We’re looking for a Senior Staff Technical Sourcer who lives and breathes talent discovery - someone who can take a complex, highly specialized engineering need and translate it into a precision sourcing strategy. You’ll be the go-to expert for talent intelligence, market mapping, proactive candidate generation, and pipeline cultivation across our aerospace, autonomy, AI, and advanced hardware organizations.
This isn’t just a "find resumes" role - it’s about building intelligence, relationships, and repeatable systems that fuel our engineering hiring engine. As a Senior Staff Technical Sourcer, you'll serve as a strategic partner to recruiters and hiring leaders while leveraging modern AI tools, market intelligence, and scalable sourcing practices to help us identify and hire world-class engineering talent.
WHAT YOU’LL DO:
- Own the top of funnel: Partner closely with recruiters and hiring leaders to define target profiles and build deep, data-informed sourcing strategies across Electrical, Mechanical, Software, Embedded, AI/ML, Systems, Manufacturing, and other engineering disciplines.
- Map the market: Develop comprehensive talent landscapes by company, skillset, geography, and organizational structure; identify hidden talent pools, competitor insights, and emerging talent trends to inform recruiting strategy and workforce planning.
- Generate and engage: Use advanced Boolean search techniques, sourcing platforms, and creative sourcing channels (LinkedIn Recruiter, SeekOut, HireEZ, ClearanceJobs, GitHub, engineering communities, niche aerospace networks, conferences, referrals, and more) to identify, engage, and attract exceptional technical talent.
- Build pipelines proactively: Cultivate long-term relationships with passive, cleared, and highly specialized engineering talent to enable just-in-time hiring across strategic programs.
- Leverage AI to scale sourcing: Design, build, and continuously improve AI-powered sourcing workflows, research agents, and practical automations that increase recruiter productivity, accelerate candidate discovery, enhance market intelligence, and improve operational efficiency.
- Build repeatable sourcing systems: Use AI tools and workflow automation to create structured market maps, talent intelligence reports, outreach content, sourcing documentation, and scalable recruiting processes that can be leveraged across the Talent Acquisition organization.
- Be the sourcing SME: Serve as the subject matter expert on technical sourcing by coaching recruiters and hiring managers on market insights, sourcing strategy, talent availability, competitive intelligence, candidate engagement best practices, and emerging recruiting technologies.
- Partner for impact: Collaborate cross-functionally with Talent Acquisition Operations, Employer Brand, University Recruiting, and Engineering leaders to optimize recruiting strategies, outbound messaging, candidate experience, and operational excellence.
- Track and iterate: Use recruiting analytics, experimentation, and storytelling to measure sourcing effectiveness, optimize outreach strategies, improve conversion rates, and continuously evolve sourcing practices.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- 8+ years of technical sourcing experience, ideally in aerospace, defense, autonomy, or other complex hardware/software industries.
- Proven track record in market mapping, competitive intelligence, and candidate generation for highly specialized technical roles.
- Deep expertise in advanced Boolean search, LinkedIn Recruiter, HireEZ, SeekOut, ClearanceJobs, GitHub, and other modern sourcing platforms.
- Demonstrated ability to operate as a consultative partner to recruiters, hiring managers, and senior engineering leaders, influencing hiring strategy through market insights and talent intelligence.
- Hands-on experience building or leveraging AI-powered sourcing workflows, agentic AI tools, workflow automations, or practical AI solutions that improve recruiting or business processes.
- Direct experience using AI development environments or coding assistants (such as Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, Gemini, or similar tools) to create repeatable sourcing workflows, structured research outputs, market intelligence, process automation, or operational documentation.
- Experience building and maintaining long-term relationships with passive, cleared, or niche engineering talent.
- Excellent communication and storytelling skills with the ability to engage highly technical candidates and influence stakeholders.
- Strong judgment, curiosity, and a continuous improvement mindset with the ability to evaluate and adopt emerging AI technologies to improve recruiting outcomes.
