Technical Training & Competency Program Manager

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Technical Training & Competency Program Manager

Rio Rancho, NM; Torrance, CA

• Manufacturing

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Why Castelion, Why Now

Castelion is moving incredibly fast to develop and deliver advanced defense systems at a time when execution matters more than ever. We believe focus, ownership, and excellence are decisive advantages - and we''re building a world-class team to turn bold ideas into real capability.

This is a rare opportunity to join at an early stage, where you''ll have significant ownership, collaborate with exceptional teammates, and make a direct, measurable impact on our mission and the future of the company - regardless of your function.

Technical Training & Competency Program Manager

The Technical Training & Competency Program Manager will build and lead the team that scales the company's technical training and competency framework in a fast-moving Defense Technology Design and Manufacturing startup. This role is both strategic and hands-on, with clear ownership for evolving the initial structure into a robust, scalable program as products, processes, and roles rapidly change.

This individual will own how technical knowledge is captured, delivered, assessed, and tracked across engineering, manufacturing, and operations, laying the foundation for future integration with HR, quality, and technical grading systems, and for career progression.

Responsibilities

Build, Lead & Scale the Training Program

• Own and evolve the technical training and competency program from an early-stage defense tech organization to a fully developed program for a defense production company.
• Define skill-based training and competency expectations for engineering, manufacturing, and technical operations roles.
• Implement practical, lightweight processes that balance rigor with startup speed.
• Define and maintain a multi-quarter training and competency roadmap aligned with product development, manufacturing ramp plans, and regulatory milestones.
• Set priorities and allocate training team capacity across programs, production ramps, and compliance needs.

Team Leadership

• Build and lead the Technical Training and Competency team, creating clarity in roles, responsibilities, and expectations.
• Own hiring, onboarding, performance management, and development of team members.
• Provide regular coaching and feedback, and create a culture of continuous learning and improvement within the training function.
• Empower SMEs and team members to own technical details while staying hands-on to resolve minor issues and unblock execution when needed.

Training Systems and Infrastructure

• Oversee iteration of training qualifications and competency structure as products and processes evolve.
• Develop scalable methods to deliver training (hands-on, digital, blended, SME-led) without excessive overhead.
• Own selection, configuration, and administration of training tracking systems and tools (for example LMS or databases), including future integration with HRIS and quality systems.
• Ensure training data is audit-ready and defensible for defense, safety, and quality requirements.
• Maintain robust version control and record retention for training content and records.

Technical Training Development

• Integrate safety, energetics, mechanical, electrical, and engineering requirements into clear and cohesive training content that meets all company and customer requirements.
• Work closely with engineers and technical SMEs to capture tribal knowledge and integrate it into training where appropriate.
• Create training materials that evolve alongside prototypes, production processes, and design changes, with controlled revisions.
• Design and implement hands-on technical assessments tied to real production or test work, aligned with defined competency levels.

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Partner with HR to align training with onboarding, workforce planning, and future career development frameworks.
• Collaborate with department leaders to progressively integrate training outcomes with technical grading and skill-based progression.
• Serve as a trusted technical partner who understands both people systems and engineering realities.
• Provide leadership with regular visibility into training status, skill readiness, and risks through dashboards or reports.

Governance, Compliance, and Continuous Improvement

• Establish and be accountable for metrics that support all stakeholders in measuring training effectiveness, readiness, and risk.
• Develop a culture where the training function proactively drives value-added training and process improvements as the company scales.
• Maintain ownership of training documentation, standards, and operating practices, with an emphasis on clarity and usability rather than bureaucracy.
• Lead root cause analysis and corrective actions for training-related nonconformances, audit findings, or operational incidents.
• Continuously refine the program based on feedback, audits, and operational outcomes.

Requirements and skills

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Technical Education, or a related field.
• 7+ years in technical training, manufacturing engineering, or operations roles, including 3+ years leading training or competency programs or teams.
• Proven experience building and leading technical training, qualification, or competency teams in manufacturing, engineering, or operations environments.
• Strong technical aptitude across mechanical, electrical, and system-level domains.
• Comfortable working in ambiguity while building practical systems that support a diverse range of stakeholders.
• Experience developing training tracking systems, databases, or LMS tools (formal or improvised).
• Strong communication skills with the ability to advise and influence without formal authority.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in defense, aerospace, energetics, or other highly regulated technical industries.
• Background in startup or rapid-growth environments.
• Familiarity with skill-based grading, technical ladders, or competency frameworks.
• Experience designing hands-on technical assessments tied to real production or test work.
• Demonstrated commitment to lean, high-impact training without compromising safety or quality.

Leadership Qualities

Bias to Action and Creative Problem Solving. Desire and experience questioning assumptions in ways that lead to breakthrough ideas that are ultimately implemented. Successfully bring in applicable processes, concepts, and materials from other industries to achieve efficiency gains. Comfort rolling up sleeves to resolve minor issues and unblock training execution, while empowering SMEs and team members to own technical details.

High Commitment, High Initiative. A successful candidate will have a genuine passion for Castelion's mission and consistently look for ways to contribute to the company's technical goals and prevent hardware blockers. Ability to work in a fast paced, autonomously driven, and demanding atmosphere. Strong sense of accountability and integrity.

Clear Communicator. Proactively communicates blockers. Trusted in previous roles to be a voice of the company with regulators, suppliers, gatekeepers, and customers. Capable of tactfully managing relationships with stakeholders to achieve company-desired outcomes without compromising relationships. Emails, instant messages, and verbal interactions are logical, drive clarity, and are detailed enough to eliminate ambiguity.

Develops Others and Builds Teams. Proven ability to recruit, mentor, and grow technical training staff. Creates clarity of roles and expectations, encourages constructive feedback, and builds a culture of continuous learning and high performance.

Castelion offers a generous benefits package. Please refer to the bottom of our Careers page for more details.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Additional Eligibility Requirements

This position may require access to classified information or restricted U.S. Government sites, systems, or information, as determined by the Company and/or applicable U.S. Government requirements. If the position is so designated, your employment in the role may be contingent upon your ability to obtain and maintain the required U.S. Government security clearance or other government authorization, and to satisfy any citizenship or other eligibility requirements imposed by applicable law, regulation, executive order, or government contract requirements. You will be notified if and when such requirements apply.

Affirmative Action/EEO Statement

Castelion is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Castelion is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities throughout the application and hiring process. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete an application, participate in the interview process, or otherwise participate in the hiring process, please contact [email protected]. Requests for accommodation will be considered on an individual basis and handled in accordance with applicable law.

Castelion is committed to fostering a workplace where employment decisions are based on qualifications, business needs, and the ability to perform the essential functions of the role, with or without reasonable accommodation.

EAR/ITAR Requirements

This position requires access to export-controlled information, and as such, employment (or hiring of a contractor) is contingent upon the candidate's ability to access all applicable export-controlled information without additional export licensing being required by the Bureau of Industry and Security and/or the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls.

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