motors, satellite maneuvering and launch. We design and deliver propulsion and defense systems that solve the most urgent and critical national security demands. 

We are seeking a Demand Planner II to develop and maintain the demand plan for an assigned portfolio of programs. This role takes the inputs provided by Program Management and Business Development and shapes them into a single, time-phased plan the business can execute against.

As a Demand Planner, you work across both the executional horizon that drives build and buy decisions and the long-range horizon that drives capacity, capital, and hiring decisions. Program Management and Business Development own what the business has committed to and what it expects to win. You take those inputs, reconcile and shape them into a defensible, time-phased demand plan, bring that plan to the monthly SIOP cycle, and hand the agreed version to Supply Planning in a form that can be executed. The SIOP calendar, the demand review, and the reporting cadence are established; this role runs its portfolio inside them. 

Responsibilities:

• Develop and maintain the demand plan for an assigned portfolio of programs across both the executional horizon and the long-range horizon.
• Develop and maintain a rolling 0-12 month demand profile used for build and buy decisions, and extend the signal into the long-range horizon used for capacity, facility, and hiring decisions.
• Maintain alignment of the demand plan, supply solves, and risks and opportunities versus plan, and serve as the planning point of contact for the SIOP demand process for assigned programs.
• Gather and interrogate the demand inputs provided by Integrated Product Teams, Program Management, Business Development, and Finance, including contract backlog, funded and unfunded scope, and delivery commitments.
• Translate program milestones and delivery commitments into time-phased unit and rate demand, including programs with no forecast history.
• Ensure robust inputs, validity checks, and corrective actions within the forecasting and planning cycle to minimize error and maximize agility.
• Publish forecast accuracy and bias by program and in aggregate, and drive the corrective conversations those metrics point to.
• Lead the demand review of the monthly SIOP cycle for assigned programs, covering the plan, what changed since the last cycle, the assumptions behind the change, and the risks.
• Support short-term execution routines that enable rapid identification and resolution of near-term demand variances between SIOP cycles.
• Build and sustain the reporting and dashboards that make demand health, forecast accuracy, and risk visible to leadership.
• Maintain the assumption and change log so every movement in the plan is traceable to an input, a decision, or an event.
• Build upside, downside, and what-if demand scenarios that support capacity, capital, and staffing decisions in partnership with Finance and Operations.
• Deliver the agreed demand plan to Supply Planning in a form that can be executed, and stay engaged through the supply response to close gaps rather than pass them along.

Role Goals and Measures:

• Forecast accuracy for the assigned portfolio measured and published every cycle, meeting the accuracy targets set for the program family.
• Forecast bias held within an agreed tolerance band, with persistent over-forecasting or under-forecasting identified and addressed at the program level.
• Demand plan published on the SIOP calendar every month, with changes and assumptions documented.
• Demand plan accepted by Supply Planning as executable, measured by rework and clarification cycles after hand-off.
• Scenarios delivered inside the decision window they are meant to inform.

Required Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, Analytics, Finance, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Minimum of three years of experience in demand planning, forecasting, SIOP or S&OP, or a commercial or business analysis role carrying forecast accountability.
• ERP experience (SAP, Oracle, Odoo, Katana, Sage, etc.), and advanced Excel.
• Working command of MRP logic, including how bills of material, lead times, order policies, and planning parameters drive the plan and what breaks when they are wrong.
• Able to work equally well with quantitative and qualitative data sources to build a defensible plan, rather than only maintaining a statistical model.
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to collect, organize, analyze, and disseminate significant amounts of information with attention to detail and accuracy.
• Experience aggregating data from cross-functional stakeholders to support high-level, strategic decision-making.
• Action-oriented and results-driven, with the ability to work well under pressure, prioritize workload, and deliver to tight deadlines.
• Excellent critical thinking, with the agility to learn and unlearn as the business scales.
• Disciplined approach to planning data integrity, with the judgment to know when a plan input is not trustworthy.
• Ability to identify process and data gaps and provide recommendations for improvement.
• Ability to communicate in a clear and concise professional manner tailored to the audience, including the ability to hold a position with Program Management, Engineering, and Manufacturing when the plan is uncomfortable.

Knowledge of:

• SIOP process, cadence, and governance.
• Master Production Scheduling and material requirements planning principles.
• Demand planning and forecasting methodologies, including forecast accuracy and bias measurement.
• Demand and supply balancing across planning horizons.
• Inventory management strategies, including safety stock and slow-moving and obsolete material.
• Scenario modeling and trade-off analysis.
• Supply chain KPIs, including schedule attainment, on-time delivery, inventory turns, and capacity utilization.
• KPI and dashboard development.
• Manufacturing operations and fulfillment constraints in a low-volume, high-complexity environment.

Preferred Experience:

• APICS CPIM, CSCP, or IBF CPF certification.
• Aerospace, defense, or another low-volume, high-complexity, engineer-to-order environment where backlog, funding milestones, and contract dates drive the signal.
• Experience operating within an established SIOP or S&OP cadence and contributing to its continuous improvement.
• Experience facilitating a demand or supply review inside an established SIOP or S&OP cadence.
• Demonstrated improvement in forecast accuracy across an assigned portfolio.
• Exposure to PLM (Windchill) and engineering change management.
• Experience with data visualization tools.

Position Details:

• Hybrid schedule with a minimum of three days per week on-site in Berthoud, CO.
• Works primarily in an office environment with periodic presence on the production floor.
• Able to lift and transport parts and tools weighing up to 25lbs.

Colorado law requires us to tell you the base compensation range of this role, which is $80,000 - $99,000, determined by your education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities. What we can’t quantify for you are the exciting challenges, supportive team, and amazing culture we enjoy. 

Classification: Full-time Exempt

Benefits Include: (Please note, Interns are not eligible for benefits)

• Unlimited PTO - Vacation, Sick, Personal, and Bereavement
• Paid Parental and Adoptive Leave
• Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
• Tax Advantage Accounts (HSA/FSA)
• Employer Paid Short and Long Term Disability, Basic Life, AD&D
• Additional Benefit Options Including Voluntary Life and Emergency Medical Transport
• EAP Program
• Retirement Savings Plan - 401k with Company Match
• Equity Grants in the Company

How To Apply: 
Interested candidates are encouraged to apply by filling out the application below and clicking "Submit Application". This position will be posted for a minimum of 3 days and will remain open until filled or adjusted based on the volume of applicants.

---

NOTE: Research suggests that women and BIPOC individuals may self-select out of opportunities if they don't meet 100% of the job requirements. We encourage anyone who believes they have the skills and the drive necessary to succeed here to apply for this role.   Must be a U.S. Person (this includes U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents).   Eligibility to obtain and maintain a U.S. Security Clearance.    We’re an equal-opportunity employer. You will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status.   No outside recruiters, please.