Talent Acquisition Specialist

AST SpaceMobile; Oklahoma City (OK); On-site; USD 70,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

AST SpaceMobile is hiring a Talent Acquisition Specialist to own full-cycle recruiting for hourly technical roles supporting aerospace manufacturing, integration, and test operations. You will build pipelines for avionics, RF/AIT, quality inspection, and production technicians in a fast-moving space environment.

You will partner with managers to forecast headcount, define screening criteria, and execute structured interviews, while tracking KPIs such as time-to-fill and source effectiveness.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree preferred; equivalent recruiting experience considered.
• 3–7+ years of full-cycle recruiting experience for hourly/technician roles.
• Experience hiring in manufacturing, aerospace, defense, or industrial environments.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end recruiting for hourly technician roles across manufacturing, integration, test, and quality.
• Partner with hiring managers to define headcount forecasts, skill requirements, and screening criteria.
• Build and maintain active pipelines of avionics, RF/AIT, quality inspection, and manufacturing technicians.
• Source proactively through job boards, trade schools, military programs, referrals, and targeted outreach.
• Coordinate interview scheduling, feedback loops, and offer approvals.

Skills

Sense of urgency

Highly organized

Direct communicator

Data-driven

Speed vs quality

Education

Bachelor's degree preferred

Tools

Greenhouse

LinkedIn Recruiter

Job boards & sourcing

Excel

HRIS

Job description

AST SpaceMobile is building the first and only global cellular broadband network in space to operate directly with standard, unmodified mobile devices based on our extensive IP and patent portfolio and designed for both commercial and government applications. Our engineers and space scientists are on a mission to eliminate the connectivity gaps faced by today's five billion mobile subscribers and finally bring broadband to the billions who remain unconnected.

Position Overview

We are seeking a high-output Talent Acquisition Specialist to own full-cycle recruiting for hourly technical roles supporting aerospace manufacturing, integration, and test operations. This role hires avionics, composite, AIT, and RF technicians, quality inspectors, and other hands-on production talent critical to spacecraft build and launch cadence. The ideal candidate understands high-volume technician pipelines, manufacturing floor dynamics, and the urgency of scaling skilled labor in a fast-moving aerospace environment. This is an execution-focused role requiring strong sourcing capability, hiring manager partnership, and operational discipline.

Key Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end recruiting for hourly technician roles across manufacturing, integration, test, and quality, managing requisitions from approval through offer acceptance and onboarding handoff.
• Partner with hiring managers to define headcount forecasts, skill requirements, and hiring timelines, using structured intake meetings and calibrated screening criteria.
• Build and maintain active pipelines of avionics, composite, RF/AIT, quality inspection, and manufacturing/production technicians.
• Source proactively through job boards, trade schools, military transition programs, referrals, and targeted outreach, and develop geographic sourcing strategies to support rapid scaling.
• Establish long-term relationships with technical training programs and local workforce channels.
• Conduct structured technical phone screens covering hands-on build experience, blueprint and schematic reading, tool proficiency, and cleanroom or aerospace standards familiarity, while assessing alignment with a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• Present calibrated candidate slates with clear evaluation summaries and risk flags.
• Maintain accurate ATS records and track hiring metrics, including time-to-fill, offer acceptance rate, source effectiveness, and hiring velocity versus production demand.
• Coordinate interview scheduling, feedback loops, and offer approvals, ensuring compliance with wage classifications and hourly hiring practices.
• Anticipate technician ramp-up needs tied to production milestones and support workforce scaling initiatives aligned to spacecraft build cadence.
• Collaborate with HR, Finance, and Operations on headcount planning, and assist with staffing agency oversight for surge or contract technician support.

Education

Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, or a related field preferred; equivalent recruiting experience in manufacturing or aerospace environments considered in lieu of a degree.

Experience

A minimum of 3-7+ years of full-cycle recruiting experience with an emphasis on hourly or technician hiring, including demonstrated success hiring for manufacturing, aerospace, defense, or industrial roles, supporting high-volume or ramp hiring initiatives, and technical skill screening for hands-on production roles.

Preferred Qualifications

• Aerospace or space industry recruiting experience.
• Experience hiring avionics, composite, or RF technicians.
• Military veteran hiring experience.
• Experience in a fast-scaling startup or high-growth manufacturing environment.
• Experience managing external staffing partners.
• RPO experience.

Soft Skills

• Strong sense of urgency and a bias toward execution.
• Highly organized with strong follow-through.
• Direct communicator capable of setting expectations with hiring managers.
• Data-driven mindset with comfort tracking recruiting KPIs.
• Ability to balance speed with quality of hire.

Technology Stack

• Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) - Greenhouse a plus
• LinkedIn Recruiter
• Job boards and sourcing platforms
• Microsoft Excel for pipeline and metric tracking
• HRIS systems a plus

Physical Requirements

• Ability to work onsite in Midland, TX as required.
• Occasional travel to local career fairs, trade schools, or military transition events.
• Ability to walk manufacturing floors to understand technician roles and build context.

This job description may not be inclusive to the duties and responsibilities listed. Additional tasks may be assigned to the employee from time to time or the scope of the job may change as needed by business demands.

AST SpaceMobile is an Equal Opportunity, at will Employer; employment is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.