Operations Associate Jobs in Spring Lake, MI (NOW HIRING)

Xylem is a Fortune 500 global water solutions company dedicated to advancing sustainable impact and empowering the people who make water work every day. As a leading water technology company with 23,000 employees operating in over 150 countries, Xylem is at the forefront of addressing the world's most critical water challenges. We invite passionate individuals to join our team, dedicated to exceeding customer expectations through innovative and sustainable solutions.

The Role

Are you a planner who thrives in complex manufacturing environments where every order is different and every project matters?

We're looking for a Planning & Intercompany Operations Specialist to play a critical role in connecting customer demand, engineering changes, manufacturing execution, and intercompany operations within our engineered-to-order (ETO) business. This is not a traditional production planning position. Instead, you'll be at the center of highly customized projects, collaborating with Engineering, Project Management, Operations, Supply Chain, and Finance to ensure products are delivered on time and customer commitments are met.

If you enjoy solving complex challenges, managing competing priorities, and driving operational excellence across multiple functions, we'd love to hear from you.

What You'll Do:

Demand & Project Planning

• Translate customer orders, project milestones, and sales forecasts into actionable production and supply plans.
• Partner with Sales, Engineering, and Project Management teams to understand project timelines, scope changes, and evolving demand requirements.
• Maintain visibility of demand across short-, mid-, and long-term planning horizons.
• Align intercompany demand requirements with manufacturing capacity and customer commitments.

Production Planning & Order Execution

• Develop and manage production schedules that balance project priorities, material availability, and manufacturing capacity.
• Create and maintain manufacturing orders to support engineered-to-order products.
• Monitor order progress and proactively address potential delays, constraints, and capacity conflicts.
• Manage intercompany sales orders within SAP and support order fulfillment activities across multiple business units.
• Execute planning transactions and support processes that bridge legacy and upgraded ERP environments.

Engineering Change & Systems Coordination

• Serve as the primary coordinator for engineering change order (ECO) processing and system updates.
• Collaborate with Engineering, Finance, Product Management, and Operations to ensure approved changes are accurately reflected within ERP systems.
• Manage product costing, pricing, configuration, and production planning updates resulting from engineering changes.
• Monitor implementation timelines and communicate impacts to production schedules and customer commitments.
• Maintain high levels of data accuracy and process compliance throughout the change management lifecycle.

Material & Inventory Coordination

• Ensure availability of critical and long-lead-time materials for complex builds.
• Partner with Procurement and Supply Chain teams to manage shortages, expedite materials, and mitigate risk.
• Maintain planning parameters, lead times, and inventory strategies that support business objectives.
• Resolve material-related issues that could impact project schedules or customer deliveries.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Act as a key point of coordination between Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, and customer-facing teams.
• Support intercompany planning and order management activities across multiple locations.
• Communicate risks, engineering changes, schedule shifts, and operational challenges proactively.
• Participate in SIOP/S&OP reviews, project planning, and capacity management discussions.

Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities to improve planning processes, order execution, and operational efficiency.
• Support ERP enhancements, system transitions, process standardization, and best-practice implementation.
• Analyze operational performance metrics and recommend improvements to drive better business outcomes.

What You'll Bring:

• Associate's or Bachelor's degree preferred in Supply Chain, Operations, Engineering, Business, or a related field.
• 3+ years of experience in planning, scheduling, manufacturing operations, supply chain, or order management.
• Experience working with ERP/MRP systems.
• Working knowledge of SAP or similar enterprise systems.
• Experience processing engineering changes, product cost updates, master data transactions, or related operational activities.
• Strong Microsoft Excel skills, including data analysis and reporting.
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic manufacturing environment.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in engineered-to-order (ETO), project-based manufacturing, or low-volume/high-complexity production environments.
• Experience supporting intercompany planning, fulfillment, or order management processes.
• Knowledge of Engineering Change Management (ECM/ECO) processes.
• Familiarity with SIOP/S&OP processes.
• APICS/ASCM certification (CPIM, CSCP) or equivalent.

#LI-JO2

Join the global Xylem team to be a part of innovative technology solutions transforming water usage, conservation, and re-use. Our products impact public utilities, industrial sectors, residential areas, and commercial buildings, with a commitment to providing smart metering, network technologies, and advanced analytics for water, electric, and gas utilities. Partner with us in creating a world where water challenges are met with ingenuity and dedication; where we recognize the power of inclusion and belonging in driving innovation and allowing us to compete more effectively around the world.