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Senior Scheduler - Primary Mills

Packaging Corporation of America
65,000 USD-75,000 USD
paid holidays, sick time, 401(k)
United States, Illinois, Lake Forest
Dec 22, 2025

As a Fortune 500 company, Packaging Corporation of America (PCA) is an ideas and solutions company. Our corrugated packaging business seeks to be the leader in helping our customers - large and small - package, transport and display products of all kinds. Our white paper business delivers Paper With Purpose by providing the highest level of customer service and operational excellence. We have approximately 15,000 team members in more than 100 locations in the United States that strive to meet the local needs of our customers. Our mission is to serve the needs of our customers, today and tomorrow, with products and services that exceed expectations for performance and environmental responsibility.


People * Customers * Trust


The Senior Mill Scheduler position is responsible for planning the containerboard production at their paper mills and ensuring the other mills have enough production to plan. They will work with customer service, transportation, the scheduling team, and on-site employees to get containerboard to all of PCA's customers while maintaining a focus on operational cost control - grade mix, trim efficiency, and transportation modes. The Mill Scheduling group plans the production for all 14 PCA containerboard machines. As a group, we are responsible for 5.0 billion tons or 290 billion square feet.



Decision making is a core function of the senior scheduler role. Daily decisions include what orders to pair together, how to ship an order and the weight of each load, etc. Other decisions include prioritizing which customers must run first and when to insert into production schedules. The senior scheduler will be expected to make decisions at the enterprise level for all machines. All decisions have a financial impact and multiple tradeoffs, with a wide range of outcomes. This person must be able to make decisions quickly, and confidently with limited supervision. Significant training and guidance will be provided on why each decision was made vs the other possible outcomes.



Developing and maintaining good relationships with internal and external stakeholders is important to succeed in this role. Internal stakeholders in Containerboard Sales (representing the customer) provide the necessary feedback to prioritize orders, delivery dates, etc. External stakeholders in Transportation and at the Paper Mills are important to determine shipping and production constraints.



Principle Accountabilities:



  • Schedule production to the machines with orders booked, relying on input from the mill and containerboard sales to sequence correctly to maintain inventory levels at the box plants
  • Optimize the paper machine's width by combining orders to run across the reel (trimming)
  • Select the mode of transportation that is most cost effective but can still meet the customer's timing, to help manage inventory levels
  • Once, the reel is trimmed and the mode is selected, optimize the loaded weights to minimize the transportation costs to PCA
  • Work with the other schedulers to deliver solutions to complex trim problems across all machines.
  • Provide coverage for all machines in the event of vacation days, sick days, and on weekends.
  • Know and follow policies and procedures of the company, share information that would benefit other members of the team and find ways to improve the delivery of service to our customers. Strive to continually strengthen PCA's business philosophy of meeting needs and exceeding expectations for customers specifically supporting PCA's Commitment to Service which involves doing what's right for our customers, focusing on strategies that add value and support growth, and keeping the promises that we make.



Position Requirements:



  • Bachelor's degree required
  • 5+ years of supply chain or production planning experience preferred
  • Strong analytical skills with the ability to make complex decisions based on all available inputs (at the time)
  • Strong problem-solving skills
  • Customer focused
  • Experience using Microsoft Office applications including Excel, Word, and Outlook
  • Work additional hours until the mill's schedule is covered (can be in excess of 40 hours/week) and available outside of standard business hours when necessary
  • Limited travel (<5%)
  • Previous work experience as a member of a team, or a strong understanding of the importance of open communication and information sharing between team members.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS




  • Starting salary range for position: $65,000 - $75,000.
  • Bonus: Annual - Based upon individual contribution and overall, Company performance.
  • Paid Vacation: Three (3) weeks per calendar year. Pro-rata Vacation during the initial year of hire based upon start date within the calendar year.


  • Paid Holidays.
  • Within the first 30 days of employment, an employee (and their dependents) is eligible to enroll in certain benefit coverages -- medical, dental, and vision - and are automatically enrolled in life, AD&D, and disability coverages.
  • Upon hire, an employee is automatically enrolled in the 401k plan. The plan offers both pre-tax and Roth contribution options along with employer provided matching contributions.
  • Disclaimer: The Compensation and Benefits information in this posting represents PCA's good faith and reasonable estimate of what it may pay for this position. The Company reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law.



PCA is an Equal Opportunity Employer


Qualified Applicants must apply at careers.packagingcorp.com to be considered.



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