Senior Technical Recruiter

About the role

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.

Responsibilities

• Basic Responsibilities:
• Full-Cycle Technical Recruiting
• Own end-to-end recruiting processes across engineering, operations, and leadership roles.
• Develop sourcing strategies to identify exceptional candidates from aerospace, defense, robotics, autonomous systems, and adjacent industries
• Manage candidate pipelines from initial outreach through offer acceptance and onboarding
• Space Industry Talent Acquisition
• Leverage existing networks across the commercial space, defense, and advanced technology ecosystems
• Identify and recruit top talent from established aerospace primes, venture-backed startups, government laboratories, and research institutions.
• Build talent pipelines for critical technical functions including systems engineering, flight software, avionics, structures, manufacturing, propulsion, and mission operations
• Hiring Manager Partnership
• Partner closely with engineering leaders to define hiring needs, role requirements, and candidate evaluation criteria.
• Develop structured interview processes that assess technical excellence, startup aptitude, and cultural alignment
• Talent Brand & Recruiting Operations
• Serve as an ambassador for Space Kinetic's mission, culture, and technology vision
• Build and maintain recruiting processes, metrics, and reporting mechanisms that support company growth
• Represent Space Kinetic at industry conferences, networking events, university recruiting activities, and technical communities
• What It Takes:
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience
• 5+ years of full-cycle technical recruiting experience, including experience hiring engineers and technical professionals
• Demonstrated experience building teams within the aerospace, defense, space, robotics, autonomous systems, or deep technology sectors
• Strong sourcing experience utilizing LinkedIn Recruiter, referrals, networking, and direct outreach strategies
• Track record of successfully hiring highly specialized technical talent in competitive markets
• Exceptional communication, relationship-building, and candidate-closing skills
• What We'd Love:
• Experience helping scale an early-stage aerospace or defense technology startup
• Existing network within the commercial space and national security space communities
• Experience recruiting spacecraft, propulsion, GNC, software, manufacturing, and systems engineering talent
• Ability to work in a fast paced, autonomously driven, and demanding startup atmosphere
• Where You'll Be:
• The position is onsite at our headquarters in El Segundo, CA

Benefits

Additional Information

Senior Technical Recruiter

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