Recruiting Manager

About Varda

Low Earth orbit is open for business. Varda is accelerating the development of commercial space infrastructure from in-orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable and economical reentry capsules.

From life-saving pharmaceuticals to more powerful fiber optics there is a world of products used on Earth today that can only be manufactured in space. Varda is accelerating innovation in the orbital economy by creating both the products and infrastructure needed so space can directly benefit life on Earth. Our mission is to expand the economic bounds of humankind.

Our team is uniquely suited to accomplishing this goal with leadership and staff comprised of veterans from SpaceX Blue Origin major pharmaceutical companies and Silicon Valley. Varda was founded in January 2021 by Will Bruey and Delian Asparouhov with significant backing from world class investors including Khosla Ventures Lux Capital Founders Fund Caffeinated Capital General Catalyst and Also Capital.

Varda is headquartered in El Segundo California where we have offices and a production facility where our vehicles equipment and materials are built integrated and tested. Varda also has offices in Washington DC and Huntsville AL.

Join Varda and work to create a bustling in-space ecosystem.

About This Role

Varda is building the worlds first space-based manufacturing platform and hiring is a critical lever in how we scale.

We are looking for a Recruiting Manager (Lead) to elevate how recruiting operates by driving clarity consistency and performance across a small team of recruiters while continuing to operate as a high-impact individual contributor.

This is not a traditional people management role. You will be responsible for how recruiting work gets done the quality and speed of output and mentoring the team to perform at a high level.

You will operate in a player-coach model owning your own requisitions while ensuring the broader team is delivering. You will also be part of a Recruiting leadership group working in close partnership with other Recruiting Managers and People leadership to drive alignment consistency and overall hiring performance across the company.

What Youll Own

Recruiting Leadership (Player-Coach Model)

Lead day-to-day execution across a team of 24 recruiting professionals

Set the standard for how recruiting is done (speed quality candidate experience)

Drive consistency across roles pipelines and hiring manager partnerships

Mentor recruiters through real-time coaching feedback and calibration

Step in where needed to unblock stabilize or accelerate searches

Hiring Outcomes & Execution

Own hiring outcomes across your areanot just individual requisitions

Personally manage 48 requisitions depending on role complexity and business needs

Ensure roles are progressing against expectations (e.g. 65-day time-to-fill)

Diagnose and address gaps in funnel health conversion and pipeline quality

Partner closely with hiring managers to align on profiles process and expectations

Take on the most complex high-priority or at-risk searches

Hiring Manager Partnership

Act as a thought partner and operator to technical and business leaders

Set clear expectations on process timelines and candidate quality

Push back when needed to maintain hiring standards and velocity

Improve decision-making through structured interviews and feedback loops

Process & Systems

Drive improvements to recruiting processes to increase speed quality and predictability

Ensure disciplined use of systems (Greenhouse reporting interview workflows)

Identify and implement high-leverage improvements (e.g. panel design feedback cycles sourcing strategies)

Use data to inform decisions and correct course quickly

Market & Talent Expertise

Maintain strong knowledge of technical talent markets (especially software deep tech)

Guide sourcing strategy and competitive positioning

Support offer strategy and closing for high-priority hires

What Success Looks Like

Hiring goals are met with predictability and quality

Recruiters operate with clarity consistency and accountability

Hiring managers trust recruiting as a strategic partner not just execution

You effectively balance owning 48 requisitions while elevating team performance

Processes are streamlined and scalable as the company grows

You are operating as a force multiplier not just an individual contributor

Requirements

Must-Haves

10 years of technical recruiting experience (strong IC foundation)

Experience recruiting for software and/or hardware-centric engineering roles

Demonstrated ability to operate beyond execution driving strategy process and outcomes

Experience mentoring or leading other recruiters (formally or informally)

Strong technical fluency; able to engage credibly with engineering candidates and leaders

Proven ability to manage multiple complex searches in fast-paced environments

Strongly Preferred

Experience in aerospace defense robotics or deep tech environments

Experience operating in a player-coach or lead capacity

Familiarity with recruiting metrics funnel diagnostics and performance tracking

Experience improving recruiting processes or systems at scale

Compensation

Base Salary Range: $150000 $200000 annually equity

Pay Transparency Notice (California): The salary range above represents the Companys good faith estimate of the base salary for this role at the time of posting in compliance with California law. The final offer will be determined based on factors including but not limited to the candidates experience skills qualifications and location as well as internal equity considerations. This role may also be eligible for additional compensation including equity and benefits.

• Varda like all employers must ensure that its employees working in the United States are lawfully authorized to work in the U.S. Additionally our employees are exposed to and have access to certain export-controlled items. At present some of our technology to which employees have access requires a license to be exported to individuals other than U.S. Persons as defined in U.S. export regulations. Because our employees are provided access to export-controlled items our current policy is to only hire U.S. persons who are permitted to have access to our technology without an export license.

  US person means: U.S. citizen U.S. lawful permanent resident or protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) (i.e. individual admitted to the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum in the U.S.)

  Learn more about the ITAR here.

Benefits