WSMR recruits new employees at NMSU Career Expo

Several White Sands Missile Range Test Center representatives and Human Resource Specialists were at the New Mexico State University Career Expo Sept. 21 to recruit new talent for the range.

WSMR representatives joined several companies at the NMSU Expo with the intent to recruit and hire new employees and fill several vacancies in STEM and Engineering fields.

Louis Salas, an HR Specialist for the G-1 at WSMR/ATEC said they were at the NMSU Expo looking for new hires in all the STEM fields to include science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

“This is a perfect time to bring in interns, especially those students who will be graduating in December,” Salas said.

He said they were doing qualifications on the spot for those that were interested and due to graduate in December. Louis said they were also able to make some job offers to students who were interested in working at WSMR.

Jennifer Schotzko, a graduate student, who is also a staff member at NMSU, was interested in working at WSMR. She said her father worked at WSMR for 35 years, so she was familiar with WSMR’s mission.

Schotzko has a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, an MBA, a system engineering certificate and is three classes away from a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering.

Conrad Rodriguez, Chief Air and Space Branch at WSMR, said they were looking for good candidates in engineering and all the disciplines to include mechanical and electrical engineering.

“We are trying to recruit engineers that are hopefully going to help fill spots in all the directorates,” Rodriguez said.

He said it was nice to be part of a team effort for the range to recruit good candidates and help build the workforce.

Rodriguez said the Career Expo provides a great opportunity to recruit new employees who will help build the workforce and help support the testing going on at WSMR.

Rodriguez, an NMSU graduate, said it was great to be able to go back to NMSU and see the young people joining the workforce. He said WSMR often lacks visibility in the local community and coming out to the Career Expo helps them make that connection.

“We can meet with the students face to face and let them know about local opportunities.”

He said this event gives them an opportunity to recruit those students who want to stay local and let them know about the opportunities that WSMR has to offer.

Vanessa Villalobos, a senior at NMSU studying Mechanical Engineering, said she came to find an internship opportunity that will hopefully transition into a career.

She said events like these exposes students to more opportunities they may not have been aware of and exposes them to the different companies that are out there.

Chris, a Mechanical Engineer with WSMR, said he started as a summer hire at WSMR in 2020 and came back to WSMR as an intern in the summer of 2021 while he finished his degree. He was hired full time in the fall of 2021.

He said he choose to work for WSMR because of the opportunities he had as an intern, where he learned great skills.

Abbie Parra, a Site Director for the White Sands Missile Range Navy Detachment, said he was at the Expo to recruit talent for the NAVSEA Warfare Center Port Hueneme Division both at WSMR and Port Hueneme in the areas of electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, cyber security, and aerospace engineering.

He said that although they were not expending offers on the spot, they would be making offers to a few candidates in the next few weeks.

James Robinson, a junior at NMSU studying industrial engineering, said he was interested in doing an internship and then working at WSMR.

Lupita Soliz, who was there representing WSMR, said her pitch to students is “Come for the unicorns, stay for the thrills” because every test and mission at WSMR is unique, just like a unicorn. Soliz was helping to collect a database of potential recruits for summer internships and STEM positions.

Also assisting were Bethany Tyree, Debra Clark, George Juarez, Cynthia Squires, Steven Roberts, Nigel Raynor, Frank Sage, Carlos Azcarate, Josie Tate and Jason Pingo.

Lacy Watkins, a recruiter with Army Civilian Careers Management Activity or ACCMA, who works in the talent acquisition department, was also at the Career Expo supporting WSMR during the event and helping to get the word out about Army jobs and internships.