Principal Technical Recruiter

Varda Space Industries • El Segundo, CA

13h • $150,000 - $190,000 • Onsite

About The Position

Varda Low Earth orbit is open for business . Varda is accelerating the development of commercial space infrastructure, from in-orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable and economical reentry capsules. From life-saving pharmaceuticals to more powerful fiber optics, there is a world of products used on Earth today that can only be manufactured in space. Varda is accelerating innovation in the orbital economy by creating both the products and infrastructure needed so space can directly benefit life on Earth. Our mission is to expand the economic bounds of humankind. Our team is uniquely suited to accomplishing this goal, with leadership and staff comprised of veterans from SpaceX, Blue Origin, major pharmaceutical companies and Silicon Valley. Varda was founded in January 2021 by Will Bruey and Delian Asparouhov with significant backing from world class investors including Khosla Ventures, Lux Capital, Founders Fund, Caffeinated Capital, General Catalyst, and Also Capital. Varda is headquartered in El Segundo, California, where we have offices and a production facility where our vehicles, equipment, and materials are built, integrated, and tested. Varda also has offices in Washington, DC and Huntsville, AL. Join Varda, and work to create a bustling in-space ecosystem. About This Role Varda is building the world's first space-based manufacturing platform, and we need an exceptional technical recruiter to scale our software engineering teams. Reporting to the Director of People, you will own end-to-end recruiting for all software disciplines: embedded systems, flight software, simulation, and mission software. This is a strategic operator role - you'll build hiring strategies, execute full-cycle search processes, and serve as a trusted advisor to engineering leadership as we scale from startup to production.

Requirements

• 5-7+ years of full-cycle technical recruiting experience, with significant focus on software engineering roles
• Proven experience recruiting software engineers for hardware-centric companies (aerospace, robotics, automotive, medical devices, or similar deep tech)
• Track record sourcing and closing senior and staff-level software engineering talent in competitive markets
• Experience with embedded systems, real-time software, or safety-critical software recruiting
• Demonstrated ability to operate both strategically (building hiring plans, advising leadership) and tactically (sourcing, screening, closing)
• Strong technical fluency - you can speak credibly with software engineers about their work
• Experience managing full recruiting cycles in fast-paced, high-growth startup environments

Nice To Haves

• In-house recruiting experience at a hardware or deep tech startup (Series A through growth stage)
• Experience hiring across multiple software disciplines: embedded, flight software, firmware, controls, simulation
• Familiarity with aerospace, defense, or other regulated industries with ITAR/security requirements
• Background building talent pipelines and long-term sourcing strategies for hard-to-fill technical roles
• Experience developing recruiting metrics, dashboards, and data-driven hiring insights

Responsibilities

• Design and execute recruiting strategies for software engineering hiring across embedded, flight, simulation, and mission software teams
• Partner with VP of Autonomous Systems and the Head of Software to forecast hiring needs, set technical bars, and build world-class teams
• Build and optimize end-to-end hiring processes that balance speed, quality, and candidate experience
• Serve as the internal expert on software engineering talent markets, compensation trends, and competitive intelligence
• Source, screen, and close senior software engineering talent through multiple channels: active search, referrals, passive outreach, and technical communities
• Manage 10+ active searches simultaneously while maintaining exceptional candidate and hiring manager experience
• Conduct technical screens to assess software engineering fundamentals, systems thinking, and hardware/software integration experience
• Lead offer strategy and close negotiations for senior and leadership-level software hires
• Own candidate experience from first touch through onboarding
• Maintain recruiting infrastructure in Greenhouse (ATS)
• Partner with the Director of People to continuously improve hiring processes and candidate assessment frameworks

Benefits

• Exciting team of professionals at the top of their field working by your side
• Equity in a fully funded space startup with potential for significant growth (interns excluded)
• 401(k) matching (interns excluded)
• Unlimited PTO (interns excluded)
• Health insurance, including Vision and Dental
• Lunch and snacks provided on site every day.
• Dinners provided twice a week.
• Maternity / Paternity leave (interns excluded)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal
• Education Level: No Education Listed