Senior/Lead Technical Recruiter

Applied Intuition; California; On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Applied Intuition is seeking a Senior Recruiter to guide hiring for our defense business unit. You will partner with engineering and program leadership to design strategies that attract, evaluate, and close top engineering talent across cleared and non-cleared pools.

You will help scale a high-priority team operating at the intersection of autonomy and national security, with responsibility for multiple domestic locations and a data-driven approach to process optimization.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in technical recruiting for engineering roles.
• Bachelor's degree required.
• Sourcing excellence with a data-driven approach.
• Experience recruiting software or systems engineers for autonomy, robotics, embedded systems, or defense platforms.

Responsibilities

• Partner with engineering and program leadership to design and execute hiring strategies for the defense business unit.
• Scale a high-priority team building autonomy technology for national security.
• Join as an early member of the defense segment recruiting team.
• Develop and execute recruiting strategies to hire engineers and other technical talent across cleared and non-cleared pools.
• Collaborate with leaders to understand hiring needs, clearance requirements, and workforce strategy across multiple domestic locations.
• Leverage AI and tooling to drive recruiting workflow automation and productivity.
• Lead structured interview processes assessing technical excellence and problem-solving.
• Build pipelines into defense-adjacent talent communities.
• Provide leadership with data-driven insights on funnel health and time-to-fill.
• Deliver an exceptional candidate experience and advocate for Applied Intuition's mission.

Skills

5+ years of experience in technicalre€

Bachelor's degree

Strong candidate sourcing

Data-driven stakeholder influence

Autonomy in fast-paced environments

Defense tech recruitment experience

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Ashby

Greenhouse

Job description

Who you are

• 5+ years of experience in technical recruiting, with meaningful experience hiring for high quality engineering talent
• Bachelor's degree
• Extremely strong candidate sourcing capabilities is required
• Strong business partnership skills and the ability to influence stakeholders using data and insights
• Proven ability to manage multiple complex searches in a fast-paced, high-growth environment with shifting program priorities
• High ownership mindset with the ability to operate autonomously
• A minimum of a Bachelor's degree is required for this position
• Experience recruiting software or systems engineers for autonomy, robotics, embedded systems, or defense platforms (UAS, ground vehicles, C2 systems)
• Familiarity with modern ATS such as Ashby or Greenhouse
• Prior experience working in a 0-1 environment

What the job involves

• As a Senior Recruiter at Applied Intuition (an extremely strong Technical Sourcer looking for mentorship on full desk work are also urged to apply), you will partner closely with engineering and program leadership to design and execute hiring strategies that attract, evaluate, and close exceptional talent for our defense business unit, to include Product, Engineering, Growth & Ops Departments
• This is an exciting opportunity to play a business-critical role at the intersection of autonomy and national security, scaling a high-priority team building technology that matters
• Join as an early member of our defense segment recruiting team
• Develop and execute recruiting strategies to identify and hire engineers and other technical talent with defense-relevant experience across cleared and non-cleared talent pools
• Partner with engineering leaders, program managers, and cross-functional stakeholders to understand hiring needs, clearance requirements, and long-term workforce strategy across multiple domestic locations
• Leverage AI and agentic coding tools to drive recruiting workflow automation and increase recruiting productivity
• Lead structured, high-quality interview processes that assess technical excellence, problem-solving ability, and alignment with Applied's values and defense mission
• Build and maintain pipelines into defense-adjacent talent communities
• Provide leadership with data-driven insights on funnel health, pass-through rates, and time-to-fill across both cleared and non-cleared requisitions
• Deliver an exceptional candidate experience and represent Applied Intuition's mission within the defense and national security talent community