- Highly organized, data-driven, and able to operate autonomously in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Prior experience supporting aerospace, robotics, autonomy, AI/ML, or advanced vehicle engineering organizations.
- Experience navigating export control, ITAR, EAR, or security-cleared recruiting environments.
- Familiarity with Ashby and recruiting analytics, CRM, or talent intelligence platforms.
- Experience supporting high-growth, venture-backed technology organizations.
- Demonstrated passion for staying ahead of emerging recruiting technologies, sourcing methodologies, and AI advancements.
Skills Required
- 8+ years of technical sourcing experience
- Experience in market mapping, competitive intelligence, and candidate generation for specialized technical roles
- Expertise with advanced Boolean search techniques
- Proficiency with sourcing platforms: LinkedIn Recruiter, HireEZ, SeekOut, ClearanceJobs, GitHub
- Ability to operate as a consultative partner to recruiters, hiring managers, and senior engineering leaders
- Hands-on experience building or leveraging AI-powered sourcing workflows, agentic AI tools, or workflow automations
- Direct experience using AI development environments or coding assistants (e.g., Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, Gemini)
- Experience building and maintaining long-term relationships with passive, cleared, or niche engineering talent
- Excellent communication and storytelling skills for engaging technical candidates and influencing stakeholders
- Highly organized, data-driven, autonomous, and able to work in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment
- Prior experience supporting aerospace, robotics, autonomy, AI/ML, or advanced vehicle engineering organizations
- Experience navigating export control, ITAR, EAR, or security-cleared recruiting environments
- Familiarity with Ashby and recruiting analytics, CRM, or talent intelligence platforms
- Experience supporting high-growth, venture-backed technology organizations
- Demonstrated passion for emerging recruiting technologies, sourcing methodologies, and AI advancements
What the Team is Saying
Shield AI Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Company materials describe excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage alongside a mental‑health EAP. Site perks such as an onsite gym in DC and a gym discount in San Diego support a health‑focused offering.
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Retirement Support — Careers materials highlight a 401(k) with company match as part of the standard package. A Total Rewards overview emphasizes retirement features within a broader, transparent compensation view.
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Career-Linked Recognition & Rewards — Compensation for in‑demand technical and senior go‑to‑market roles is described as competitive, with visible engineering ranges and top‑end packages. This points to meaningful upside tied to role, level, and scarce skills.
Shield AI Insights
What We Do
At Shield AI, you won't wait years to see your work reach the field. You'll build hardware and software that operates in the real world right now, in the hands of the people who depend on it. Hivemind, our AI pilot, has been flying since 2018. It has flown more than 30 platforms, including an F-16, and it now sits under a U.S. Air Force production contract for Collaborative Combat Aircraft. When you write code or shape a system here, you contribute to technology with a proven flight record and a clear production future. V-BAT flies intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions with an operational record that stretches from Ukraine to the Indo-Pacific. It delivers eyes where they matter most, in the most demanding conditions on earth. The teams behind it watch their work get tested where the stakes are real. X-BAT takes its first flight this year. It's an AI-piloted fighter that needs no runway, built to operate where traditional aircraft can't. Join now and you help shape a program at its earliest, most formative stage. That's the kind of ground-floor work that defines a career. Do the most impactful work of your life, on problems that matter. Autonomy at this level asks a lot of you. You'll take on problems in perception, planning, and control that few teams anywhere are equipped to solve. You'll work across disciplines, from aerospace and robotics to machine learning and systems engineering, alongside people who hold themselves to an exacting standard and expect the same from you. Our mission is clear: protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems. That purpose runs through every decision, every design review, and every deployment. It's why the work here carries a weight you can feel. Ready to join our mission? Explore our open roles and find where you fit.
Why Work With Us
Founded in 2015 by a former Navy SEAL, Shield AI builds AI pilots and uncrewed aircraft. Veterans aren't an afterthought here, they're at every level. It's why the work carries weight: AI pilots and uncrewed aircraft flying real missions, from Ukraine to the Indo-Pacific, protecting service members and civilians.
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Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
