by Minako Uehara, Director of Human Resources at SES Space & Defense
How does the human resources function support Space & Defense’s growth and mission?
We focus on aligning our people strategies with our business priorities. We ensure we have the talent and skilled workforce to deliver complex, mission-ready programs. This includes attracting and retaining highly specialized talent, building leadership and technical capabilities, and strategic workforce planning. We are also tasked with building our culture, which continues to be vitally important during our post-integration phase.
What types of skills and expertise are you looking to bring into Space & Defense today?
In addition to possessing the right technical and specialized skills, we look for talented people who are agile and can evolve to meet the changing needs of our customers. The ideal SES Space & Defense team member is someone who can execute critical space missions for our government and defense customers and can excel in dynamic, fast-paced environments. And because no one can do a job like this by themselves, we also look for people who welcome collaboration and enjoy celebrating team wins.
How do you go about finding the right people for the positions in need?
Given the nature of our business, we deploy a very intentional, and targeted sourcing strategy to find and recruit the people that have the specific technical capabilities we need. We tend to find our people through employee referrals, professional networking platforms, specialized candidate databases, and from our involvement in industry associations. We also focus on hiring veterans. We actively recruit at military installations to find candidates who are preparing to transition from active duty to a civilian career.
Why does Space & Defense focus on hiring veterans?
Veterans bring mission focus, leadership, and adaptability to the job, along with technical expertise. They have deep familiarity with the industry and experience operating in high-accountability and stressful environments. They understand the needs of our business and customers. This is why we focus on hiring veterans and currently employ more than 100 veterans, comprising over a third of our workforce.
How have changing requirements among Space & Defense customers impacted recruiting and hiring strategies?
As the needs of Space & Defense customers become increasingly complex, we’ve adopted a more strategic, forward-looking approach to recruiting and workforce development. Rather than hiring to fill immediate vacancies, we’re focused on anticipating the skills, expertise, and capabilities our business will require in the years ahead. We’re building deeper talent pipelines, identifying emerging technical skill requirements, and ensuring we have the right people in place to support evolving customer missions and continued business growth.
Looking ahead, what are your team’s most important priorities for building the workforce the company needs for long term success?
Our top priority is strategic workforce planning to support the continued growth of our business and the evolving missions of our customers. Equally important is continuing to strengthen our company culture. We’re partnering closely with our leadership team and Employee Engagement Committee to foster a shared sense of purpose, reinforce a “one team” mentality, and ensure employees feel connected to our mission and to one another. The HR team will continue to play a central role in shaping and sustaining our culture as we continue to grow.
What do you want prospective employees to know about Space & Defense?
SES Space & Defense is a mission-driven organization where our team is involved in high-stakes work that genuinely matters. Beyond competitive compensation, we offer something far more rewarding – the opportunity to directly support critical government and defense outcomes. If you are passionate about tackling complex missions, thriving in a collaborative culture, and making a tangible impact every single day, you would be a great fit for our team!