Who We Are

Salient Motion designs, manufactures, and supports advanced motion control and actuation systems for aerospace, defense, and robotics applications. We're a fast-growing, venture-backed startup building the next generation of intelligent motion systems, partnering directly with leading organizations to bring new technology from concept to deployment.

About the Role

Salient Motion is growing rapidly. We're looking for a Senior Technical Recruiter to be the on-the-ground anchor of our recruiting function as we scale.

You'll own full-cycle recruiting for our core engineering requisitions and take on a significant share of our current hiring load. Our Head of People & Talent oversees the function remotely, so this role is the senior recruiting presence in the office: someone who can run day-to-day recruiting operations independently, make sound calls in the moment, and represent the People & Talent function to engineering leadership and candidates on-site.

This is a high-ownership, high-visibility individual contributor role. You'll have real influence over how we hire for the next phase of the company.

A couple other things

We are open to relocating you
We have great benefits
We are well funded, and generating revenue
We just moved into a new large HQ in Hawthorne, CA, with presence still in Torrance, CA
We need folks onsite, but provide a lot of flexibilty

What you'll do

Own full-cycle recruiting for our most critical and complex requisitions, primarily core engineering roles across hardware, embedded/firmware, controls, mechanical design, robotics, and software engineering
Take on a significant share of the team's current recruiting load, adding capacity as we scale rapidly
Serve as the senior, on-site point of contact for recruiting; run day-to-day operations independently
Partner directly with engineering leadership to scope roles, define hiring criteria, and build role-specific sourcing strategies
Proactively source and engage passive candidates in aerospace, defense, robotics, and advanced motion/controls, building talent pipelines in a niche, high-demand field
Manage the candidate experience end-to-end: screening, interview coordination, feedback loops, offer negotiation, and closing
Build and refine hiring processes, interview scorecards, and structured interview loops to support rapid headcount growth
Track and report on pipeline health, time-to-fill, and hiring funnel metrics, flagging risks and bottlenecks proactively
Navigate compliance considerations relevant to defense-adjacent hiring (e.g., US person requirements and export control awareness) in partnership with Legal/People.

What you need

U.S. Citizen or PERM required due to ITAR Compliance
5+ years of full-cycle technical recruiting experience, with a track record of hiring hardware, mechanical, electrical, robotics, or embedded software engineers
Demonstrated success sourcing and closing passive candidates for hard-to-fill, specialized technical roles
Prior experience operating with a high degree of autonomy, ideally supporting a recruiting function while a manager worked remotely or across multiple sites
Strong presence and sound judgment; comfortable being the go-to recruiting voice in the room with engineering leadership
Comfort operating in a startup environment with high ownership, ambiguity, and limited process; you build what doesn't exist yet
Strong ability to partner with technical hiring managers, translate engineering requirements into sourcing strategy, and act as a trusted advisor
Excellent communication and organizational skills; able to manage multiple searches simultaneously and prioritize under a high-growth hiring load
Experience with ATS platforms (e.g., Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby) and modern sourcing tools
Must be willing and able to work on-site consistently; this role is the in-office anchor for the recruiting function

Nice to haves

Experience recruiting in aerospace, defense, robotics, automotive, or other hardware-intensive industries strongly preferred

What we have to offer

We are not just building components. We are reshaping the future of the Aerospace and Defense component industry, which is a $300B+ market! Come join us and help build next generation systems that will make a massive impact at global scale.

Direct impact: your hires will shape the team building the next generation of motion control and robotics technology
Work alongside founders and engineering leadership, not buried in a large TA org
Salary Range: $145,000-$165,000, plus equity and benefits at a well-funded, fast-moving startup
Mission-driven work at the intersection of aerospace, defense, and robotics innovation
Exceptional healthcare benefits (Medical, Dental, Vision) - Medical is 100% covered by the company
Flexible PTO Policy
401K
More to come!

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