Senior Recruiter, Full Cycle

Vaco; Menlo Park (CA); Hybrid; USD 96,000 - 117,000; Full time

Job summary

Vaco seeks an experienced Senior Tech Recruiter to support AI/ML and engineering hiring in Menlo Park, CA. This hands-on, individual-contributor role requires end-to-end recruiting across specialized technical talent in a high-growth environment.

The recruiter will independently manage multiple searches, drive sourcing strategies, and collaborate with senior leaders on offers, negotiations, and onboarding. Four onsite days per week with one remote day, on a 6-month contract, applies.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of full-cycle recruiting experience.
• Hands-on experience owning searches from intake to onboarding.
• Experience recruiting AI/ML, engineering, or similarly specialized talent.
• Strong direct-sourcing, talent mapping, and pipeline development skills.

Responsibilities

• Independently manage multiple full-cycle searches from intake to offer acceptance and onboarding.
• Develop sourcing strategies, talent maps, and targeted outreach for niche roles.
• Source, screen, and assess passive candidates across technical, operational, and corporate functions.
• Partner with hiring leaders to define requirements, priorities, and search strategies.
• Manage interview processes, feedback, and candidate communications.

Skills

Full-cycle recruiting

Hands-on sourcing

AI/ML recruiting

Stakeholder management

Compensation negotiations

ATS & analytics

Tools

Greenhouse

Lever

Job description

SENIOR TECH RECRUITER - AI/ML | 6-MONTH CONTRACT

Location: Menlo Park, CA

Work Arrangement: 4 days onsite / 1 day remote

Engagement: Initial 6-month contract

Pay Rate: $70-$85/hour W-2, depending on experience. Rate is firm and cannot exceed the listed range.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

Hands-on Senior Technical Recruiter with AI/ML and engineering recruiting experience required. Energy, manufacturing, deep tech, or high-growth startup experience strongly preferred.

IMPORTANT DETAILS

• This is not a remote opportunity. Candidates must be able to work onsite in Menlo Park four days per week.
• Initial six-month contract with the potential for extension and/or conversion to a permanent position based on business needs. Extension or conversion is not guaranteed.
• Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship. Employment sponsorship is not available now or in the future.
• No C2C arrangements or third-party submissions will be considered.

ROLE OVERVIEW

We are seeking an experienced, hands-on Senior Technical Recruiter to support a confidential, high-growth organization in Menlo Park.

This is an individual-contributor, full-cycle recruiting role requiring recent experience recruiting AI, machine learning, engineering, and other specialized technical talent. This person will independently manage multiple searches across technical, operational, and corporate functions, including senior-level and difficult-to-fill positions.

The role owns the recruiting lifecycle end to end, including intake and search strategy, direct sourcing, candidate assessment, interview management, stakeholder partnership, compensation discussions, offers, negotiations, closing, and onboarding coordination.

The ideal candidate is a self-starter who can operate effectively with ambiguity and evolving priorities, quickly understand complex hiring needs, build credibility with senior stakeholders, and independently move searches forward.

Experience within AI or high-growth technology environments is required. Additional recruiting experience within energy, manufacturing, deep tech, or specialized high-tech startup environments is strongly preferred. Hands-on experience with Greenhouse, Lever, or comparable ATS platforms is also preferred.

CORE QUALIFICATIONS

• 8+ years of full-cycle recruiting experience, including independently managing multiple searches.
• Recent hands-on experience personally owning searches from intake and sourcing through accepted offer and onboarding.
• Demonstrated experience recruiting AI/ML, engineering, technical, or similarly specialized talent.
• Strong direct-sourcing capabilities, including talent mapping, passive-candidate outreach, screening, assessment, and pipeline development.
• Experience recruiting across technical and corporate/operational functions, including senior-level and difficult-to-fill positions.
• Demonstrated ability to partner directly with senior business leaders and hiring managers.
• Hands-on experience with compensation discussions, offers, negotiations, and candidate closing.
• Strong ATS and pipeline-management experience, including candidate tracking, recruiting metrics, dashboards, and reporting.
• Ability to operate independently in a fast-moving environment with ambiguity and evolving priorities.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Independently manage multiple full-cycle searches from intake through offer acceptance and onboarding.
• Develop sourcing strategies, talent maps, and targeted outreach for specialized and business-critical positions.
• Source, screen, and assess passive candidates across technical, operational, and corporate functions.
• Partner with hiring leaders to define requirements, establish priorities, and develop effective search strategies.
• Manage interview processes, feedback, candidate communication, and overall search momentum.
• Lead compensation and offer processes, including approvals, negotiations, and closing.
• Maintain accurate ATS records, candidate pipelines, recruiting dashboards, metrics, and status reporting.
• Coordinate with external search partners and HR Operations as needed throughout hiring and onboarding.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

Success in this role means being able to personally drive complex searches from strategy through close, build credibility with senior stakeholders, engage hard-to-find talent, and create structure in a fast-moving environment where priorities may change.

By submitting to this position, you are agreeing to be included in our talent pool for future hiring for similarly qualified positions.