Recruiting Manager

Varda is building the world’s first space-based manufacturing platform, and hiring is a critical lever in how we scale.

We are looking for a Recruiting Manager (Lead) to elevate how recruiting operates by driving clarity, consistency, and performance across a small team of recruiters while continuing to operate as a high-impact individual contributor.

This is not a traditional people management role. You will be responsible for how recruiting work gets done, the quality and speed of output, and mentoring the team to perform at a high level.

You will operate in a player-coach model, owning your own requisitions while ensuring the broader team is delivering. You will also be part of a Recruiting leadership group, working in close partnership with other Recruiting Managers and People leadership to drive alignment, consistency, and overall hiring performance across the company.

· Own hiring outcomes across your area—not just individual requisitions

· Personally manage 4–8 requisitions, depending on role complexity and business needs

· Ensure roles are progressing against expectations (e.g., 65-day time-to-fill)

· Diagnose and address gaps in funnel health, conversion, and pipeline quality

· Partner closely with hiring managers to align on profiles, process, and expectations

· Take on the most complex, high-priority, or at-risk searches

· Act as a thought partner and operator to technical and business leaders

· Set clear expectations on process, timelines, and candidate quality

· Push back when needed to maintain hiring standards and velocity

· Improve decision-making through structured interviews and feedback loops

· Drive improvements to recruiting processes to increase speed, quality, and predictability

· Ensure disciplined use of systems (Greenhouse, reporting, interview workflows)

· Identify and implement high-leverage improvements (e.g., panel design, feedback cycles, sourcing strategies)

· Use data to inform decisions and correct course quickly

· Maintain strong knowledge of technical talent markets (especially software + deep tech)

· Guide sourcing strategy and competitive positioning

· Support offer strategy and closing for high-priority hires

· Hiring goals are met with predictability and quality

· Recruiters operate with clarity, consistency, and accountability

· Hiring managers trust recruiting as a strategic partner, not just execution

· You effectively balance owning 4–8 requisitions while elevating team performance

· Processes are streamlined and scalable as the company grows

· You are operating as a force multiplier, not just an individual contributor

Must-Haves

· 10+ years of technical recruiting experience (strong IC foundation)

· Experience recruiting for software and/or hardware-centric engineering roles

· Demonstrated ability to operate beyond execution driving strategy, process, and outcomes

· Experience mentoring or leading other recruiters (formally or informally)

· Strong technical fluency; able to engage credibly with engineering candidates and leaders

· Proven ability to manage multiple complex searches in fast-paced environments

· Experience in aerospace, defense, robotics, or deep tech environments

· Experience operating in a player-coach or lead capacity

· Familiarity with recruiting metrics, funnel diagnostics, and performance tracking

· Experience improving recruiting processes or systems at scale

• Varda, like all employers, must ensure that its employees working in the United States are lawfully authorized to work in the U.S.  Additionally, our employees are exposed to and have access to certain export-controlled items. At present, some of our technology to which employees have access requires a license to be exported to individuals other than “U.S. Persons” as defined in U.S. export regulations. Because our employees are provided access to export-controlled items, our current policy is to only hire “U.S. persons” who are permitted to have access to our technology without an export license. 

  “US person” means: U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident, or protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) (i.e., individual admitted to the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum in the U.S.)

   Learn more about the ITAR here.  

Varda Space Industries, Inc. participates in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security E-Verify program. The E-Verify program is an Internet-based employment eligibility verification system operated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Learn more about the E-Verify program.

E-Verify Notice                                                               Right To Work Notice

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