Technical Recruiter (Contract)

Nectar; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 124,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Nectar is hiring a Contract Technical Recruiter to scale our engineering, data, and product teams. This 6-month contract is based in Palo Alto with potential to convert to full-time.

You’ll own end-to-end recruiting, source passive candidates, coordinate interview loops, and guide offers and equity discussions with founders and leaders.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of technical recruiting experience.
• Experience closing software engineers and engineering leaders.
• Strong sourcing skills for passive candidates.
• Technical fluency to discuss stacks and systems with engineers.
• Experience managing multiple open searches and updating hiring managers.

Responsibilities

• Own full-cycle recruiting for technical roles from intake to offer.
• Run intake meetings with hiring managers to define the role and interview plan.
• Source passive candidates via LinkedIn, referrals, and sourcing tools; write effective outreach.
• Screen candidates for technical fit, motivation, and alignment with Nectar's ways of working.
• Coordinate interview loops, gather feedback, and maintain timely debriefs.
• Manage offers and equity discussions with hiring managers and founders.
• Keep the Ashby ATS accurate and report on pipeline health and time-to-hire.
• Provide a fast, transparent candidate experience at every stage and iterate on process improvements.

Job description

About Us

We're living through a fundamental shift in how people discover, evaluate, and purchase products. The next generation doesn't respond to traditional marketing -- they build relationships with brands through authentic social interactions, seek recommendations from communities they trust, and expect personalized experiences that feel human, not corporate.

At Nectar, we're building the AI-native social operating system that enables this new era of commerce. We believe every social interaction should deepen the relationship between brands and their communities while creating genuine value for both sides.

Founded by ex-Meta product and engineering leaders, we've raised over $30M in total capital from investors including GV and True Ventures. We work with brands like Oura Health, Caraway, e.l.f. Cosmetics, Kosas, OLIPOP, and many more. We're building the future of social commerce -- where community, conversation, and commerce converge.

The Role

We're hiring a Contract Technical Recruiter to help us scale our engineering, data, and product teams. Our engineering organization is around 50 people and growing, and we're hiring across software engineering, engineering leadership, product, and data science. You'll own searches end to end, from intake to signed offer, and help us hire people who raise the bar.

You'll partner directly with our founders, engineering leaders, and hiring managers, and you'll be the first impression many candidates have of Nectar. This role is based in our Palo Alto office and is a 6-month contract with the possibility to convert to full-time.

What You'll Be Doing

• Own full-cycle recruiting for technical roles, including software engineers, tech leads, engineering managers, product managers, and data scientists

• Run intake meetings with hiring managers to define the role, the profile, the interview plan, and what a great hire looks like

• Source passive candidates through LinkedIn, Juicebox, GitHub, referrals, sourcing tools, and your own network, and write outreach that gets replies

• Screen candidates for technical fit, motivation, and alignment with how we work, and present a clear, honest pitch for Nectar

• Coordinate interview loops and keep candidates and interviewers moving quickly, with feedback collected and debriefs held on time

• Manage offers and closing conversations alongside hiring managers and founders, including compensation and equity discussions

• Keep our ATS (Ashby) accurate and up to date, and report on pipeline health, conversion rates, and time to hire

• Give candidates a fast, transparent, and personal experience at every stage, whether or not they get an offer

• Suggest improvements to our interview process, job descriptions, and sourcing strategy as we scale

What We're Looking For

• 3+ years of technical recruiting experience, ideally including time at a high-growth startup, venture-backed company.

• A track record of closing software engineers and engineering leaders in a competitive market such as the Bay Area

• Strong sourcing skills; you can find and engage passive candidates rather than waiting on inbound

• Enough technical fluency to talk credibly with engineers about stacks, systems, and the work they'd do here

• Experience managing several open searches at once while keeping hiring managers and candidates informed

• Clear, persuasive written and verbal communication, and comfort advising hiring managers when a search needs to change course

• Hands-on experience with a modern ATS (Ashby preferred) and sourcing tools, and comfort using AI tools such as Claude to work faster

• Able to work from our Palo Alto office 4 days a week