Senior Technical Recruiter
Job Location:
El Segundo, CA - USA
Monthly Salary:
Posted on:
Vacancies:
Job Summary
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.Vardas W-Series vehicles are built designed and operated by Varda in-house including the pharmaceutical processing payloads the capsules the C-PICA heat shields and the satellite buses.
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 we need an exceptional Senior Technical Recruiter to scale our engineering teams. Reporting to a Recruiting Manager you will own end-to-end recruiting across key hardware and engineering disciplines: autonomous systems propulsion thermal mechanical engineering and structures. This is a strategic operator role youll build hiring strategies execute full-cycle search processes close senior-level talent and serve as a trusted advisor to engineering leadership as we scale from startup to production.
What Youll Own
Strategic Leadership
- Design and execute recruiting strategies for engineering hiring across autonomous systems propulsion thermal mechanical engineering and structures
- Partner with engineering leadership to forecast hiring needs set technical bars and build world-class teams
- Build and optimize end-to-end hiring processes that balance speed quality and candidate experience
- Serve as the internal expert on engineering talent markets compensation trends and competitive intelligence
Full-Cycle Execution
- Source screen and close engineering talent through multiple channels: active search referrals passive outreach and technical communities
- Manage 4-8 active searches simultaneously while maintaining exceptional candidate and hiring manager experience
- Conduct technical recruiter screens to assess engineering fundamentals systems thinking and hardware integration experience
- Lead offer strategy and close negotiations
- Own candidate experience from first touch through onboarding
Process & Systems
- Maintain recruiting infrastructure in Greenhouse (ATS)
- Partner with the Recruiting Operations Partner to continuously improve hiring processes and candidate assessment frameworks
What Success Looks Like
- Consistently deliver high-quality engineering hires on aggressive timelines
- Build strong partnerships with engineering hiring managers who trust your judgment and rely on your strategic counsel
- Create repeatable processes that scale as the team grows
- Maintain a strong technical bar while moving quickly in a competitive talent market
Requirements
Must-Haves
- 5 years of full-cycle technical recruiting experience with significant focus on hardware or engineering roles
- Proven experience recruiting engineers for hardware-centric companies (aerospace robotics automotive medical devices or similar deep tech)
- Track record sourcing and closing senior and staff-level engineering talent in competitive markets
- Demonstrated ability to operate both strategically (building hiring plans advising leadership) and tactically (sourcing screening closing)
- Strong technical fluency you can speak credibly with engineers about their work
- Startup equity fluency comfortable explaining equity structures vesting schedules and how to think about total compensation
- Experience managing full recruiting cycles in fast-paced high-growth startup environments
Strongly Preferred
- In-house recruiting experience at a hardware or deep tech startup (Series A through growth stage)
- Experience hiring across multiple engineering disciplines including autonomous systems propulsion thermal mechanical or structures
- Familiarity with aerospace defense or other regulated industries with ITAR/security requirements
- Background building talent pipelines and long-term sourcing strategies for hard-to-fill technical roles
- Experience developing recruiting metrics dashboards and data-driven hiring insights
Compensation & Location
- Base Salary: $120000 $160000 - This range reflects the potential levels at which we may hire for this role. Final compensation will depend on experience skills location scope of responsibility as well as internal equity.
- Equity Included
- Location: El Segundo CA (onsite)
Benefits
Varda offers a comprehensive benefits package designed to support health financial wellbeing and a highquality workplace experience. Below is an overview of what fulltime employees receive(at this time interns receive a subset of benefits):
Health & Wellness
- Flexible PTO policy 12 paid holidays
- 100% company-paid Medical Dental and Vision insurance plans for employees and dependents with FSA and employer-matched HSA options
- Voluntaryaccident hospital critical illnessandpet insurance
- $120/month wellness reimbursement for gym and fitness expenses
- 12weeks ofparental leave(with supplemental disability leavefor CAmothers)
- Family building pregnancyparentingand menopausebenefitsvia Maven Clinic
- SponsoredOne Medicalmemberships for employees and their dependents
Financial & Retirement
- Substantial incentive equityin a fully funded space start-up
- 401(k) retirement plan with 6% employer match (immediately vested)
- $20/pay period cell phone reimbursement
- Relocation supportfor new hires if needed
Workplace Experience & Perks
- Fully stocked kitchen with lunch provided daily and dinner provided twice weekly
- Company and team-bonding events happyhoursand mission-success celebrations
- Complimentary EV charging
ITAR Requirements
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. Because our employees are provided access to export-controlled items our 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).
E-Verify Statement
Varda Space Industries Inc. participates in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security E-Verify program. The E-Verify program is an Internet-based employment eligibility verification system operated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Learn more about theE-Verify program.
E-Verify Notice Right To Work Notice
Varda Space Industries is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Candidates and employees are always evaluated based on merit qualifications and performance. We will never discriminate on the basis of race color gender national origin ethnicity veteran status disability status age sexual orientation gender identity martial status mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.
Required Experience:
Senior IC
About Company
Expanding the economic bounds of humankind with the world's first orbital manufacturing & reentry platform.
