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Senior Recruiter

Huntington Beach, California; Seattle, Washington

Karman Space & Defense is a leader in the rapid design, development, and production of critical, next-generation system solutions that align with the U.S. Department of War and its allies’ core mission priorities, and meet the accelerating demand for access to space. Building on nearly 50 years of success, we deliver Payload & Protection Systems, Aero/Hydrodynamic Interstage Systems, and Propulsion & Launch Systems to more than 80 prime contractors supporting over 130 space and defense programs.

 

As a Senior Recruiter, you’ll help build the teams that move our business forward. You’ll lead complex, hard-to-fill, and business-critical searches, partnering with hiring managers and business leaders to shape recruiting strategies and guide hiring decisions.

You’ll develop targeted sourcing approaches, build strong candidate pipelines, and bring market insight to conversations about talent and offers. Your experience and judgment will help you navigate recruiting challenges, advise stakeholders, and keep searches moving.

This role offers the opportunity to make an impact beyond your own requisitions. You’ll share your expertise, mentor teammates, and use data and experience to strengthen how we attract and hire talent. It’s a role for someone who enjoys challenging searches, values strong partnerships, and takes pride in helping others succeed.

Responsibilities

  • Manages full lifecycle recruiting for complex, hard-to-fill, high-priority, or business-critical roles.
  • Leads intake meetings and candidate calibration to align hiring teams on role requirements, evaluation criteria, search strategy, and timelines.
  • Develops targeted sourcing strategies and competitive candidate pipelines for specialized talent markets.
  • Advises hiring managers on labor market conditions, talent availability, compensation considerations, and search feasibility.
  • Screens and assesses candidates using structured evaluation criteria while managing interview quality, candidate engagement, and closing strategy.
  • Analyzes recruiting data to identify bottlenecks, conversion issues, pipeline gaps, requisition risks, and sourcing effectiveness.
  • Partners with Human Resources (HR), Compensation, hiring teams, and business leaders to develop offer strategies and support candidate decisions.
  • Meets with hiring teams, leadership, and other stakeholders to review search progress, communicate requisition risks, and align on priorities and next steps.
  • Mentors recruiters and contributes to process improvements, hiring events, talent campaigns, recruiting playbooks, and training.
  • Performs other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

  • High school diploma or equivalent.
  • At least five years of progressive experience in full lifecycle recruiting, staffing, or talent acquisition.
  • Experience independently managing requisitions from intake through offer support.
  • Experience recruiting for technical, engineering, manufacturing, aerospace, defense, technician, machinist, computer numerical control (CNC), skilled labor, corporate, or similarly complex roles.
  • Demonstrated ability to develop sourcing strategies and manage competitive candidate pipelines.
  • Strong hiring manager partnership, stakeholder communication, and candidate relationship skills.
  • Ability to use applicant tracking system (ATS) reporting, recruiting data, and pipeline metrics to evaluate search progress and recommend action.
  • Working knowledge of recruiting compliance, confidentiality, candidate dispositioning, structured interviewing, and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) principles.
  • Sound judgment, professionalism, problem-solving skills, and the ability to influence stakeholders without direct authority.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business, Communications, Psychology, Organizational Development, Engineering, or a related field.
  • Advanced sourcing experience using LinkedIn Recruiter, Boolean search, talent mapping, job boards, referrals, events, and specialized recruiting platforms.
  • Experience supporting aerospace, space and launch, defense, engineering, manufacturing, technician, or other mission-critical hiring.
  • Experience advising hiring managers on talent markets, role requirements, candidate quality, compensation considerations, and hiring risks.
  • Experience supporting offer strategy, candidate closing, relocation, competing offers, or other complex candidate decisions.
  • Experience mentoring recruiters or supporting recruiter training, onboarding, and process improvement.
  • Training or certification in advanced sourcing, behavioral interviewing, negotiation, labor market intelligence, or recruiting analytics.
  • Experience responsibly using artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support market research, search strategies, pipeline summaries, interview guides, or recruiting recommendations.

Benefits include

  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance
  • 401(k) with company match
  • Paid time off
  • Health Savings Account (HSA) with company contribution
  • Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
  • Company-paid life and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance
  • Short- and long-term disability coverage
  • Tuition reimbursement

Salary Range

$98,000 - $130,680 USD

Karman Space and Defense is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

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