Merck KGaA Posted August 15, 2026

Production Planning Specialist

Irvine, North Ayrshire, United Kingdom FULL_TIME
Manufacturing & CMC

Merck KGaA is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

Work Your Magic with us!

Ready to explore, break barriers, and discover more? We know you’ve got big plans – so do we! Our colleagues across the globe love innovating with science and technology to enrich people’s lives with our solutions in Healthcare, Life Science, and Electronics. Together, we dream big and are passionate about caring for our rich mix of people, customers, patients, and planet. That's why we are always looking for curious minds that see themselves imagining the unimaginable with us.

Your Role:

An excellent opportunity has become available for a Production Planning Specialist to join the team in Irvine. The Production Planning Specialist is responsible for supporting the efficient operation of the production plant while ensuring the satisfaction of all customer demands. In this role you will create production plans and detailed schedules per established timelines to support efficient operation of the production facility and customer requirements, maintaining a balance between business unit demands. You will also identify and resolve potential planning problems and liaise with internal customers to ensure effective and efficient planning.

Who You Are:

Previous experience (ideally 3+ years) within Production Planning.

Strong MS Excel skills.

Exceptional attention to detail.

Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

Ability to work cross-functionally and collaboratively.

Effective communication skills across different modes and styles.

Desirable:

Experience working within a cGMP or regulated environment.

Knowledge/experience working with SAP.

Production Planning or Supply chain certification.

Degree in scientific discipline, supply chain management, or business administration.

What we offer: We are curious minds that come from a broad range of backgrounds, perspectives, and life experiences. We believe that this variety drives excellence and innovation, strengthening our ability to lead in science and technology. We are committed to creating access and opportunities for all to develop and grow at your own pace. Join us in building a culture of inclusion and belonging that impacts millions and empowers everyone to work their magic and champion human progress!

Apply now and become a part of a team that is dedicated to Sparking Discovery and Elevating Humanity!

Job details

Seniority
Not listed
Function
Manufacturing & CMC
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Irvine, North Ayrshire, United Kingdom
Employment type
FULL_TIME

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Manufacturing & CMC role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 1793 comparable Manufacturing & CMC roles across 130 biopharma companies.

1793Comparable roles tracked
1703Currently active
130Companies hiring similar roles
47Countries represented

Salary context

527 of 1793 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function. This posting doesn't list a seniority level, so peers aren't narrowed by seniority either -- the range below may span more levels than usual.

This roleSubject Not listed on this posting
Lowest disclosed · Senior Scientist II – CMC Developmental Sciences · AbbVie $0/hr – $0/hr (≈ $0–$0/yr)
Highest disclosed · Technical Operator, Packaging - 2nd Shift · Mylan Technologies, Inc. $37,000/yr – $800,000/yr
Peer group range $0 – $418,500 (median $135,233)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 1793 comparable roles

United States895
India117
Germany101
France74
Singapore70
Ireland64

+ 41 more countries

Seniority mix

789 of 1793 peers have a known seniority level

Senior258
Manager203
Associate82
Principal82
Director62
Associate Director61
Senior Director25
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc11
Executive/VP5

Therapeutic area mix

6 of 1793 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Vaccines & Infectious Disease4
Oncology1
Rare Disease1

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

40%similar
Hospira, Inc. Sandwich, United Kingdom Manager
Same function Same country
40%similar
GlaxoSmithKline Services Unlimited Uk, United Kingdom
Same function Same country
40%similar
Boehringer Ingelheim Pirbright, United Kingdom
Same function Same country
40%similar
Boehringer Ingelheim Pirbright, United Kingdom
Same function Same country
40%similar
Boehringer Ingelheim Pirbright, United Kingdom Senior
Same function Same country
40%similar
Boehringer Ingelheim Pirbright, United Kingdom Manager
Same function Same country

Notify me about similar jobs

Get an email when we spot other openings like this one – same job function, comparable seniority, roles you'd actually want to see.

How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

40%
Quality Assurance Manager, Medical Device & Combination Products
Hospira, Inc. · Sandwich, United Kingdom · Manager
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Automation Engineer (Pirbright, United Kingdom, Aberdeen City)
Boehringer Ingelheim · Pirbright, United Kingdom · Seniority not listed
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
DT Lead, Single Systems - CMC Development Sciences (UK)
UCB · Slough, Berkshire, United Kingdom · Seniority not listed
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Maintenance Engineer
Roche · Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, United Kingdom · Seniority not listed
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.