Manager, Social Media & Strategic Communications

Manager, Social Media & Strategic Communications

Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States

About the Job Manager, Social Media & Strategic Communications

About Castelion

Castelion is bringing a new approach to defense development and production: short, iterative design cycles, rapid testing, and modern commercial manufacturing strategies built for scale. We're designing, building, and testing next generation long range strike weapons systems to give America and its Allies a definitive edge and deter future conflicts. The brand studio you will help build is how the world comes to understand that mission.

Manager, Social Media & Strategic Communications

Castelion is building next-generation strike systems to restore credible deterrence and expand the industrial base for national security. We are looking for a Manager, Social Media & Strategic Communications to lead Castelion's presence across social and owned channels while supporting broader media, executive communications, and strategic storytelling.

This role is responsible for turning Castelion's mission, technology, milestones, leadership perspective, and culture into clear, credible, high-impact content for defense, aerospace, policy, technology, investor, and talent audiences. The right candidate understands how to build momentum on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, and emerging platforms while maintaining the judgment required to communicate in a national-security environment.

You will work closely with company leadership, engineering, business development, recruiting, legal, security, and communications to shape social-first narratives around hypersonic systems, advanced effects, missile defense, defense manufacturing, and emerging national-security technologies.

This is a hands-on role for a sharp writer, fast operator, and high-judgment communicator who can move from strategy to execution quickly. The best candidate will be comfortable writing under deadline, building a content calendar, spotting timely narrative opportunities, working with technical stakeholders, and knowing when not to post.

What You'll Do

• Develop and execute Castelion's social media and owned-channel strategy across social channels, including X, LinkedIn, YouTube, and other priority platforms.
• Own the editorial calendar for company channels, including announcements, milestones, recruiting content, executive perspective, industry commentary, event coverage, and evergreen brand storytelling.
• Draft, edit, schedule, and publish social content that is technically accurate, visually compelling, and appropriate for defense, policy, customer, investor, and talent audiences.
• Build social-first campaigns around major company announcements, product milestones, test activity, launch activity, executive appearances, industry events, and recruiting priorities.
• Partner with creative, design, video, engineering, and recruiting teams to develop visual assets, short-form video concepts, carousels, explainers, and behind-the-scenes content.
• Support executive social presence, including drafting posts, shaping point of view, identifying timely moments, and translating leadership perspective into credible public commentary.
• Monitor defense, aerospace, technology, policy, competitor, and geopolitical conversations to identify relevant moments for Castelion to engage or avoid.
• Produce a concise daily executive media and social brief summarizing relevant coverage, industry developments, competitor activity, social conversation, geopolitical events, and emerging narratives.
• Track channel performance, audience growth, engagement, sentiment, and campaign results, then use those insights to improve content strategy.
• Manage community engagement, comment monitoring, inbound message routing, and escalation workflows.
• Support media strategy for announcements and high-visibility moments, including drafting press materials, talking points, briefing notes, media pitches, and social amplification plans.
• Help identify high-quality podcasts, interviews, conferences, speaking opportunities, and other visibility moments for company leadership.
• Support rapid-response communications and issue management with discretion, accuracy, and sound judgment.
• Maintain consistency of Castelion's external voice, messaging, terminology, and narrative across social, press, web, recruiting, and executive channels.
• Coordinate with legal, security, engineering, and business stakeholders to ensure communications meet OPSEC, export-control, customer-sensitivity, and technical-accuracy standards.

What We're Looking For

• 4-7 years of experience in social media, strategic communications, public affairs, journalism, defense communications, technology communications, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience managing brand, founder, executive, or organizational social channels, especially LinkedIn and X.
• Exceptional writing and editing skills, with the ability to craft concise, compelling content under tight deadlines.
• Strong understanding of social media strategy, content calendars, audience development, platform best practices, social listening, and performance analytics.
• Ability to translate technical or complex subject matter into clear, accurate, engaging messaging.
• Strong judgment, discretion, and calm under pressure, especially in sensitive or high-visibility communications environments.
• Ability to work directly with senior executives, engineers, military leaders, reporters, policymakers, and external partners with professionalism and confidence.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple fast-moving priorities simultaneously.
• Interest in U.S. national security, defense innovation, aerospace, manufacturing, and emerging technologies.
• Willingness to travel as needed for events, media opportunities, launches, tests, and industry conferences.

Nice to Have

• Experience in defense, aerospace, government, Capitol Hill, journalism, public affairs, venture-backed technology, or dual-use technology.
• Experience building or managing executive social media programs.
• Experience using social listening, analytics, scheduling, or reporting tools.
• Experience supporting product launches, test campaigns, major announcements, conferences, or recruiting campaigns.
• Familiarity with defense acquisition, Pentagon structure, national-security policy, venture-backed technology environments, or dual-use technology sectors.
• Relationships with defense, aerospace, technology, policy, business, podcast, or creator-media communities.
• Experience with crisis communications, rapid response, or sensitive issue management.
• Comfort working with creative teams on photography, video, motion graphics, and visual storytelling.
• Familiarity with OPSEC, export-control considerations, classification boundaries, or communications review processes in defense or aerospace environments.

This is a full-time, on-site role based at our Torrance or Washington, DC facility. Some of the most important production moments, including field shoots at test and manufacturing sites, happen in dynamic and physically demanding environments. You should be comfortable working extended hours when production demands it, and you should expect to travel approximately 50 percent of the time.

ITAR Requirements

• To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Employment with Castelion is governed on the basis of competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

All employees are granted long-term stock incentives as part of their employment as Castelion. All employees receive access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental insurance, and the company offers four weeks of paid time off per year.