Recruiter

Jobtailor; Kearny (NJ); On-site; USD 80,000 - 145,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive health benefits

Employee equity stock options

20 days paid time off (PTO)

Job summary

Thea Energy is looking for a Recruiter to join their team in Kearny, NJ. You will be responsible for the full-cycle recruiting process and will play a key role in building pipelines for the next generation of fusion leaders.

The ideal candidate has over 3 years of recruiting experience, preferably in a startup environment. The role offers comprehensive health benefits, employee equity, and 20 days of paid time off.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of full-cycle recruiting experience, preferably in a high-growth startup.
• Experience managing internship programs within STEM fields.
• Advanced proficiency with Applicant Tracking Systems.

Responsibilities

• Execute the end-to-end recruitment process for technical and leadership roles.
• Create and maintain recruitment guides and training modules.
• Design and implement behavioral-based interviewing frameworks.

Skills

Full-Cycle Recruiting

Behavioral Interviewing

Sourcing

Process Improvement

Operational Excellence

Technical Literacy

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher

Tools

Applicant Tracking Systems

LinkedIn Recruiter

Microsoft Office

Job description

About Thea Energy

Thea Energy is leveraging recent breakthroughs in stellarator physics and engineering to create a faster and simpler approach to commercializing fusion energy. The company is reinventing the stellarator using computer‑controlled arrays of planar coils, thereby replacing the intricate, complex modular magnets required in all other stellarator architectures. Thea Energy is on a mission to create a limitless source of zero‑emission energy for a sustainable future.

Position Overview

As a Recruiter at Thea Energy, you will be the face of the company to our candidates. Reporting directly to Thea Energy’s VP – People, you will own the full‑cycle recruitment process while serving as a strategic architect for our hiring infrastructure. You will find seasoned professionals and build the pipelines for the next generation of fusion leaders. As part of a rapidly growing team, you’ll be part of the organizational scaling of a leading fusion energy company. This role will have a high degree of autonomy and must be able to move quickly. The Thea Energy team is comprised of self‑motivated, creative, and fun individuals with an excitement for solving complex problems.

Key Responsibility Areas

• Full‑Cycle Recruiting – Execute the end‑to‑end recruitment process for technical roles (Mechanical Engineering, Electrical & Control Systems Engineering, Magnet Engineering, System Engineering, and more), operational staff, and leadership positions.
• Talent Acquisition Infrastructure & Training – Create and maintain standardized process flows, recruitment guides, and manager training modules. Lead the effort in educating hiring managers on best practices for interviewing and selection.
• ATS Enhancements – Serve as the functional administrator for our ATS (Lever). Design and implement ATS enhancements, including automated workflows, customized feedback forms, structured interview kits, and email templates to increase efficiency and data accuracy.
• Behavioral Interviewing – Design and implement behavioral‑based interviewing frameworks and scorecards to assess candidates for core values, problem‑solving, and startup "grit".
• Talent Branding – Partner with the VP – People and company leadership to develop and execute employer branding initiatives that showcase our culture, mission, and Thea Energy facilities and tech.
• Sourcing Strategy – Proactively identify and engage passive candidates through LinkedIn Recruiter, industry networking, and specialized hardtech and fusion forums.
• Process Improvement – Identify bottlenecks in the current hiring workflow and implement scalable solutions to improve speed‑to‑hire, candidate quality, and interviewer calibration.
• Recruitment Reporting – Maintain data integrity within our ATS and provide regular reports to the Head of People on key metrics (pipeline health, source effectiveness, time to fill, and offer acceptance rates).
• Interview Coordination – Manage the logistics of on‑site interviews at our Kearny, New Jersey facility, including lab tours and technical assessments as applicable.
• Intern & College Recruiting – Design and lead our university relations strategy. Manage our summer internship program, attend campus career fairs at top‑tier engineering schools, and build partnerships with student organizations and research labs.

Ideal Experience & Skillsets

• Experience – 3+ years of full‑cycle recruiting experience, preferably in a high‑growth startup, deep‑tech, or hardware engineering environment.
• Early Career Programming – Proven experience managing internship programs or university recruiting cycles, ideally within STEM fields.
• Systems Expertise – Advanced proficiency with Applicant Tracking Systems; direct experience with Lever is a strong plus. Proven ability to execute ATS enhancements and workflow optimizations.
• Sourcing – LinkedIn Recruiter sourcing experience is required.
• Enablement & Training – Proven ability to create recruitment playbooks and deliver training to hiring managers on interviewing techniques and objective evaluation.
• Methodology – Expert-level understanding of behavioral‑based interviewing and coaching managers on the STAR method.
• Operational Excellence – Demonstrated experience in process improvement and using data/reporting to drive recruitment decisions and strategy.
• Technical Literacy – Ability to understand and vet candidates for complex engineering disciplines.
• Mindset – A "low‑ego" approach with the ability to thrive in a fast‑paced environment where priorities shift as quickly as our technology evolves.
• Tools – Experience with Microsoft Office. Experience with SharePoint and Slack is a plus.
• Education – Bachelor’s degree or higher is required.

It’s not necessary to meet all of the skillsets outlined above. Please feel free to send us a note and tell us why you would still be a great fit for this role or Thea Energy.

Company Benefits

• Salary range $80,000–$145,000 depending on experience
• Comprehensive health benefits (medical, dental, vision)
• Employee equity stock options
• 20 days paid time off (PTO)

Diversity and Inclusion

Thea Energy is an equal‑opportunity employer committed to creating a company of diverse backgrounds. By creating a diverse environment, we will bring new ideas and approaches to solving some of the world’s hardest (and most important) problems. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, family or marital status, age, disability, veteran’s status, or other characteristic protected by applicable laws and regulations.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.