Staff Hardware Recruiter

Shield AI; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus

Equity

Benefits

Job summary

Shield AI is seeking a Staff Hardware Recruiter to scale critical engineering teams in Aerospace and autonomous systems. You will own full-cycle recruiting for Electrical, Avionics, and Embedded hardware roles, partnering with VP-level engineering leaders to shape hiring strategy and pipelines.

You will drive proactive sourcing, market insights, and rigorous process improvements while maintaining high hiring standards and candidate experience.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of full-cycle technical recruiting experience in hardware domains.
• Proven success recruiting Electrical, Power Electronics, Embedded, or Avionics engineers.
• Strong understanding of hardware concepts and engineering org structures.
• Experience partnering with senior engineering leadership in fast-paced environments.
• Ability to manage multiple complex searches with strong outcomes.
• Strong sourcing and market-mapping capabilities in competitive domains.

Responsibilities

• Own full-cycle recruiting for highly specialized hardware roles.
• Define hiring strategy with engineering leadership.
• Build proactive sourcing strategies across aerospace/defense/robotics.
• Advise leadership on market trends and compensation.
• Drive funnel health, data accuracy, and stakeholder communication.
• Influence workforce planning and align hiring with priorities.
• Improve process, documentation, interview calibration, tooling.
• Deliver exceptional candidate experience with urgency.
• Mentor junior recruiters and sourcers.

Skills

Full-cycle technical recruiting

Hardware engineering recruiting

Sourcing strategies

Stakeholder management

ATS experience

Recruiting analytics

Tools

ATS systems

Sourcing platforms

Recruiting analytics tools

Job description

Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software and V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai . Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn , X , Instagram , and YouTube.

We are looking for a highly strategic and execution-focused Staff Hardware Recruiter to help scale some of the most critical engineering organizations within the company. This person will own full-cycle recruiting for complex hardware engineering functions with a particular emphasis on Electrical Engineering, Power Systems, Avionics, and other highly specialized technical domains supporting next-generation aerospace and autonomous systems development.

This is not a traditional recruiting role. We are looking for someone who can operate as a true talent partner to engineering leadership — helping shape hiring strategy, influence workforce planning, drive prioritization discipline, and build scalable pipelines for some of the hardest-to-hire technical talent in the industry.

The ideal candidate thrives in high-growth, high-ambiguity environments and brings a strong track record of closing senior and niche hardware engineering talent while balancing speed, quality, and stakeholder partnership.

WHAT YOU'LL DO:

• Own full-cycle recruiting for highly specialized hardware engineering roles across Electrical Engineering, Power Electronics, Embedded Systems, Avionics, PCB Design, Power Distribution, RF, Systems Integration, and related technical domains
• Partner directly with engineering leadership and hiring managers to define hiring strategy, interview processes, and prioritization plans aligned to business objectives
• Build and execute proactive sourcing strategies for difficult-to-find technical talent across aerospace, defense, automotive, robotics, energy, and adjacent industries
• Act as a strategic advisor to leadership on market trends, talent availability, compensation competitiveness, and hiring risks
• Drive strong operational rigor across pipeline management, funnel health, data accuracy, and stakeholder communication
• Help influence workforce planning and ensure hiring activity remains aligned to approved business priorities
• Improve recruiting scalability through process improvements, documentation, interview calibration, and tooling optimization
• Deliver an exceptional candidate experience while maintaining urgency and high hiring quality standards
• Mentor junior recruiters and sourcers while helping elevate recruiting best practices across the organization

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• 7+ years of full-cycle technical recruiting experience, including significant ownership of complex hardware engineering searches
• Proven success recruiting Electrical Engineers, Power Electronics Engineers, Embedded Hardware Engineers, Avionics Engineers, or similar technical talent
• Strong understanding of technical hardware concepts and engineering organizational structures
• Experience partnering with senior engineering leadership in fast-paced or high-growth environments
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple complex searches simultaneously while maintaining strong hiring outcomes
• Strong sourcing and market-mapping capabilities across highly competitive technical domains
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and operational execution skills
• Experience using ATS systems, sourcing platforms, and recruiting analytics to drive decisions and pipeline visibility
• Ability to operate strategically while remaining highly execution-oriented

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience recruiting within aerospace, defense, robotics, autonomous systems, automotive, energy, or other highly technical industries
• Familiarity with hardware development lifecycle concepts, embedded systems, power systems, avionics, or electromechanical integration
• Experience supporting hiring at scale during periods of rapid organizational growth
• Experience influencing workforce planning, prioritization, or recruiting operations initiatives

$120,000 - $180,000 a year

Full-time regular employee offer package:

• Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity

Temporary employee offer package:

• Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment)

Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information.

Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.