Manager, Government and Community Affairs, Project Ranger

STEM Boomerang; Rio Rancho (NM); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee Equity

Paid Time Off

Medical Coverage

Dental & Vision Coverage

401k Plan

FSA/HSA Options

Parental Leave

Meals & Snacks

EV Charging

Job summary

Castelion seeks a Manager, Government and Community Affairs for Project Ranger in Rio Rancho, NM. Lead external engagement with officials, workforce partners, and educational institutions to support a major hypersonics manufacturing facility.

Responsibilities include building trusted relationships across local and state stakeholders, communicating complex national security topics clearly, and coordinating across internal teams to advance community-focused goals.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in external affairs, public affairs, government or community relations, or related fields.
• Deep knowledge of New Mexico political, civic, business and community landscape, especially Rio Rancho and surrounding areas.
• Proven track record building trust with local officials, community leaders, businesses, educators, and stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal skills, able to explain complex national security topics to non-experts.
• Experience supporting public-facing engagement for major facilities, infrastructure projects or high-growth companies.
• Ability to coordinate across operations, legal, facilities, finance, HR, recruiting and senior leadership.
• High ownership, ability to manage multiple projects and events in parallel.
• Sound judgment and risk awareness to prevent reputational issues.
• Comfort operating in a fast-paced, high-growth environment with evolving priorities.

Skills

8+ yrs exp

External affairs

Public affairs

Government relations

Community relations

Economic development

Strong communication

Stakeholder management

Risk assessment

Job description

Manager, Government and Community Affairs, Project Ranger

Rio Rancho, United States | Posted on 08/06/2026

Castelion was founded to restore America’s ability to field advanced weapons at speed and scale. Inspired by the engineering urgency of the WWII and Apollo eras, we combine rapid iteration, vertical integration, and scalable manufacturing to deliver affordable, high-performance strike systems. Our mission: rebuild industrial agility to strengthen national security and outpace evolving threats.

About the Role:

Project Ranger is Castelion's advanced manufacturing facility in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. When completed, it will be the world's largest purpose-built hypersonics manufacturing facilities, supporting high-rate production, local job creation, and the national security needs of the United States.

Project Ranger is a major long-term investment in New Mexico. Its success will depend not only on construction and production execution, but also on strong relationships with local communities, elected officials, workforce partners, educational institutions, business organizations, and civic leaders across Rio Rancho, Sandoval County, Albuquerque, and the broader state.

Requirements

Basic Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in external affairs, public affairs, government relations, community relations, economic development, communications, or a related field.
  
• Strong understanding of New Mexico's political, civic, business, and community landscape, with particular familiarity with Rio Rancho, Sandoval County, Albuquerque, or state-level stakeholders.
  
• Demonstrated experience building trust with local officials, community leaders, business organizations, educational institutions, and other external stakeholders.
  
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex technical, economic, and national security issues to non-technical audiences.
  
• Experience supporting or leading public-facing engagement for a major facility, infrastructure project, manufacturing site, economic development project, or high-growth company.
  
• Ability to work effectively across internal teams, including operations, communications, legal, facilities, finance, HR, recruiting, and senior leadership.
  
• High ownership and ability to manage multiple projects, events, and stakeholder relationships in parallel.
  
• Sound judgment, discretion, and ability to identify reputational or political risks before they become larger issues.
  
• Ability to operate in a fast-paced, high-growth environment with evolving priorities.
  
• Must be a U.S. Person due to potential access to U.S. export-controlled information or facilities.
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Existing relationships with New Mexico local, county, state, business, education, workforce, or civic stakeholders.
  
• Experience in defense, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, energy, infrastructure, economic development, or technology.
  
• Experience working with workforce development boards, community colleges, technical training programs, or veteran employment organizations.
  
• Experience managing local media, site visits, public events, community briefings, or elected official engagements.
  
• Familiarity with defense industrial base issues, manufacturing workforce challenges, or national security policy.
  
• Prior experience supporting a company during major site construction, facility launch, or regional expansion.
  
• Employee Equity: Meaningful equity forall full-time employees - share value has increased 150x in three years
  
• Personal Time Off: Four (4) weeks of paidtime off to unplug, reset, and come back sharp—velocity matters,burnout doesn't
  
• Medical: We offer plans at 100% employeecovered and 80% of dependent coverage
  
• Dental & Vision: We cover 90%employees and 80% for dependents to ensure you and your family haveaccess to quality preventive and ongoing care
  
• FSA/HSA: To support long-term health andfinancial resilience, we offer FSA and HSA options that allowemployees to set aside pre-tax dollars for eligible medical anddependent care expenses
  
• Retirement: 401k plan offered to supportlong term financial growth along side high-impact, high-velocity work
  
• Paid Parental Leave: We support growingfamilies with meaningful time to bond and recover. Birthing parentsare eligible for up to 10 weeks of paid leave, while non-birthingparents may take up to 4 weeks of paid leave. This time can be usedfor pre-natal care, pregnancy, childbirth, and related medicalneeds—ensuring every parent has the support they need during thisimportant life moment.8-weeks of paid parental leave for allparents. Additional paid pregnancy leave for CA employees
  
• Meals & Catering: Frequently cateredlunches and team meals, plus company-covered meals when extra timeor effort is required
  
• Snacks & Beverages: Fully stockedkitchen with unlimited snacks and drinks to keep you fueledthroughout the day
  
• Performance & Fitness: $100 monthlyfitness stipend to support peak performance and health, both insideand outside of work
  
• EV Charging: Onsite electric vehiclecharging available for employees