Word for "requires a crew"

my suggestion:

"The spaceship must be occupied."

to occupy:

–verb (used with object) 1. to take or fill up (space, time, etc.): I occupied my evenings reading novels. 2. to engage or employ the mind, energy, or attention of: Occupy the children with a game while I prepare dinner. 3. to be a resident or tenant of; dwell in: We occupied the same house for 20 years.

"Must be manned" works but you require one word. Ununmanable means what you want, but it doesn't sound right and isn't a word. Manned works, but only in certain contexts. In others it can mean currently manned. It is your best bet for a single word though.

Other short phrases you could use. Dependent on crew. Manually controlled.

Is there a single word to describe an entity that needs a crew/staff or requires manning in order to function.

Will "recruiting" do? as in A company needs crew, so it is recruiting

The problem with "manned" and "unmanned" is that is can be confused with the autonomous state of the object. Unmanned aerial vehicles are actually piloted by remote control from an undisclosed location, and could not achieve the required task without the crew being present.
I think a better word would depend on how you are describing the entity, like a factory could be automatic in nature or require operators. Maybe "Automatic" to indicate no crew required, and piloted/staffed/manned for an entity requiring an operator.

nonautonomous

This is the opposite of autonomous which can mean to operate independently with out need of outside influence. Autonomous is often used to decribe automated robitic structures that do not require input from humans to perform their tasks.