Senior Technical Recruiter

Space Kinetic Corp.; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity-Based Compensation

401(k) retirement plan with company-m\

Job summary

Space Kinetic is seeking an experienced Senior Technical Recruiter to lead full-cycle recruiting across spacecraft systems, avionics, software, GNC, propulsion, manufacturing, test, and mission operations.

This role will partner directly with engineering leaders to identify, engage, and close highly specialized technical talent, driving success in a fast-paced startup environment at our El Segundo, CA headquarters.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience.
• 5+ years of full-cycle technical recruiting experience.
• Experience hiring engineers and other specialized technical professionals.
• Recruiting experience within aerospace, defense, space, robotics, autonomous systems, or deep technology.
• Strong sourcing experience using LinkedIn Recruiter, referrals, networking, and direct outreach.
• Demonstrated ability to engage and close candidates in competitive markets.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills.

Responsibilities

• Own full-cycle recruiting from sourcing through offer acceptance and onboarding.
• Develop sourcing strategies across aerospace, defense, robotics, autonomous systems, and adjacent industries.
• Build pipelines for critical engineering, operations, and leadership roles.
• Partner with hiring managers to define requirements and candidate evaluation criteria.
• Develop structured interview processes and maintain recruiting metrics and reporting.
• Represent Space Kinetic at conferences, universities, networking events, and technical communities.
• Serve as an ambassador for Space Kinetic’s mission, culture, and technology.

Skills

Full-cycle recruiting

Candidate closing

Sourcing strategies

Relationship building

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

LinkedIn Recruiter

Job description

Who We Are:

Space Kinetic is a dual use space technology startup building a completely new architecture for space operations – one that brings the advantages of proliferated drone technology (low-cost, operationally flexible, attritable, distributed) to space missions while reducing the ecosystem's reliance on consumable fuel. In a world where many companies are focused on incrementally improving the status quo, we are focused on creating something entirely different – an architecture underpinned by new first principles to meet the opportunities and challenges of the third space age head-on. Our goal is to move away from one-to-one space architectures – where each satellite in a constellation has one (or a small # of) primary payloads attached to the bus -- and unlock a ‘one-to-many’ system, where each satellite has a large number of payloads which can be deployed from their host spacecraft at high velocities without firing a thruster.

A New Paradigm For Space Operations

Space Kinetic is a dual use space technology startup building a completely new architecture for space operations – one that brings the advantages of proliferated drone technology (low-cost, operationally flexible, attritable, distributed) to space missions while reducing the ecosystem's reliance on consumable fuel. In a world where many companies are focused on incrementally improving the status quo, we are focused on creating something entirely different – an architecture underpinned by new first principles to meet the opportunities and challenges of the third space age head-on. Our goal is to move away from one-to-one space architectures – where each satellite in a constellation has one (or a small # of) primary payloads attached to the bus -- and unlock a ‘one-to-many’ system, where each satellite has a large number of payloads which can be deployed from their host spacecraft at high velocities without firing a thruster. This is not a role for someone looking for a traditional 40-hour work week. Space Kinetic is building ambitious, first-of-its-kind technology, and that requires urgency, ownership, and a high level of commitment to changing the foundational assumptions for everything we do in space.

What You’ll Do:

Space Kinetic is seeking an experienced Senior Technical Recruiter to lead full-cycle recruiting across spacecraft systems, avionics, software, GNC, propulsion, manufacturing, test, and mission operations. This role will partner directly with engineering leaders to identify, engage, and close highly specialized technical talent.

Job Responsibilities:

• Own full-cycle recruiting from sourcing through offer acceptance and onboarding.
• Develop sourcing strategies across aerospace, defense, robotics, autonomous systems, and adjacent industries.
• Build pipelines for critical engineering, operations, and leadership roles.
• Partner with hiring managers to define requirements and candidate evaluation criteria.
• Develop structured interview processes and maintain recruiting metrics and reporting.
• Represent Space Kinetic at conferences, universities, networking events, and technical communities.
• Serve as an ambassador for Space Kinetic’s mission, culture, and technology.

What It Takes:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience.
• 5+ years of full-cycle technical recruiting experience.
• Experience hiring engineers and other specialized technical professionals.
• Recruiting experience within aerospace, defense, space, robotics, autonomous systems, or deep technology.
• Strong sourcing experience using LinkedIn Recruiter, referrals, networking, and direct outreach.
• Demonstrated ability to engage and close candidates in competitive markets.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills.

What We’d Love:

• Experience scaling an early-stage aerospace or defense technology startup.
• An established network within commercial or national security space.
• Experience recruiting spacecraft, propulsion, GNC, software, manufacturing, or systems engineering talent.
• Ability to operate autonomously in a fast-paced startup environment.

Where You’ll Be:

• The position is onsite at our headquarters in El Segundo, CA.

What We Offer:

• Equity-Based Compensation
• 401(k) retirement plan with a 3.5% company match
• Highly Competitive PTO
• Paid company holidays + winter break
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Unique Performance-based bonus opportunities

ITAR Requirements:

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about ITAR here.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

Space Kinetic provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status.

The annual base salary for this role is below. Pay Grades are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual pay will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: interviews and an assessment of several factors that are unique to each candidate, job-related skills, relevant education/experience, certifications, abilities of the candidate and internal equity.

Pay Range: $140,000 USD - $200,000 USD