Forward Deployed Recruiter (Defense Tech)

Hawaii (Oahu) or San Diego (Remote / Hybrid)Contract$6,000 – $10,000 / Monthly

Job Title: Forward Deployed Recruiter (Embedded Defense Tech Talent Partner)
Project Duration: 6+ Months (with potential to extend or roll onto a new mission-driven client)
Compensation: $6,000 - $10,000 / month (Retainer)
Location: Hawaii (Oahu) or San Diego, Remote / Hybrid

At AEP Hawaii, we don't do transactional recruiting. We embed elite talent partners directly inside the defense and dual-use companies building the technology that matters for national security across the Indo-Pacific. We are looking for a mission-driven Forward Deployed Recruiter to embed with one of our defense-tech clients across Hawaii (Oahu) or San Diego on a remote / hybrid basis. You will get a client email address, drop into their Slack, and act as their internal Head of Talent, sourcing the engineers, operators, and program leaders who can move at startup speed while clearing the bar of a defense prime.

Mission-Critical Hiring: Own full-cycle recruiting for hard technical and program roles across autonomy, ISR, space, C5ISR, hardware, and embedded systems.
The Founder and PM Whisperer: Partner with founders, CTOs, and program managers to define real needs, calibrate to the market, and build structured interview scorecards.
Clearance-Aware Sourcing: Navigate cleared talent pools, understand Secret / TS / SCI requirements and US-person / ITAR constraints, and know where to find operators leaving the military and the primes.
Build the Engine: Stand up or clean up the ATS (Talent Hui, Greenhouse, Ashby, Lever), including implementing Talent Hui's AI-native ATS and agentic recruiting stack where it fits, build compliant hiring workflows, and train interviewers.
Evangelize the Mission: Pull top-tier passive talent away from FAANG and the primes by telling a compelling national security story.
Data-Driven Chaos Management: Track pipeline velocity, conversion rates, and bottlenecks, telling leadership exactly what to change to hit aggressive headcount and program timelines.

3+ years of full-cycle tech recruiting, ideally with defense, dual-use, aerospace, or deep-tech startups.
Working familiarity with security clearances (Secret / TS / SCI) and US-person / ITAR hiring constraints.
Comfort in ambiguity: you know how to build the plane while flying it.
Technical chops: you can talk autonomy, hardware, embedded, or GNC and find talent beyond standard LinkedIn searches (GitHub, X-Ray, veteran and SkillBridge networks).
Strategic pushback: gravitas to tell a CEO their comp or clearance assumptions won't land the candidate, backed by data.
Ownership mentality: represent AEP Hawaii's standard of excellence while integrating fully into the client's mission and culture.
Based in or near Hawaii (Oahu) or San Diego strongly preferred.

Format: 1099 Contractor / B2B Consulting Engagement.
Retainer: $6,000 - $10,000 per month based on experience and complexity of the hiring plan.
Duration: 6 months initially, with our best partners rolling from one mission-driven engagement to the next.
Location: Remote / hybrid, based in Hawaii (Oahu) or San Diego, with occasional customer-site travel.