Karman Space & Defense is a leader in the rapid design, development, and production of critical, next-generation system solutions that align with the U.S. Department of War and its allies’ core mission priorities, and meet the accelerating demand for access to space. Building on nearly 50 years of success, we deliver Payload & Protection Systems, Aero/Hydrodynamic Interstage Systems, and Propulsion & Launch Systems to more than 80 prime contractors supporting over 130 space and defense programs.

The Senior Talent Acquisition Manager, Production leads recruiting efforts for production and skilled labor positions across Karman Space & Defense operations. Reporting to the Director of Talent Acquisition, this role develops recruiting strategies, leads recruiting teams, and partners with operational and human resources leaders to build talent pipelines, improve hiring outcomes, and deliver a consistent candidate and hiring manager experience across the enterprise.

Responsibilities

Partners with the Director of Talent Acquisition and Vice President of Operations to develop and execute long-term production recruiting strategies aligned with business priorities and workforce needs.
Leads, coaches, and develops the production recruiting team through onboarding, performance management, career development, and clear accountability.
Aligns recruiting resources with hiring demand by forecasting workforce needs, prioritizing requisitions, and balancing recruiter workloads across sites.
Builds production talent pipelines through targeted sourcing, referrals, hiring events, and partnerships with trade schools, community colleges, apprenticeship programs, military transition programs, and community organizations.
Advises hiring leaders on talent availability, compensation competitiveness, shift requirements, candidate qualifications, and hiring risks in partnership with Human Resources and compensation teams.
Leads hiring reviews using recruiting metrics to address pipeline gaps, aging requisitions, process delays, and opportunities to improve hiring quality, speed, and cost effectiveness.
Manages critical searches and strategic hiring initiatives while maintaining hands-on recruiting involvement as needed.
Directs staffing partner relationships to improve candidate quality, service performance, and cost effectiveness while reducing unnecessary agency dependency.
Maintains consistent and compliant hiring practices across recruitment, assessment, interview, offer, and onboarding processes.
Partners with Talent Acquisition Operations to enhance applicant tracking system (ATS) data quality, reporting, workflows, and the responsible use of approved automation and artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

Required Qualifications

High school diploma or equivalent.
8+ years of progressive experience in full lifecycle recruiting, staffing, or talent acquisition, or equivalent demonstrated capability and scope of experience.
Experience recruiting production and skilled labor talent in manufacturing or a similarly complex environment, including high-volume and hard-to-fill roles.
Experience directly managing recruiters, including workload allocation, coaching, performance management, and team development.
Experience translating workforce needs into recruiting strategies, sourcing plans, and measurable team actions.
Ability to build effective partnerships with operations leaders, hiring managers, and human resources across multiple locations.
Proficiency in full lifecycle recruiting, structured candidate assessment, offer support, and ATS documentation.
Ability to interpret recruiting metrics and labor market data to identify hiring risks and recommend solutions.
Strong communication, organization, and judgment, with the ability to lead through ambiguity and changing priorities.
Working knowledge of fair hiring practices, candidate data privacy, confidentiality, and recruiting compliance requirements.

Preferred Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business, communications, organizational leadership, or a related field.
Experience leading recruiting in aerospace, defense, advanced manufacturing, or a distributed manufacturing organization.
Experience developing and implementing long-term recruiting strategies, including workforce planning, recruiting capacity planning, and sustained talent pipeline development.
Experience building trade school, apprenticeship, military transition, or community recruiting partnerships.
Experience improving staffing partner performance, reducing agency dependency, or improving recruiting cost effectiveness.
Experience with Greenhouse or a similar ATS, recruiting analytics, process improvement, and responsible use of AI-enabled recruiting tools.
Society for Human Resource Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) certification or other relevant professional certifications or training in people leadership, workforce planning, project management, or change management.

Special Mentions

Travel to Karman sites, hiring events, and partner locations is required as business needs dictate.

This position requires U.S. person status under U.S. export control laws, including U.S. citizens and nationals, lawful permanent residents, refugees, and asylees.

Benefits

Medical, dental, and vision insurance
401(k) with company match
Paid time off
Health Savings Account (HSA) with company contribution
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
Company‑paid life and AD\&D insurance
Short‑ and long‑term disability coverage
Tuition reimbursement

Karman Space and Defense is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law.

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