Lockheed seeks to fill over 100 open jobs at Salina, Owego plants

SALINA — Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) is working to fill more than 100 total job openings at its plants in Salina and Owego.

The defense contractor was scheduled to hold a recruitment event on Jan. 5 at Destiny USA in Syracuse.

The “vast majority” of the open positions are at the Salina site, Thomas Kogut, strategic communications manager at Lockheed Martin, said in an email response to a CNYBJ inquiry.

“Based on the fact that we had a lot of success at this event last year, we’re really hoping to get out there again and get a lot of interest,” says Matthew Wilkowski, engineering manager at Lockheed Martin’s Salina plant, who organized the recruitment effort.

Wilkowski encourages people who couldn’t attend the Destiny USA event to visit the careers section of the firm’s website and apply for any open position.

Representatives from the company’s Owego location were also scheduled to attend the Destiny USA event recruiting for their needs as well, he adds.

The event didn’t include any formal interviews, according to Wilkowski. 

Lockheed Martin employs about 1,500 people at the Salina plant and about 2,300 in Owego, according to Kogut.

The positions available include “about a 50-50 split” between “experienced professionals” and entry-level hires, says Wilkowski.

“Beyond that, we’re looking to hire a lot of positions into our engineering department … software engineering, hardware, systems, mechanical, integration and test engineers,” he added. 

Some of the positions also target the firm’s manufacturing operations, including assembly technicians and testers.

The job opportunities follow an increase in retirements and “growth” in the firm’s business areas, the firm said in its notice announcing the recruitment event.

Lockheed Martin’s Salina plant is primarily involved in the development and production of radar and sonar technology for a “broad range of domestic customers and more than 40 international countries,” the firm said.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a security and aerospace company that employs about 98,000 people worldwide and focuses on the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products, and services.