Manager, Regional Engagement, Project Ranger

Castelion Corporation•Rio Rancho, NM

34d•Onsite

About The Position

Castelion is a rapidly growing defense systems company. Project Ranger is their advanced manufacturing facility in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, which will be the world's largest purpose-built hypersonics manufacturing facility. The success of Project Ranger depends on strong relationships with local communities, elected officials, workforce partners, educational institutions, business organizations, and civic leaders. The Manager, Regional Engagement, Project Ranger will lead Castelion's local and regional engagement strategy in New Mexico, building and maintaining trusted relationships with key stakeholders. This role requires a blend of strategic and operational skills, including representing Castelion externally, managing community-facing priorities, anticipating reputational risks, supporting media and site visits, and ensuring Project Ranger is viewed as a significant economic development and national security asset for New Mexico. The role spans public affairs, community engagement, economic development, workforce development, local government relations, and site-level reputation management.

Requirements

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.
U.S. citizenship is required, as only U.S. citizens are eligible for a security clearance.
The ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government–issued security clearance is required.

Nice To Haves

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.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute a regional external affairs strategy for Project Ranger across Rio Rancho, Sandoval County, Albuquerque, and the broader New Mexico stakeholder community.
Build and maintain relationships with local and state elected officials, county and municipal leaders, economic development organizations, chambers of commerce, business associations, civic organizations, and community groups.
Serve as a local ambassador for Castelion and Project Ranger, helping explain the company's mission, the facility's economic impact, and its role in strengthening the U.S. defense industrial base.
Identify and lead partnerships with workforce development organizations, technical schools, community colleges, universities, veteran transition programs, and training providers to support hiring and long-term workforce needs.
Work closely with Castelion's Recruiting and Operations teams to support local recruiting, workforce pipeline development, employee onboarding, and community integration.
Plan and execute site visits, briefings, community events, ribbon cuttings, facility tours, and stakeholder engagements related to Project Ranger.
Support local and regional media engagement in coordination with Castelion's Communications team, including proactive storytelling around construction milestones, hiring, workforce development, and economic impact.
Monitor local sentiment, media coverage, community concerns, and political developments that could affect Project Ranger's reputation, operations, or long-term growth.
Help manage community investment, sponsorship, philanthropic, and civic partnership opportunities aligned with Castelion's business and community priorities.
Coordinate with internal teams to ensure external messaging is accurate, consistent, and aligned with operational realities at the site.
Prepare briefing materials, talking points, stakeholder maps, engagement plans, and readouts for senior leadership.
Support engagement with local military, veteran, STEM, education, and manufacturing communities.
Serve as an early-warning system for local issues that could create reputational, political, workforce, or operational challenges.

Benefits

Meaningful long-term equity
Four (4) weeks of paid time off
Ten (10) company-paid holidays
Comprehensive health benefits - including 100% employee-covered medical and strong dependent coverage
Dental and vision plans
Paid parental leave
$100 monthly fitness stipend
Onsite EV charging
Catered meals
Company-covered food during high-demand periods
Fully stocked kitchen