Talent Acquisition Specialist, Programs & Partnerships

Current Lightera employees are encouraged to apply through the internal careers portal at myADP.com.

Position Summary

The Talent Acquisition Specialist, Programs & Partnerships is responsible for delivering full-cycle recruiting support across a variety of manufacturing, engineering, technology, operations, technical, and professional roles while also contributing to broader talent initiatives that strengthen employee development, career engagement, and workforce pipelines. This hybrid opportunity is based out of the Norcross, GA Corporate Office, with an expectation of 2-3 days per week in the office.

This role requires a highly proactive recruiter who is comfortable identifying and engaging passive talent, building relationships in local communities, partnering closely with hiring leaders, and managing candidates through the complete recruiting lifecycle from sourcing and initial outreach through selection, offer, pre-boarding, and onboarding.

In addition to recruiting responsibilities, the Talent Acquisition Specialist, Programs & Partnerships will support selected talent and development initiatives, early career programs, employee career engagement activities, and local learning experiences. The successful candidate will be comfortable balancing recruiting execution with broader talent priorities and will have an interest in developing facilitation and talent development capabilities over time.

Key Responsibilities

Full-Cycle Recruiting

• Manage full-cycle recruiting for assigned positions across manufacturing, engineering, technology, operations, supply chain, quality, research and development, technical functions, and professional support areas.
• Partner with hiring managers and HR leaders to understand business needs, position requirements, critical capabilities, team dynamics, and desired candidate profiles.
• Conduct comprehensive intake meetings to align on sourcing strategy, selection criteria, interview approach, timing, and market considerations.
• Develop and execute targeted recruiting strategies for difficult-to-fill, technical, specialized, and high-priority roles.
• Source and engage passive candidates through LinkedIn Recruiter, professional networks, industry groups, databases, referrals, community partnerships, professional associations, and other targeted sourcing channels.
• Build and maintain talent pipelines for recurring, anticipated, and critical workforce needs.
• Conduct candidate outreach and develop messaging that effectively communicates the organization, opportunity, culture, career potential, and employee value proposition.
• Screen and assess candidates for technical or functional alignment, transferable skills, career progression, motivation, communication effectiveness, compensation expectations, and overall fit.
• Present qualified candidate slates to hiring managers and provide thoughtful recommendations based on candidate experience and market conditions.
• Coordinate and support the interview and selection process, ensuring candidates and hiring teams are prepared and informed throughout each stage.
• Partner with hiring leaders to maintain interview momentum, timely feedback, and effective decision-making.
• Support offer development, candidate closing, compensation discussions, offer negotiations, and acceptance.
• Maintain communication with selected candidates through pre-boarding and transition into the organization.
• Partner with HR and hiring leaders to support a smooth onboarding experience for new employees.
• Ensure recruiting activity, candidate status, disposition data, and hiring documentation are accurately maintained within applicable recruiting and HR systems.
• Support recruiting compliance and consistent hiring practices throughout the selection process.

Expat & International Hire Programs

• Support expatriate and international hiring programs, partnering with business leaders, immigration counsel, and mobility providers to support the placement of global talent.
• Managed cross-border recruitment initiatives, ensuring compliance with immigration, employment, tax, and relocation requirements across multiple countries.
• Advised leaders on global talent acquisition strategies, including international hiring, work authorization requirements, and mobility options.
• Analyzed mobility trends and program effectiveness, providing recommendations to improve international hiring processes and employee experience.

Proactive Sourcing & Talent Pipeline Development

• Identify and develop talent pipelines before immediate hiring needs arise.
• Conduct market mapping to identify potential candidates, competitors, adjacent industries, and regional talent sources.
• Research and identify alternative talent pools for difficult-to-fill positions.
• Build long-term relationships with prospective candidates and maintain engagement with high-potential talent.
• Develop strategies for converting passive prospects into future candidates.
• Maintain relationships with previous finalists, silver-medalist candidates, and other talent with potential future alignment.
• Monitor external talent trends and provide hiring leaders with insight regarding candidate availability, compensation expectations, competitive hiring activity, sourcing challenges, and emerging talent pools.
• Recommend adjustments to recruiting strategies based on market conditions and recruiting data.

Community & Workforce Engagement

• Build relationships with local community organizations, workforce development partners, colleges, universities, technical schools, trade programs, professional associations, and other organizations that can expand access to talent.
• Represent the organization at career fairs, networking events, community events, school programs, industry events, and other talent-related activities.
• Support development of local and regional workforce pipelines aligned with current and future business needs.
• Identify opportunities to increase organizational visibility within key talent communities.
• Partner with internal stakeholders to strengthen relationships with external organizations that support recruiting, early career, technical, and workforce development initiatives.
• Support community-based sourcing strategies for manufacturing, technical, professional, and early career talent.

Internal Mobility Programs

• Support talent development and employee career engagement initiatives in partnership with Talent, HR, and business leaders.
• Assist with coordination and delivery of employee development programs, workshops, career development activities, and talent initiatives.
• Assist with communication, coordination, scheduling, materials, participant tracking, and program logistics for talent development initiatives.
• Support selected talent management processes and projects as business needs evolve.
• Assist with gathering and analyzing participation data, employee feedback, and program metrics to help evaluate talent initiatives.
• Support, as needed, delivery of local learning and development programs, workshops, employee sessions, and talent events.

Talent Programs & Special Projects

• Participate in recruiting, talent, employee development, workforce, and HR projects based on organizational priorities.
• Support activities that help early career employees understand career opportunities, development resources, and potential pathways within the organization.
• Support employer branding and talent attraction initiatives.
• Partner with cross-functional HR and business stakeholders on assigned initiatives.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business, Organizational Development, Communications, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• Demonstrated experience recruiting for manufacturing environments, with a strong understanding of plant operations, production roles, skilled trades, engineering, and operations talent.
• Minimum of 4 years of recruiting, talent acquisition, human resources, or related experience.
• Demonstrated full-cycle recruiting experience, including sourcing, candidate outreach, screening, interviewing, selection support, offer management, and onboarding coordination.
• Experience proactively sourcing passive candidates.
• Experience partnering directly with hiring managers and business leaders.
• Strong communication, relationship-building, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to manage multiple requisitions, projects, and priorities simultaneously.
• Strong judgment and discretion when handling confidential employee and candidate information.
• Proficiency with applicant tracking systems, recruiting platforms, Microsoft Office, and related HR technology.

Preferred

• Experience recruiting within manufacturing, engineering, technology, industrial, telecommunications, advanced materials, operations, or another technically complex environment.
• Experience recruiting engineers, technical professionals, manufacturing employees, operations leaders, or other difficult-to-fill skill sets.
• Experience in supporting multi-site recruiting across the South and Northeast.
• Experience with community sourcing, workforce development, university recruiting, or early career programs.
• Experience supporting talent development, learning and development, employee career programs, or leadership development initiatives.
• Previous facilitation, training, presentation, or group instruction experience.
• Experience using recruiting analytics or market intelligence to inform sourcing strategies.
• Experience building partnerships with colleges, technical schools, professional organizations, or community organizations.
• Experience developing, analyzing, and communicating recruitment metrics and reports to monitor hiring performance, identify trends, and support data-driven talent acquisition decisions.
• Ability to travel up to 10% domestically to support activities at various company locations across the United States.

Lightera, LLC is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and gives all applicants for employment equal consideration regardless of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, arrest record, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, transgender status, genetic information, marital status, citizenship status, veteran status, pregnancy, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law. Upon request and consistent with applicable laws, Lightera, LLC will provide reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities who need an accommodation to fully participate in the application process.