Lead Technical Recruiter

Grounded RV•Detroit, MI

10h•Onsite

About The Position

Grounded is a 25-person Detroit-based startup building modular electric platforms for specialty vehicles. The company designs, fabricates, and assembles configurable vehicle systems at its Corktown facility, and also develops software for vehicle monitoring and control. It has raised approximately $5 million in venture funding and is shipping vehicles to customers. Grounded is hiring its first in-house recruiter to own recruiting end to end as the company scales production and hires across manufacturing, engineering, software, sales, operations, and other teams. Embedded with the Detroit team, the recruiter will work directly with founders, technical leads, and hiring managers to define roles, build pipelines, run a fast and human-centered hiring process, and close candidates. A key focus is recruiting for challenging production, quality, and engineering roles. The recruiter will also establish the recruiting function, including its systems, workflows, metrics, and employer brand, and help set hiring practices as Grounded grows. The role is based in person in Detroit, Michigan.

Requirements

At least 5 years of in-house technical recruiting experience; agency experience is acceptable if accompanied by in-house experience.
A strong track record hiring hard-to-fill roles on both the engineering and build sides, including manufacturing engineers, technicians, production and quality talent, and design, systems, and software engineers.
Demonstrated ability to close difficult candidates, including candidates with competing offers, and negotiate compensation.
Ability to explain an equity story to candidates who have not previously held equity.
Comfort building a pipeline and recruiting process from scratch with minimal existing infrastructure.
Excellent sourcing and candidate assessment skills.
Clear, compelling written and verbal communication and the ability to build relationships with candidates and hiring managers.
Highly organized and self-directed, with the ability to thrive in a fast-moving, low-structure environment.
Motivation by the company’s mission and ability to connect with candidates beyond compensation and perks.

Nice To Haves

Experience hiring in automotive, electric vehicles, or industrial manufacturing.
Experience recruiting at an early-stage startup.
Comfort recruiting in the Midwest manufacturing talent market.

Responsibilities

Own full-cycle recruiting across manufacturing, engineering, software, field operations, and generalist roles, from initial outreach through signed offer.
Partner with hiring managers to define roles, write job descriptions, and design effective interview loops.
Build and manage candidate pipelines through sourcing, events, referrals, and creative channels.
Run a fast, human-centered process that provides a strong candidate experience.
Create scalable recruiting systems and workflows, including ATS hygiene in Ashby, scorecards, candidate tracking, and calibration loops.
Track and report pipeline and hiring metrics, including funnel conversion, time-to-fill, and offer acceptance rate.
Partner with founders on headcount planning, including what to hire, hiring order, and costs.
Help shape Grounded’s employer brand online and offline and use it to improve outbound and sourcing messaging.
Close hard-to-fill candidates, including negotiating compensation and explaining the company’s equity story.