Engineering & Manufacturing Recruiter

onwardsearch; Fairfield (CT); On-site; USD 60,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits and PTO

401K

Job summary

Onward Search is seeking a proactive Engineering & Manufacturing Recruiter to drive delivery across our engineering and skilled trades staffing practice. You will own high-volume sourcing, rapid pipeline building, and full-cycle recruiting in a fast-moving production environment.

You will leverage AI-powered tools, texting platforms, and an advanced ATS to source, screen, and place engineers, machinists, and technicians while meeting aggressive KPIs and providing a strong candidate experience.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience as a staffing agency recruiter.
• Experience recruiting engineering, manufacturing, or skilled trade roles.
• Proven success in a high‑volume, KPI‑driven environment.
• Strong comfort with recruiting technology, including ATS platforms with API integrations, texting platforms, AI‑assisted sourcing and workflow tools.
• Outbound phone, text, and digital outreach.
• Strong organization, time‑management, and follow‑through skills.
• Bachelor’s degree preferred.

Responsibilities

• Proactively source engineering, manufacturing, and skilled trade candidates using job boards, referrals, LinkedIn, texting platforms, and AI tools.
• Build and maintain a strong, active candidate pipeline in manufacturing and engineering talent markets.
• Recruit for roles including Controls / Automation Technicians, Machinists / CNC, Maintenance Technicians, Mechanics, Mechanical & Electrical Assembly, QA / QC Technicians, Welders, CDL Drivers, and Forklift & General Production.
• Conduct high‑volume phone and video candidate screenings.
• Qualify candidates for skills, experience, availability, and fit.
• Discuss and negotiate pay rates with candidates.
• Manage candidates throughout interview, offer, and placement stages.
• Maintain strong candidate relationships to drive retention and redeployment.
• Leverage ATS, CRM, texting tools, AI, and sourcing automation to drive speed and efficiency.
• Consistently meet or exceed KPIs related to outreach, submittals, interviews, placements, and starts.

Skills

High-volume recruiting

Sourcing automation

Phone/Video screenings

ATS/CRM familiarity

KPI-driven recruitment

Education

Bachelor’s degree preferred

Tools

AI-assisted sourcing

Texting platforms

ATS with APIs

Job description

Overview

We are seeking a proactive, highly competitive Engineering & Manufacturing Recruiter to drive delivery and growth across our Engineering & Skilled Trades Staffing business. This role focuses on high‑volume candidate sourcing, aggressive pipeline building, and full‑cycle recruiting for manufacturing, engineering, and skilled trade roles in a fast‑moving, production‑driven environment. The ideal candidate thrives in a KPI‑heavy, commission‑oriented workflow, is obsessive about speed and efficiency, and is deeply fluent in AI‑powered recruiting tools, automation, and modern ATS ecosystems. This recruiter operates like a hunter—leveraging sourcing automation, texting platforms, and data to move faster than the market and consistently outperform traditional, tool‑light recruiters.

Key Responsibilities

• Proactively source engineering, manufacturing, and skilled trade candidates using job boards, referrals, LinkedIn, texting platforms, and AI tools
• Build and maintain a strong, active candidate pipeline in manufacturing and engineering talent markets
• Recruit for roles including Controls / Automation Technicians, Machinists / CNC, Maintenance Technicians, Mechanics, Mechanical & Electrical Assembly, QA / QC Technicians, Welders, CDL Drivers, and Forklift & General Production
• Conduct high‑volume phone and video candidate screenings
• Qualify candidates for skills, experience, availability, and fit
• Discuss and negotiate pay rates with candidates
• Manage candidates throughout interview, offer, and placement stages
• Maintain strong candidate relationships to drive retention and redeployment
• Leverage ATS, CRM, texting tools, AI (including CoPilot), and sourcing automation to drive speed and efficiency
• Consistently meet or exceed KPIs related to outreach, submittals, interviews, placements, and starts

Required Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience as a staffing agency recruiter
• Experience recruiting engineering, manufacturing, or skilled trade roles
• Proven success in a high‑volume, KPI‑driven environment
• Strong comfort with recruiting technology, including ATS platforms with API integrations, texting platforms, AI‑assisted sourcing and workflow tools
• Comfortable with outbound phone, text, and digital outreach
• Strong organization, time‑management, and follow‑through skills
• Candidates from tool‑light or low‑tech staffing environments may struggle in this role
• Bachelor’s degree preferred

Salary

• $60,000‑$65,000 (based on experience)
• Commission & bonus eligible
• Comprehensive benefits and PTO package, including 401K

Equal Opportunity Employer

Onward Search is an equal opportunity employer. We value a culture of inclusion and diversity within our workforce and are committed to maintaining a workplace free from prohibited employment conduct, including discrimination or harassment based on race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, domestic partner status, civil partnership, status as a covered veteran, status in the Uniformed Services of the United States, citizenship and any other characteristic protected by State and Federal law.

Applicants must be at least 18 years old to apply.