Senior Specialist, Talent Acquisition

Unissant; Herndon (VA); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Unissant, Inc. is seeking a Senior Technical Recruiter to recruit cleared technical talent for national security and federal programs.

You will own end-to-end recruiting across software, cybersecurity, cloud and systems roles, coordinating with security teams on clearance processes and onboarding. You will partner with program leaders to align skills, qualifications and compensation with contract needs, build candidate pipelines, and drive time-to-fill improvements in a hybrid Herndon, VA

Qualifications

• 8+ years of full-cycle technical recruiting experience, including federal contracting.
• Proven success closing cleared technical professionals for TS/SCI with polygraph needs.
• Experience recruiting software engineers, cybersecurity, cloud, data, systems, and network engineers.
• Ability to manage complex searches across multiple stakeholders.
• Knowledge of clearance terminology and security processing dependencies.
• Experience aligning qualifications with contract labor categories and timelines.

Responsibilities

• Own full-cycle recruiting for assigned technical positions and onboarding.
• Define skills, clearance requirements, compensation, and timelines with managers.
• Develop search strategies for hard-to-fill roles in tech domains.
• Build pipelines using direct outreach, referrals, and talent platforms.
• Assess candidates and provide screening summaries and recommendations.
• Coordinate with security for clearance verification and movement.
• Advise on talent availability, compensation, and search constraints.
• Maintain ATS records and report on pipeline health and time-to-fill.

Skills

Full-cycle recruiting

Federal contracting

TS/SCI clearance

Sourcing strategies

Interview coordination

Offer negotiation

Stakeholder management

Security collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

LinkedIn Recruiter

Boolean search

ATS

Cleared job boards

Job description

Unissant, Inc. delivers innovative capabilities to the agencies that keep our nation healthy and safe. We apply our domain expertise, data acumen, and technology know-how to achieve breakthrough results for our clients. Working collaboratively, we advance missions and careers through a focus on honesty, integrity, and dependability. We continuously look for talent, excited to join that effort. To learn more about our exciting organization, please visit us at www.unissant.com.

We are seeking a Senior Technical Recruiter to help us hire the cleared technical talent supporting our national security, intelligence, defense, homeland security, federal law enforcement, health IT, and federal civilian programs. This is a hands-on senior individual contributor role with responsibility for complex searches, from defining the recruiting approach through offer acceptance and onboarding coordination. You will partner with program leaders, hiring managers, and our security team to fill current openings and build pipelines for upcoming contract needs, including positions requiring up to TS/SCI with a polygraph.

The ideal candidate has a record of finding and closing cleared technical professionals, navigating competing hiring priorities, and giving hiring managers practical guidance on talent availability, compensation, and hiring risks. You will own recruiting execution for your assigned portfolio, improve the tools and practices used to deliver that work, and share your expertise with teammates. This position does not include direct reports or formal people-management responsibilities. This is a hybrid position based in Herndon, VA.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Own full-cycle recruiting for assigned technical and mission-support positions, including intake, sourcing, screening, interview coordination, offer negotiation, and onboarding coordination.
• Partner with hiring managers and program leaders to define required skills, labor category qualifications, clearance requirements, compensation parameters, and realistic hiring timelines.
• Develop and execute search strategies for hard-to-fill positions in software engineering, cybersecurity, cloud, data analytics, systems engineering, and network infrastructure.
• Build and maintain relationships with cleared professionals, including candidates with TS/SCI and polygraphs, using direct outreach, referrals, Boolean search, cleared talent platforms, and professional networks.
• Assess technical experience, candidate motivation, compensation expectations, availability, and alignment with contract requirements; present clear screening summaries and hiring recommendations.
• Collect candidate-reported clearance information and coordinate verification, crossover questions, and processing requirements with the Facility Security Officer (FSO) or designated security personnel.
• Advise hiring managers on talent availability, compensation expectations, search constraints, and candidate feedback; recommend changes when requirements or hiring practices limit results.
• Manage candidate communication throughout the hiring process, including interview preparation, timely feedback, offer discussions, and expectations for security processing and start dates in coordination with security personnel.
• Prepare and negotiate offers within approved compensation parameters, coordinating with Talent Acquisition leadership, Human Resources, program management, and pricing as appropriate.
• Support proposal, contingent, and contract-transition recruiting as needed, clearly communicating award dependencies and anticipated start dates to candidates.
• Maintain accurate, timely applicant tracking system records and report on pipeline health, time-to-fill, source effectiveness, offer acceptance, and hiring risks across assigned requisitions.
• Improve sourcing methods, screening tools, and recruiting workflows; share effective practices and provide informal guidance to recruiting teammates without formal supervisory responsibility.
• Follow applicable equal employment opportunity, affirmative action, recordkeeping, privacy, and customer security requirements; support targeted recruiting events and employer branding efforts as needed.

