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The Pillars of an Award-Winning Program
Sierra Space was selected as a 2023 Campus Forward Award Winner for their unwavering commitment to seeking out and hiring early career talent, their emphasis on diversity & inclusion, and investments in nurturing and retaining the next generation of talent. Please see below for the highlights of their approach to early career recruitment.
Demonstrated Investment in Early Career Hiring
Sierra Space believes in a value and purpose-driven approach to engaging with — and investing in — early career talent. Sierra Space understands the importance of preparing and inspiring a pipeline of future space leaders. This work begins with an investment in university partnerships and by following a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) strategy to ensure that a diverse group of early career candidates enters Sierra Space. The investment continues by providing them with opportunities to gain real-world space industry experience, support innovative industry breakthroughs, and solve complex business problems to keep them engaged.
Innovative and Multi-Faceted Approach to University Recruitment
The Sierra Space University Recruiting team employs several methods to engage with future space leaders both on and off campus. The approach consists of both on-campus and virtual career fairs, information sessions, and engineering panel discussions at campuses across the country. The University Recruiting team also actively recruits and sources for key intern and early career opportunities by utilizing various methods such as social media platforms, college recruiting platforms, and the support of Executive Sponsors for each of the company’s partner universities. The team coaches students on resume formatting and navigating the hiring process in advance of applying. Once a position is offered, interns hear from the team on a monthly basis until their start date to keep them engaged throughout the onboarding process.
Overarching Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
Sierra Space is committed to creating a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and belonging workplace where early career individuals are empowered to bring their best selves to collaborate and create innovative solutions. The team seeks out diverse schools (HBCUs) and campus organizations in order to attain the most diverse talent, and partners with national and regional organizations (SWE, CAPBES) and fellowships that support diverse and underrepresented groups. Sierra Space believes that great innovations and creativity result from the collaboration of diverse thoughts and backgrounds. Therefore, Sierra Space has put into place DEIB initiatives from recruitment to retention.
Impactful Internship Program
The Sierra Space University Recruiting team is passionate about ensuring the intern experience is not only impactful, but that they contribute to the growth and development of the “whole person” during their time at the company. Interns have expressed to the team that the onboarding experience is best-in-class. When the intern arrives, they receive a special intern orientation in addition to the company orientation. The team is focused on building community within the intern group by providing monthly lunch-and-learn opportunities, social and community building opportunities, and professional growth workshops. In addition, students are provided with hands-on engineering experience working on meaningful and real-world projects. Students present their final projects to the leadership team before exiting. A career laddering opportunity is created and interns receive additional coaching on resumes and early career job searching before exit.
Growth and Development of the Next Generation of Talent
Sierra Space is dedicated to the success of all new hires, including entry-level hires. The hiring team is dedicated to communicating agendas and building relationships with new hires well before the first day. As part of the onboarding process, Sierra Space has a robust New Employee Orientation (NEO) program, which is well-structured and occurs on Day 1 to acclimate the new employee to members of the leadership team as well as systems/policies. Entry-level employees are provided with internal training opportunities through bi-monthly lunch-and-learn sessions with key leaders, as well as monthly community-building and social activities. Finally, all entry-level hires can enjoy Sierra Space’s benefits, which include a tuition reimbursement program, retirement benefits, performance bonuses, health insurance and wellness benefits, perks and discounts, flex work, vacation and time off, child care and parental leave benefits, and more.