Senior Recruiter

Poseidon Aerospace; Berkeley (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation support

Health benefits

6% Retirement matching

Flexible PTO

Free lunches and snacks

AI tools and subscriptions

Job summary

Poseidon Aerospace is seeking a Talent Acquisition lead to own the full recruiting lifecycle—from sourcing to onboarding—for engineers, pilots, and operators who will define our autonomous cargo fleet. You will establish processes, infrastructure, and pipelines while collaborating with the Head of People as we scale.

The role requires experience in aerospace or defense recruiting, comfort in a fast-moving startup, and a preference for onsite work in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of full-cycle recruiting experience in aerospace/defense or deep-tech environments.
• Experience building TA processes from 0→1.
• Experience recruiting for highly technical roles: propulsion, avionics, controls, flight test.

Responsibilities

• Own the full recruiting lifecycle from sourcing to onboarding.
• Design and stand up recruiting processes and infrastructure.
• Source engineers, pilots, and operators for fleet growth.
• Build proactive pipelines and partnerships with hiring managers.

Skills

Full-cycle recruiting

Talent sourcing

Interviewing & assessment

Stakeholder management

Tools

ATS (Applicant Tracking System)

Job description

About Poseidon Aerospace

Poseidon Aerospace is reimagining how the world moves goods. We build and operate full-size autonomous cargo aircraft - capable of carrying two tons of payload over a thousand nautical miles. From remote communities to contested logistics operations, our platforms unlock a new cost curve for air freight, making it faster, cheaper, and accessible anywhere it's needed. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area with locations in Washington DC, Oregon, and Maine; we're building something consequential.

About Poseidon Aerospace

Poseidon Aerospace is reimagining how the world moves goods. We build and operate full-size autonomous cargo aircraft - capable of carrying two tons of payload over a thousand nautical miles. From remote communities to contested logistics operations, our platforms unlock a new cost curve for air freight, making it faster, cheaper, and accessible anywhere it's needed. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area with locations in Washington DC, Oregon, and Maine; we're building something consequential.

About The Role

This is Poseidon's first dedicated Talent Acquisition hire. You will own all of the full recruiting function end to end; from designing the process and standing up the infrastructure to personally sourcing and closing the engineers, pilots, and operators who will define our fleet. You'll be the first face candidates see and the last voice they hear before signing. You will also sit at the table with the Head of People and Talent to shape headcount strategy as we scale.

This role is for someone who has recruited in aerospace or defense, understands what it means to hire for highly specialized technical roles, and is energized by the challenge of building from scratch. We work onsite and this role is based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Responsibilities

• Full-Cycle Recruiting: Own the hiring process from sourcing all the way to the hand-off for onboarding. Partner with hiring managers, build proactive pipelines for hard-to-fill roles, and serve as the primary point of contact for candidates
• Infrastructure & Process: Administer our TA tools, design and document interview processes and evaluation rubrics, build and maintain recruiting metrics, develop workflows and candidate communication standards
• Candidate Experience: Greet and host candidates onsite, create a candidate journey that is fast, respectful, and genuinely differentiating, even for candidates we don't advance
• Employer Brand & Sourcing: develop and execute sourcing strategies across LI Recruiter, aerospace-specific talent networks, universities, military transition pipelines, and industry events. Draft compelling job posts and social content that communicates Poseidon's mission and differentiation, and represent Poseidon at events as needed (may require travel)
• Strategic Partnership: Serve as the primary TA partner to the Head of People and act as a strategic advisor to hiring managers, contribute to workforce planning discussions and help prioritize hiring sequencing as the company grows

Qualifications

• 7+ years of full-cycle recruiting experience, with a meaningful portion of that in a startup aerospace, defense, aviation, or an adjacent deep-tech environment
• Demonstrated experience taking the TA function from 0->1
• Experience recruiting for highly technical roles: propulsion, avionics, controls, flight test, or related engineering disciplines
• Hands-on experience owning or significantly configuring an ATS, you have set up workflows, not just used them
• Strong sourcing skills across both active and passive candidate channels
• Excellent written and verbal communication; capable of representing the company to senior technical candidates and executives alike
• Comfort operating independently in an ambiguous, fast-moving startup environment

What You Get From Us

• Competitive salary and meaningful early-stage equity
• Relocation support if applicable
• Employee Health Benefit Plans
• 6% Retirement matching
• Flexible PTO
• Free lunches, snacks, and a stocked fridge at our offices
• AI tools and subscriptions