Recruiting Programs Lead

applied; Sunnyvale (CA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Applied Intuition in Sunnyvale, CA is seeking a Recruiting Programs Lead to own our early career and contingent workforce programs. You will design scalable processes, ensure compliance, and partner with Legal, Finance, and Engineering to align talent initiatives with business goals.

You will build university relations, manage internships, and oversee vendor relationships, while driving automation to reduce manual work and improve hiring speed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 6+ years of recruiting operations or people program management experience.
• Proven track record of building and scaling an early career talent program (university relations, internships).
• Proven success managing a contingent worker program with vendor/staffing agencies and a VMS.
• Solid understanding of employment law and California compliance for contingent labor.
• Strong program management with process design, optimization, and cross-functional communication.
• Analytical mindset with data-driven approach to improve programs.

Responsibilities

• Own and scale early career talent programs across university relations and internships.
• Manage end-to-end recruiting lifecycle from campus partnerships to onboarding handoff.
• Build and manage contingent worker program end to end with vendors and staffing agencies.
• Ensure California compliance for contingent labor and worker classifications.
• Partner with Legal, Finance, internal apps, and Engineering to align programs with business goals.
• Analyze program data to identify trends, bottlenecks, and improvement opportunities.
• Drive automation across programs to reduce manual work and increase accuracy.

Skills

Program management

Stakeholder management

Analytical mindset

Automation

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

VMS (Vendor Management System)

ATS platforms

Job description

About Applied Intuition

Applied Intuition, Inc. is powering the future of physical AI. Founded in 2017 and now valued at $15 billion, the Silicon Valley company is creating the digital infrastructure needed to bring intelligence to every moving machine on the planet. Applied Intuition services the automotive, defense, trucking, construction, mining and agriculture industries in three core areas: tools and infrastructure, operating systems, and autonomy. Eighteen of the top 20 global automakers, as well as the United States military and its allies, trust the company’s solutions to deliver physical intelligence. Applied Intuition is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with offices in Washington, D.C.; San Diego; Ft. Walton Beach, Florida; Ann Arbor, Michigan; London; Stuttgart; Munich; Stockholm; Bangalore; Seoul; and Tokyo. Learn more at applied.co.

We are an in-office company, and our expectation is that employees primarily work from their Applied Intuition office 5 days a week. However, we also recognize the importance of flexibility and trust our employees to manage their schedules responsibly. This may include occasional remote work, starting the day with morning meetings from home before heading to the office, or leaving earlier when needed to accommodate family commitments.

About the Role:

Applied Intuition is looking for a Recruiting Programs Lead to own two distinct but connected programs: our early career talent programs and our contingent workforce program. You will build the structure, compliance rigor, and scalability behind how we hire and manage talent outside the traditional full-time pipeline — from the students and new grads who become future full-time hires, to the contractors, temps, and agency workers who help the business flex and scale.

This role requires real depth in both areas, not just program management generalist skills: you should already know how to run a university relations and internship pipeline, and you should already know the compliance landscape around contingent labor, particularly in California. You will also be a trusted advisor to stakeholders across the business — someone who can defend a process because it is the right process, not simply implement whatever is asked.

At Applied Intuition, you will:

• Own and scale our early career talent program, including university relations, new grad hiring, and internship programs, building consistent, high-quality experiences across teams and locations

• Manage the full early career recruiting lifecycle — from campus and university partnerships through offer and onboarding handoff — treating it as a cohesive, repeatable program

• Build and manage our contingent worker program end to end, including vendor and staffing agency management, to ensure consistent, compliant, high-quality engagements across the business.

• Bring working knowledge of the compliance landscape around contingent labor in California, including how different worker classifications (contractors, temp, temp-to-hire, and other contingent types) need to be structured and managed to stay compliant

• Manage contingent talent through a Vendor Management System (VMS), including requisitions, worker tracking, and spend visibility

• Bring or build knowledge of other worker types and how to work with Employers of Record (EORs), extending the contingent workforce model beyond the U.S. as needed

• Partner cross-functionally with Legal, Finance, internal applications, and Engineering teams to ensure early career and contingent programs align with business objectives and regulatory requirements

• Analyze program data and metrics — time-to-fill, pipeline health, contingent workforce spend and compliance risk — to identify trends, bottlenecks, and opportunities for improvement

• Drive automation across both programs (requisition approvals, candidate communications, vendor onboarding, training/compliance tracking, reporting) to reduce manual work and increase accuracy

What We’re Looking For:

• Bachelor’s degree and 6+ years of experience in recruiting operations and other teams including talent acquisition, or people program management roles with demonstrated stakeholder management experience

• Proven track record of building and scaling an early career talent program, including university relations, new grad hiring, and internship programs

• Proven success building and managing a contingent worker program, including vendor/staffing agency management and day-to-day use of a VMS

• Solid understanding of employment law and compliance requirements as they relate to contingent workforce management, particularly in California

• Strong program management background with the ability to design and optimize processes, integrate feedback, and communicate outcomes across all levels

• Strong analytical mindset with experience using recruiting and workforce data to drive program improvements and decision-making

Nice to Have:

• Experience with VMS platforms; Flextracks is preferred

• Knowledge of other contingent worker types and experience working with Employers of Record (EORs)

• Experience in high-growth technology companies, particularly in automotive or autonomous vehicle industries

• Direct involvement in scaling recruiting or talent operations from early-stage startups to larger organizational structures

• Experience with ATS platforms that translate data to insights and actions

• Background in change management or organizational development

Don’t meet every single requirement? If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Applied Intuition is an equal opportunity employer and federal contractor or subcontractor. Consequently, the parties agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-1.4(a), 41 CFR 60-300.5(a) and 41 CFR 60-741.5(a) and that these laws are incorporated herein by reference. These regulations prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities, and prohibit discrimination against all individuals based on their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin. These regulations require that covered prime contractors and subcontractors take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status or disability. The parties also agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of Executive Order 13496 (29 CFR Part 471, Appendix A to Subpart A), relating to the notice of employee rights under federal labor laws.