Senior Business Recruiter

vardaspace; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 125,000 - 169,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

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Job summary

Varda is seeking a Senior Business Recruiter to own end-to-end recruiting across operations, supply chain, finance, legal, people, marketing, and more. This execution-first role focuses on building pipeline, representing Varda’s brand, and delivering high-caliber hires to scale production.

You will manage full-cycle recruiting, source top talent, and drive offers while maintaining a human candidate experience in a fast-paced space tech environment.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of full-cycle recruiting in competitive markets.
• Self-starter who takes accountability and can operate with ambiguity.
• Proven ability to source and close senior-level and leadership talent.
• Clear, proactive communicator with candidates and hiring managers.
• Strong understanding of business functions to evaluate role requirements.

Responsibilities

• Manage the full hiring process from intake to signed offers.
• Source passive talent and build relationships with candidates.
• Measure pipeline health and align with hiring managers.
• Partner with hiring managers to plan recruitment strategy.
• Mentor others and improve recruiting processes.

Skills

Full-cycle Recruiting

Sourcing

Hiring Leadership

Stakeholder Management

ITAR Knowledge

Tools

Greenhouse ATS

Job description

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. Varda's 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 pioneering a commercial space-based manufacturing and reentry logistics platform. We need an exceptional Senior Business Recruiter who thrives on sourcing and closing hard-to-find talent. You will own end-to-end recruiting across key business disciplines such as operations, supply chain, business development , finance, legal, people, marketing and other functions. This is an execution-first role: you'll generat e pipeline, represent Varda's brand in the market, attract high caliber talent, and deliver on successful hiring strategies to continue to scale production.

Responsibilities

• You're a full-cycle recruiter managing the entire hiring process from intake to signed offer.
• Love for hiring. You know hiring is key to our success and that it changes people's lives. You deliver hires consistently and push through when the pipeline seems to have run dry.
• Sourcer at heart. You enjoy scouring the market for the best talent and take pride in building relationships with passive candidates.
• Data-focused. You measure pipeline health to balance your priorities and align hiring manager expectations.
• Ownership. You build hiring manager partnerships that operate like a team sport, moving with flexibility and accountability. You run strong intake sessions, advise on market and comp, and aren't afraid to reframe the way of thinking.
• Closer. You tell Varda's story compellingly, guide candidates through decisions, and land offers.
• Incredible candidate experience. You sweat the small stuff but keep the big picture in mind. You know a job search can be nerve-racking, and you give everyone who interacts with Varda a human experience.
• Raise the bar. You mentor others, improve our processes, and champion inclusive interview practices that help us build diverse teams.

What Success Looks Like

• Consistently deliver high-quality hires on aggressive timelines.
• Build strong partnerships with hiring managers who trust your judgment and rely on your strategic counsel.
• Create repeatable processes, solve inefficiencies, and generate a pipeline of talent that scales with the team.
• Maintain a high bar while moving quickly in a competitive talent market.

Basic Qualifications

• 5+ years of full-cycle recruiting with a track record of hands-on sourcing and hiring at pace, in competitive markets
• A demonstrated self-starter who takes full accountability for outcomes, comfortable operating with ambiguity and pushing searches forward
• Proven ability to source and close senior-level and leadership talent in competitive markets
• Clear, proactive communicator with both candidates and hiring managers; keeps stakeholders informed
• Strong understanding of business functions to evaluate candidate depth and contextualize role requirements

Preferred Skills and Experience

• In-house recruiting experience at a hardware or deep tech startup (Series A through growth stage)
• Experience recruiting across multiple business functions (e.g., finance, operations, HR, marketing)
• Experience with Greenhouse ATS
• Exposure to ITAR/export-controlled hiring environments
• Active network in the LA aerospace corridor
• Familiarity with diversity sourcing strategies and tools

Compensation & Location

Base Salary: $ 125,000 - $169,000 /per year

This range reflects the potential levels at which we may hire for this role. Final compensation will depend on experience, skills, education, as well as internal equity

Eligible for incentives in the form of stock options and/or lon