Senior Recruiter — Defense Tech, Equity & Perks

Drive Capital; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, Dental and Vision Insurance (1

Life Insurance

401(k) with matching

Unlimited PTO

Equity Package

Work/Home Office Stipend

Global Entry

Parental Leave (16 weeks)

Health & Wellness Stipend

Job summary

HavocAI is seeking a Senior Recruiter to build and own end-to-end recruiting across technical and non-technical roles. You will partner with leaders to define requirements, source exceptional candidates, and close critical hires in a fast-growing defense technology environment.

You will manage the full candidate lifecycle, maintain strong pipelines, and drive a high-quality candidate experience while collaborating with People and leadership on branding and strategy.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of recruiting experience in-house, agency, or high-growth environments.
• Experience recruiting in defense technology, aerospace, robotics, autonomy, software, hardware, or similarly complex industries.
• Proven ability to recruit across technical and business-focused disciplines.
• Strong direct sourcing capabilities and ability to engage passive candidates in competitive markets.
• Experience partnering with senior hiring managers and executives on difficult searches.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; highly organized with urgency without sacrificing quality.
• Ability to operate in ambiguity and drive ownership with a bias toward action.
• U.S. Citizenship required; eligibility to obtain a security clearance preferred.

Responsibilities

• Own full-cycle recruiting across multiple functions, from intake to offer acceptance.
• Partner with hiring managers to define requirements, job descriptions, and recruiting strategies.
• Recruit across a broad mix of roles including engineering, product, finance, and operations.
• Pivot quickly between searches and priorities as needs evolve.
• Proactively source and engage exceptional passive candidates through LinkedIn, referrals, and networks.
• Build pipelines for immediate openings and future hiring needs.
• Manage the candidate lifecycle: outreach, screening, interviews, feedback, and close.
• Deliver high-quality, high-touch candidate experience at pace.
• Maintain accurate candidate data in Ashby and generate reports for leadership.
• Drive interview processes, identify bottlenecks, and ensure timely feedback and decisions.
• Develop relationships with talent communities in defense tech, robotics, autonomy, aerospace, and adjacent fields.
• Collaborate on employer branding and recruiting initiatives to attract top talent.
• Leverage pipeline data and market intelligence to inform hiring decisions and process improvement.

Skills

Full-cycle recruiting

Sourcing passive candidates

Stakeholder management

Communication excellence

Organizational agility

Adaptability

Security clearance readiness

Tools

Ashby ATS

Job description

HavocAI is seeking a Senior Recruiter to build and own end-to-end recruiting across technical and non-technical roles. You will partner with leaders to define requirements, source exceptional candidates, and close critical hires in a fast-growing defense technology environment.

You will manage the full candidate lifecycle, maintain strong pipelines, and drive a high-quality candidate experience while collaborating with People and leadership on branding and strategy.