Senior Recruiter, Defense Tech & Autonomy

HavocAI; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, Dental and Vision insurance (0

Life Insurance

401k Matching

Unlimited PTO

Equity Package

Work/Home Office Stipend

Global Entry

Parental Leave 16 weeks

Wellness Stipend

Job summary

HavocAI seeks a Senior Recruiter to define HavocAI’s next growth stage, owning full-cycle recruiting across technical and non-technical roles. You’ll partner with hiring managers to shape requirements, write compelling descriptions, and build effective recruiting, sourcing, and closing strategies in a fast-paced defense-tech environment.

You will manage candidate lifecycle, provide an exceptional experience, and help build a diverse pipeline across engineering, mission operations, finance, and

Qualifications

• 5+ years of recruiting experience in-house, agency, or high-growth environment.
• Experience recruiting in defense technology, aerospace, robotics, autonomy, software, hardware, or technically complex industry.
• Demonstrated ability to recruit across highly technical and business-focused disciplines.
• Proven ability to manage multiple searches simultaneously with changing priorities.
• Strong direct sourcing capabilities and confidence engaging passive candidates in competitive markets.
• Experience partnering with senior hiring managers and executives on difficult or high-priority searches.
• Strong candidate assessment, relationship management, negotiation, and closing skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Highly organized with urgency without sacrificing candidate experience or hiring quality.
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity and solving problems without extensive direction.
• Ownership mentality and bias toward action.
• Experience with modern applicant tracking systems; Ashby experience preferred.
• Ability to thrive when priorities change quickly and recruiting pace matches business needs.
• U.S. Citizenship required; security clearance eligibility preferred.

Responsibilities

• Own full-cycle recruiting across multiple technical and non-technical functions from intake to offer.
• Partner with hiring managers to define requirements, write job descriptions, and build profiles.
• Recruit across a broad mix of roles including technical software, autonomy, robotics, hardware, and non-technical functions.
• Pivot between searches and priorities as needs evolve.
• Proactively source exceptional passive talent through LinkedIn, GitHub, referrals, and networking.
• Build pipelines for current openings and future needs.
• Manage candidate lifecycle from outreach to offer closing with strong candidate experience.
• Maintain disciplined processes and accurate candidate data in Ashby.
• Drive interview processes, remove bottlenecks, and ensure timely feedback and decisions.
• Develop relationships with talent communities across defense tech, robotics, autonomy, aerospace, and adjacent industries.
• Collaborate with People and leadership on employer branding and recruiting initiatives.

Skills

Full-cycle recruiting

Defense tech recruiting

Sourcing passive candidates

Executive partnering

Ashby ATS

Tools

Ashby

Job description

HavocAI seeks a Senior Recruiter to define HavocAI’s next growth stage, owning full-cycle recruiting across technical and non-technical roles. You’ll partner with hiring managers to shape requirements, write compelling descriptions, and build effective recruiting, sourcing, and closing strategies in a fast-paced defense-tech environment.

You will manage candidate lifecycle, provide an exceptional experience, and help build a diverse pipeline across engineering, mission operations, finance, and