Fox Head, Inc.:
PLM Software Analyst (Centric PLM) Job in Irvine, CA

The position will be responsible for the Centric PLM application in its entirety, including user setups, security settings and system updates. Partnering with business users daily to resolve PLM application support requests, architect future enhancements, document business requirements (BRD’s), develop IT technical specification documents, trainings, upgrades and data governance. You will be responsible for a full range of activities that ensure the operational effectiveness and excellence of our Centric PLM system. Key activities and objectives will include:

• Designing and documenting workflow, and making appropriate recommendations that will positively impacting PLM operational effectiveness.
• Tracking and analyzing business needs and making appropriate recommendations that will bring about industry best practices.
• Acting as a project manager and leading key PLM projects for the company.

Essential Functions of this Role:

• Review, analyze, and create detailed documentation of business processes and PLM user needs, including workflow, program functions, and steps required to develop or modify the Centric PLM application.
• Consult with employees and management to determine business, functional and technical requirements for the PLM system.
• Coordinate the development of all approved versions of business and functional specifications for PLM. This will include reviewing use cases scenarios and other technical documents with IT staff and or Centric to ensure business requirements are adequately reflected in the technical planning documents.
• Analyze the PLM business activities and trends. You'll then present findings and work with the PLM Business Leaders and other personnel to identify and implement strategies that will address tactical and strategic goals.
• Support users on reported production issues
• Analyze PLM system issues for root cause
• Own data integrity within the system
• Training of PLM functions for new hires and if users lacks knowledge
• Log cases with Centric and follow up (regular set calls with Centric support team)
• Coordinate production fixes to be applied
• Unit test fixes
• Coordinate with key business users on acceptance test/approval
• Work with Centric on applying fix to Production
• PLM Authorization requests - security role review and updates where appropriate
• Password resets
• Infrastructures follow ups, re-start PDF server, CPU monitoring
• Request for enhancements: via PLM Continues Improvement team
• Drive PLM CI meetings, send out meeting notes and set agenda for next meetings
• Work with key user to review request (business process)
• Governance role -> review impacts on requests and advise (LP change - attributes on Supplier Quote and Style Views)
• Analyze data where needed
• Prepare Business requirement document (BRD) and present to PLM CI team for approvals
• Work with Centric on possible solutions and cost/time estimates
• Review proposal with business group and gain approval
• Follow up with Centric on next steps and timeline
• Unit testing
• Coordinate with key users on acceptance test/approval
• Work with Centric on applying config/­fix to Production

Training
• Proactively assisting with the identification of training and development requirements of the PLM Business Users.
• Presenting findings and working with Business Leaders and other personnel to design and implement training and development initiatives that will continuously upgrade the skills and capabilities of personnel in business unit and company overall.
• Perform new hire training
• Update existing training manuals for changes in system and/or process
• Create training manuals for new functionality

Project Management
• Participate in PLM project scope and project objectives definitions.
• Facilitate and maintain project schedules by developing project plans and specifications, estimating time requirements, establishing deadlines, monitoring milestone completion, tracking all phases of the project product/service lifecycle, providing timely reporting of issues that impact project progress, coordinating actions, and resolving conflicts. This will include documenting, prioritizing and tracking requests (changes, enhancements) and coordinating with the IT PMO.
• Conduct project meetings.
• Meet with project team(s) regularly to review project deliverables and deadlines.
• Meet with appropriate personnel for periodic reviews of prototypes and final products.
• Provide a single point of contact for assigned projects.
• Identify and coordinate assignments of internal resources and external contractors to meet project requirements.
• Work with appropriate personnel to allocate personnel time to project tasks and to track progress of their work.
• Assess and prepare to address the operational impacts, workflow, training, etc. issues of a project.

Reporting
• Work with business to get detailed requirements, document the requirements and write functional specification
• Define export structures
• Work with reporting resource (internal or external, dependent on reporting direction)
• Special projects:
• Upgrades: plan, review functionality changes, setup test plan, execute initial testing and coordinate user acceptance testing
• Define test system refreshes
• Prune – clean up unused data
• Governance of changes in test system (w/Centric)

Testing
• Ensure that all tests are conducted and documented according to the standards agreed upon by the business and IT stakeholders.
• Assume responsibility for ensuring that all documentation accurately reflects the current status of changes and outstanding issues so that business requirements reflect application features and functions.
• Manage specific application quality assurance and help desk activities, including tracking bug reports and change requests, and ensuring their timely resolution.
• Ensure that all items follow the change management process and are entered and tracked through the change management software KACE.
• Assume responsibility for the overall success of testing, including results verification and release sign-off.
• Establish the purpose and deliverables of the test effort.
• Provide resource planning, management and resolution of issues that impede the test effort.
• Coordinate groups of business personnel who test, evaluate and validate new functions and applications, and identify issues in software or services.
• Provide final signoff to the Business owners to release upgrades and patches to production.
• Ensure continuing operational quality by documenting bug fixes and enhancements, assigning tasks to developers, testing and releasing updates.
• Tests and refines application patches, reports and/or modifications prior to end-user acceptance testing.
• Responsible for all aspects of system administration of the Centric PLM application
• Participate in systems configuration in partnership with functional PLM leaders.
• Present global best practices to improve process improvement within the system.
• Installs approved software releases, system upgrades, patches and resolves software related problems.
• Investigate errors and problems; perform root cause analysis in effort to provide permanent resolutions; document issues to report to the software vendor; follow up on support resolution and patches; partner with IT helpdesk.
• Setup and maintain user accounts and security.
• Manages the exporting and updating of SKU data
• Use knowledge of Database design, data management and file management techniques to help with support, optimize solutions, automate reports and propose solutions.
• Work with Project Management Office to ensure cross functional alignment of PLM and SAP
• Develop reports using SQL Reporting Services

PERFORMS OTHER RELATED DUTIES AND ASSIGNMENTS AS REQUIRED.