Talent Acquisition Partner – Engineering Development Program (EDP)

AST SpaceMobile is seeking a Talent Acquisition Partner – Engineering Development Program (EDP) to build and scale our early-career engineering pipeline across El Paso and West Texas.

This role will own university recruiting, recent graduate hiring, and strategic pipeline development for our Engineering Development Program (EDP). The EDP is a structured career path where high-potential engineering graduates enter as technicians, gain hands-on manufacturing and integration experience, are promoted into Engineering Supervisor roles managing technicians, and ultimately transition into our Engineering organization.

This is a high-impact, travel-based recruiting role responsible for building long-term university partnerships, driving early-career hiring strategy, and feeding top-tier engineering talent into a disciplined internal development model.

Key Responsibilities

Engineering Development Program (EDP) Recruiting

• Own full-cycle recruiting for recent engineering graduates entering the EDP.
• Partner with engineering and production leadership to forecast annual EDP cohort hiring targets.
• Develop structured screening and evaluation frameworks aligned to long-term leadership potential, not just GPA.
• Manage candidates from initial engagement through offer acceptance and program onboarding.

University Relations & Campus Strategy

• Build and maintain strong relationships with universities across El Paso and West Texas.
• Establish recurring presence at:
• Career fairs
• Engineering department events
• Capstone project reviews
• Student organization meetings (IEEE, ASME, AIAA, etc.)
• Develop faculty and career center partnerships to identify high-performing students early.
• Coordinate internship-to-EDP conversion pathways.
• Create targeted outreach strategies for mechanical, electrical, aerospace, and manufacturing engineering programs.

Early-Career Pipeline Development

• Proactively source recent graduates and upcoming seniors through LinkedIn, university databases, referrals, and direct outreach.
• Build long-term relationships with engineering students 6–12 months before graduation.
• Educate candidates on the EDP model: technician entry → supervisor → engineering.
• Assess for grit, leadership potential, hands-on aptitude, and alignment with a manufacturing-first engineering culture.

Travel & Regional Coverage

• Serve as the face of AST’s engineering recruiting efforts across El Paso and West Texas.
• Travel regularly to university campuses and recruiting events.
• Host information sessions and on-site tours in partnership with engineering leadership.
• Support relocation discussions and candidate conversion for Midland-based training assignments.

Program Operations & Metrics

• Track EDP recruiting metrics including:
• University source effectiveness
• Offer acceptance rate
• Conversion from technician to supervisor
• Long-term retention
• Maintain disciplined ATS documentation and reporting.
• Collaborate with HR, Finance, and Engineering leadership on annual EDP cohort sizing and workforce planning.
• Ensure recruiting strategy aligns with long-term succession planning and leadership bench strength.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree required.