Aviation Recruiter

Metrea•Temecula, CA

19h•Onsite

About The Position

Metrea delivers effects-as-a-service to national security partners across five domains and more than a dozen mission areas. These include airborne ISR, electronic warfare, secure communications, aerial refuelling, special air missions, aerial firefighting, and advanced simulation. We own the whole stack: designing, building, and operating turnkey capabilities that give our partners decisive, asymmetric advantage against rapidly evolving threats. Our operating model is built around three interlocking pillars. The Support Groups provide a global shared-service – spanning people, finance, platform, operations, legal, and engagement. This frees up our Core Groups, who develop and own mission capabilities end-to-end, to focus entirely on delivery. The Market Groups apply a regional lens, ensuring that our agile and adaptable capabilities remain aligned to the wicked problems that matter most to our partners across the Americas, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific. At the heart of our model is a simple but powerful idea: be a true partner with skin in the game. Our partners need effects, not just equipment. By owning the full stack – from the lab to the field – we are able to drive a continuous cycle of innovation that keeps our partners ahead. It's a fast-moving, intellectually demanding environment where talented people are given real responsibility, work on problems that matter, and contribute to an enterprise that is growing quickly and deliberately. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with facilities across the United States, the United Kingdom, as well as Continental Europe and Asia-Pacific. Metrea Management LLC is our global shared service providing support for the Capabilities in areas such as People, Finance, Legal, Strategy and Information Technology. People Group is dedicated to attracting, developing, and retaining top talent, ensuring a positive and productive work environment. We are a results-oriented team focused on delivering innovative People solutions that drive business results. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace where all employees feel valued and respected. At Metrea, we do not simply hire pilots - we build the talent pipelines that enable mission-critical aviation capability around the world. Our Air Domain delivers solutions across Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (AISR), Aerial Firefighting, Air-to-Air Refueling (AAR), Advanced Training, Aircraft Engineering, and more. In this role, you will serve as a strategic Talent Acquisition Partner supporting high-volume aviation hiring across the Air Domain, with a focus on building repeatable and scalable pipelines for pilots, sensor operators, and other flight operations talent. This role is ideal for a recruiter with a program mindset - someone who can create sustained hiring volume not only through strong day-to-day execution, but through thoughtful process design, channel strategy, and creative pipeline development with both speed and quality in mind. Beyond delivery, you will help design the frameworks, partnerships, and sourcing channels that create a constant and reliable flow of specialist aviation talent. This may include external partnerships, talent communities, referral strategies, internal marketing, targeted outreach campaigns, and innovative approaches to engage qualified pilots and operators. This is an opportunity to help build a best-in-class aviation hiring program from the ground up.

Requirements

Significant in-house or search experience delivering high-volume or programmatic recruitment, ideally in technical, operational, or specialist talent markets
Proven ability to build repeatable talent acquisition programs, frameworks, or pipeline strategies that create sustained hiring volume
Strong creative sourcing capability, with experience building pipelines through channels beyond LinkedIn, including partnerships, talent communities, referral programs, and external networks
Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence hiring leaders and operational teams
Strong process design capability with a focus on balancing speed, scalability, and hiring quality
Experience using data and funnel metrics to improve recruitment outcomes
Strong relationship-building skills and the ability to create long-term candidate communities
Experience with Greenhouse or other applicant tracking systems
Comfort operating in a fast-paced, scaling, and highly collaborative environment

Nice To Haves

Experience in high-volume or programmatic recruitment, ideally in technical, operational, or specialist talent markets
Familiarity with recruiting pilots, flight operations talent, or other aviation-related roles is a plus, but not required
Exposure to regulated or highly structured industries (e.g., defense, aerospace, logistics) is advantageous
Knowledge of aviation terminology, certifications, or airframes is helpful but not essential

Responsibilities

Lead end-to-end recruitment for high-volume aviation roles across the Air Domain, focusing on pilots, sensor operators, and flight operations talent
Design and implement scalable recruiting programs and frameworks that create consistent talent flow across key aviation talent pools
Build proactive and creative pipelines through multiple channels, including direct sourcing, external partnerships, referral ecosystems, military transition networks, aviation communities, and targeted talent campaigns
Develop sourcing and attraction strategies that go beyond traditional tools, identifying new ways for Metrea to engage and attract specialist aviation talent
Partner closely with hiring leaders and operational stakeholders to align hiring plans with business demand, speed requirements, and quality standards
Continuously improve recruiting workflows, funnel design, and selection processes to optimize both efficiency and candidate quality
Use data and market insight to improve hiring conversion, reduce time-to-fill, and strengthen long-term pipeline health
Build and nurture long-term relationships with pilots, operators, and adjacent aviation talent communities
Deliver a high-quality candidate experience that reflects Metrea’s mission and values
Maintain high standards of process discipline and data accuracy within ATS and recruiting systems