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
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
Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include the V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and the Hivemind Vision product lines. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide.
Why Work With Us
What makes Shield AI special is our people. We unlock the power of autonomy, and in the face of overwhelming odds and challenges, we find ways to win and make a difference for our customers. We bring together software, AI, and aerospace engineering disciplines to deploy the most intelligent aviation capabilities in the world.
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Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.