About the role
Hadrian - Manufacturing the Future Hadrian is building autonomous factories that help aerospace and defense companies manufacture rockets, satellites, jets, and ships up to 10x faster and up to 2x cheaper. By combining advanced software, robotics, and full-stack manufacturing, we are reinventing how America produces its most critical parts. We’re accelerating our mission with the launch of Factory 3 in Mesa, Arizona, a 290,000-square-foot facility creating 350 new jobs. We are expanding rapidly to support thousands of future hires, launching Hadrian Maritime to expand into naval production, and introducing a Factory-as-a-Service model that delivers complete systems instead of individual parts. Hadrian is backed by leading investors including T. Rowe Price, Lux Capital, Founders Fund, and Andreessen Horowitz, our fast-growing team is united around reindustrializing American manufacturing for the 21st century and beyond.
The Role Hadrian is building the most advanced manufacturing platform in the world. As we expand into new markets and launch new factory locations, our ability to develop local talent pipelines through institutional partnerships isn’t a nice-to-have — it’s a prerequisite for a successful factory launch. We’re looking for a Director of Workforce Partnerships to own Hadrian’s external training strategy and the institutional relationships that build our talent pipeline across the communities where we operate. This is a new function — you’re the first hire in it — and it’s tied directly to our factory expansion roadmap. You’ll develop the framework for when Hadrian trains internally versus through external partners, build and manage a portfolio of community colleges, universities, trade schools, veteran programs, and high school partnerships, and ensure external programs meet Hadrian’s standards and integrate cleanly with internal onboarding. This is a role for someone who understands how educational institutions actually operate, can translate complex workforce needs into actionable program designs, and is energized by building something that doesn’t exist yet. The right person is equally comfortable in a boardroom with a college president and on a factory floor with a Training Lead. What You’ll Do Partnership Strategy • Develop and maintain a framework for determining whether a training need is best met internally or through an external partner • Map and prioritize institutional partners by geographic market, program fit, and pipeline potential • Own the long-term strategy for building Hadrian’s talent pipeline across all markets, including identifying non-traditional pathways through veteran programs and industry associations Partner Portfolio Management • Build and manage a portfolio of active institutional partnerships — community colleges, universities, trade schools, veteran programs, industry associations, and dual-enrollment high school pathways • Represent Hadrian in partner negotiations, MOU development, and ongoing relationship management with institutional leadership • Oversee Hadrian’s existing high school internship program and expand similar models into new markets Curriculum and Program Oversight • Work with external partners to ensure their programs align with Hadrian’s technical and behavioral standards • Own curriculum review and approval for outsourced training programs, providing specific, actionable feedback and holding partners to defined quality benchmarks • Collaborate with Training Operations to ensure external program outputs integrate smoothly with internal onboarding and close gaps between what external programs produce and what Hadrian actually needs Partner Performance and Operations • Establish success metrics for each partner relationship and run regular performance reviews against those standards • Track cohort outcomes for externally trained candidates and use that data to refine partner strategy over time • Manage grant opportunities and external funding that support partner program development • Maintain systems and documentation that give internal stakeholders clear visibility into the external training pipeline Community Presence • Build Hadrian’s reputation as a partner of choice in the communities where we operate • Create relationships that support long-term talent development and workforce sustainability across all Hadrian markets What We’re Looking For • 7+ years in workforce development, partner success, educational program management, or a related field • Demonstrated experience managing relationships with educational institutions — including navigating institutional bureaucracy and building durable agreements • Background in instructional design, curriculum review, or training operations with an ability to evaluate program quality against defined standards • Track record of building or significantly growing a partnership function, not just maintaining one • Strong cross-functional communication — you can represent workforce needs to factory leadership and translate operational realities back to institutional partners • Comfort operating in an environment where the playbook is still being written • Bachelor’s degree in Education, Workforce Development, Business, Public Policy, or a related field; advanced degree a plus; equivalent experience considered What Will Set You Apart • Experience with workforce development grants, government funding programs, or public-private partnerships • Background in or deep familiarity with community college systems • Experience building dual-enrollment or early college programs with high schools • Familiarity with advanced manufacturing or precision manufacturing environments • Experience working in or alongside a fast-scaling company where the workforce development playbook was still being written • A genuine point of view on what manufacturing workforce development should look like for the next generation — not just how it’s always been done