Talent Acquisition Specialist

PAVE Space SA.; Villeneuve (VD); On-site; CHF 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

PAVE Space SA. is seeking an on-site Talent Acquisition lead in Villeneuve (VD) to run end-to-end recruitment for 10+ roles across propulsion, avionics, and operations.

You will use direct outreach and targeted events to reach engineers who aren’t actively job-hunting, crafting an exceptional candidate experience from first message to contract. You will meet senior engineers with strong competing offers, manage multiple searches in parallel with high quality, and partner with hiring managers to

Qualifications

• 2–3 years in talent acquisition for engineers in competitive markets.
• Experience closing senior technical candidates with strong competing offers.
• Ability to run 10+ searches in parallel without dropping quality.
• Strong sourcing instincts for passive candidates.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Comfortable with ATS tooling and structured hiring processes.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end recruitment for 10+ roles across propulsion, avionics, operations.
• Develop sourcing strategy with direct outreach and events to reach non-active engineers.
• Deliver a high-quality candidate experience from first message to contract.
• Close conversations with senior engineers considering competing offers.
• Track hiring data: pipeline health, time-to-close, source effectiveness.
• Partner with hiring managers to define roles so the right people self-select.

Skills

Talent acquisition

Sourcing

Communication

ATS tooling

Hiring processes

Tools

ATS tooling

Job description

PAVE Space is building LYOBA, a heavy kick stage moving up to 4-tonne payloads from LEO to high-energy orbits in under 24 hours.

Our first space mission is ahead and the engineering teams need to be at full strength before we get there. We're scaling from 50 to 100+ and every week a seat stays empty is a week of flight readiness we don't get back. You'll run 10+ searches simultaneously, across disciplines in a talent driven market.

You will own

End-to-end recruitment for 10+ roles at once: propulsion, avionics, operations, and whatever comes next

Sourcing strategy: direct outreach, events, channels that actually reach engineers who aren't job-hunting

Candidate experience from first message to signed contract, every touchpoint yours

Closing conversations with senior engineers who have competing offers from companies with bigger names

Hiring data: pipeline health, time-to-close, source effectiveness, used to make decisions, not fill dashboards

Partnership with hiring managers to define roles sharply enough that the right people self-select in

What we are looking for

2-3 years in talent acquisition, with real experience hiring engineers in competitive markets (deep tech, aerospace, or high-bar tech companies)

You've personally closed senior technical candidates against strong competing offers, not just filled a pipeline for someone else to close

You can run 10+ searches in parallel without dropping quality or losing track

Strong sourcing instincts: you know where to find people who aren't actively looking

Excellent written and verbal communication. You can sell a 50-person company to someone weighing a safer bet

Comfortable with ATS tooling and structured hiring processes

Fluent English (our working language)

Nice to have: experience in aerospace or space-adjacent industries, familiarity with the European engineering talent market, French language skills, or having worked at a company known for a high hiring bar.

You will fit if

You treat every open role like it's yours to fill, not yours to manage.

You'd rather spend an hour crafting the right outreach than blast 200 generic messages.

You understand that in a team of 50, one wrong hire is visible, and you take that seriously.

You get energy from convincing exceptional people to bet on something early.

The role is fully on-site in Villeneuve (VD). We're early: processes are being built, not inherited. You won't have a large recruiting team behind you, but you won't be alone either. If you want a role where every hire changes the trajectory of what gets built, this is it.