Work Experience and Job Skills:

• 8+ years of full-cycle technical recruiting experience, including at least 5 years supporting federal government contracting and cleared hiring.
• Demonstrated success personally sourcing and closing technical candidates for positions requiring TS/SCI, including searches requiring CI or full-scope polygraphs.
• Experience recruiting software engineers, cybersecurity professionals, cloud specialists, data professionals, and systems or network engineers; ability to distinguish required technical qualifications from adjacent experience.
• Ability to independently manage complex searches across multiple stakeholders, prioritize competing requirements, and elevate hiring risks with practical recommendations.
• Working knowledge of clearance terminology, polygraph requirements, and security-processing dependencies, with experience partnering with security personnel on verification and candidate movement.
• Experience aligning candidate qualifications with contract labor categories, education and experience requirements, approved compensation parameters, and staffing timelines.
• Hands-on proficiency with applicant tracking systems, LinkedIn Recruiter, clearance-focused job boards, Boolean search, and direct sourcing; evidence of building pipelines beyond inbound applicants.
• Strong candidate assessment, offer negotiation, and closing skills, including the ability to identify acceptance risks and maintain engagement through extended hiring processes.
• Ability to use recruiting data and market feedback to adjust search strategies, improve execution, and communicate progress to hiring managers.
• Working knowledge of recruiting compliance and documentation requirements applicable to federal contractors.
• Preferred: Experience supporting Intelligence Community, defense, DHS, or federal law enforcement customers in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.
• Preferred: Experience with proposal staffing, IDIQ contracts, contingent offers, contract transitions, or surge hiring.

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant recruiting experience.

Certificates, Licenses and Registrations:

• AIRS, SHRM, or other relevant recruiting or human resources certifications preferred.

Communication Skills:

• Communicate clearly with candidates, hiring managers, program leaders, and security personnel, including when requirements change or hiring timelines are uncertain.
• Write concise candidate assessments, outreach messages, and recruiting updates that support informed hiring decisions.
• Influence hiring decisions through evidence, market knowledge, and sound judgment while handling candidate and business information confidentially.

Clearance Requirements:

• A personal security clearance is not required for this position. Prior experience holding a clearance is a plus.
• Experience recruiting candidates up to TS/SCI with polygraphs is required.

Travel:

• Occasional travel, up to 10%, for recruiting events, meetings, or other business needs.

Environmental Requirements:

• Mainly a routine office environment.
• May be required to lift up to ten (10) pounds.
• Flexibility to occasionally work extended hours to support candidate availability, hiring deadlines, and recruiting events.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by the individual(s) assigned to this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and skills required. Unissant management reserves the right to modify, add, or remove duties and to assign other duties as necessary. In addition, where applicable and available, reasonable accommodation(s) may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions of this position.

Please note: Candidate(s) will be required to go through pre-employment screening.

Unissant, Inc. is a proud Equal Opportunity Employer! (EOE; M/F/Disability/Vets)