The LEAD Rotational Program is a full-time leadership development program for recent graduates and emerging leaders. Rotate through the business, learn from leaders who know your name and build the skills to help run one of the largest privately held transportation and logistics companies in the country.
If you have the drive to lead and the grit to solve hard problems this rotational development program was built for you.
Transportation and logistics keep the world moving. The food on store shelves, the equipment that builds cities, the products people count on every day – they all get there because someone made it happen.
That someone could be you. At CRST you won’t just watch the business run. You’ll help run it. That kind of real-world impact is hard to find this early in a career and it’s exactly what makes this leadership rotational program different.
The LEAD Rotational Program is a full-time rotational development program that fast-tracks recent graduates and emerging leaders into real leadership roles. You won’t sit on the sidelines. From your very first rotation you’ll do meaningful work, build broad business experience and take on real responsibility in transportation and logistics.
The name says it all. Here’s what you can expect.
You’ll step into influential roles from day one. That means real working relationships with senior leaders across the business, not just a quick handshake in the hallway.
You’ll roll up your sleeves and rotate through our core disciplines. Each rotation builds your knowledge of how the business really runs and how all the pieces fit together.
This program is built to speed up your growth. By the time you finish you’ll be ready to lead impactful projects and teams and take on real business ownership.
You’ll grow through tailored training, hands-on mentorship and a strong community of peers, alumni and leaders who want to see you win.
We built LEAD to be intentional from start to finish. Every rotation, every mentor pairing and every leadership session has a purpose: to prepare you to lead. This is not a program where you figure it out alone. It’s a designed leadership development program with real support at every step.
Here’s what you can count on:
Flexibility is a feature here, not a lack of planning. We shape your rotations around real business needs and your growing capabilities so you build the exact skills that set leaders apart.
We offer two active tracks in the rotational program. Pick the one that matches your goals.
When you understand every area of the business and how it all connects, your options open up. Our Enterprise track gives you experience across the company so you’re ready to lead projects and teams.
Learning operations means working in a fast-paced world and solving problems for customers every day. In this operations rotational program you’ll dive into that world and come out ready to lead teams and manage budgets.
You could join a rotational development program at a giant company and become one of hundreds. Or you could come here and get noticed.
We’re big enough to hand you real business challenges and small enough that your work matters from the start. That’s a rare combination and it’s our biggest advantage.
You’ll leave this program knowing how a business really works and how to lead one.
Every track looks a little different but the work is always real. Depending on your rotations you could:
This is not a program where you observe. It’s one where you lead.
This program isn’t for everyone and that’s okay. The people who do best here share a few traits. Does this sound like you?
A good fit if you are:
This recent graduate rotational program is a strong first step into a leadership career in transportation and logistics.
You’ve led people. You’ve made tough calls under pressure. You’ve thrived when the path wasn’t fully mapped out. That’s exactly what LEAD is built around.
Your leadership experience translates directly to business leadership here. You already know how to bring a team together, execute under pressure and adapt when things change. We’ll help you turn those skills into your next chapter.
LEAD is a strong bridge from military service into a business career. You’ll step into real responsibility early, get support from mentors who understand your transition and grow alongside leaders who value what you bring to the table.
“My military experience prepared me for the LEAD program by teaching me how to be accountable, adapt quickly, and work effectively with different personalities and levels of responsibility while still getting the mission accomplished.”
Jacoby Harrison, Operations LEAD
The whole point of LEAD is to launch a career, not just complete a program. Here’s what the journey can look like.
Build your foundation through rotations, mentorship and hands-on business experience.
Step into your first full role leading projects, teams or key business functions.
Take on bigger scope – direct reports, budgets and real ownership of business results.
Grow into broader enterprise roles where you shape strategy and lead at scale.
Our leaders don’t promise a fixed timeline, but they do promise real opportunity. Many of our current leaders started right where you are.
Dylan Schreder, Enterprise LEAD Alum
Your career should challenge you, grow you and move you forward. Ours does exactly that. Take the next step and find the early career program that fits you best.
Have questions?
We’d love to hear from you.
Reach out at corporaterecruiting@crst.com or use the form here and we’ll help you find your fit.
The LEAD Rotational Program is a full-time leadership development program for recent graduates and emerging leaders. Participants rotate through core areas of the business, build broad experience in transportation and logistics and step into real leadership roles. It’s a rotational development program built around mentorship, hands-on work and real responsibility from day one.
LEAD runs two to three years depending on your track, with three rotations that build increasing responsibility. The Enterprise track is a two-year program and the Operations track runs two to three years.
We offer two active tracks: an Enterprise rotational program that spans the whole business and an Operations rotational program focused on running fast-paced operations for customers. Our Finance track is paused for this recruiting year, so ask your recruiter about future opportunities.
It depends on your track. The Enterprise track includes the chance to work in a new location for one rotation, and the Operations track includes multiple locations for maximum growth. We see every move as a chance to learn more, see more and grow faster. Base locations are Cedar Rapids IA; Manteca CA; and Riverside CA.
LEAD is built to launch a leadership career. Graduates move into roles leading projects, teams, budgets and business results. Alumni have stepped into positions like operations manager, project lead and business analyst, with a clear path toward senior leadership over time.
LEAD is designed for recent graduates and emerging leaders, but it’s also open to people transitioning from military service who bring leadership experience. If you’ve led people and thrived under pressure, this recent graduate rotational program is a strong fit.
Yes. Your leadership experience translates directly to business leadership at CRST. LEAD is a strong bridge from military service into a business career, with mentorship and support built around your transition. Reach out to a recruiter to talk through your background.
LEAD tends to fit backgrounds in supply chain, business, operations, analytics and related fields. What matters most is your drive to lead, your comfort with change and your readiness to take on real responsibility.