Technical Recruiter (Defense Tech)

Technical Recruiter (Defense Tech)
Location: Hawaii or West Coast (Remote)
Employment Type: Full-time
Compensation: $150,000 – $180,000 base plus equity

Overview
AEP Hawaii is recruiting on behalf of a confidential client: a venture-backed defense technology company building AI systems for national security missions. The company is fast-growing, recently valued as a unicorn, and runs a small, high-caliber team where a few exceptional people have a disproportionate impact on the mission.

The Opportunity
You will own the growth of the engineering team by finding and closing top technical talent, with a heavy emphasis on senior engineers. Recruiting here takes creativity: unconventional sourcing and original thinking are expected and rewarded. You will have outsized influence on how recruiting is done, helping shape the process, culture, and norms of the talent function as the company scales. This is a remote role (Hawaii or West Coast) with a mission-driven team supporting U.S. national security.

Responsibilities
Run full-lifecycle recruiting for technical roles, from sourcing through offer, with a focus on senior engineering talent.
Partner with hiring managers to define hiring requirements, interview loops, and evaluation criteria.
Build and execute proactive, creative sourcing strategies to reach passive candidates.
Introduce recruiting best practices and process improvements across teams.
Coordinate closely with candidates, hiring managers, and teammates to deliver an excellent candidate experience.
Manage multiple concurrent pipelines and operate with urgency.

Qualifications
5+ years of recruiting experience.
3+ years recruiting at technology or high-growth startup companies.
2+ years of experience in the defense industry or an adjacent sector.
Proven full-lifecycle recruiting expertise.
Proficiency with ATS tools, resume databases, and sourcing platforms.
Strategic sourcing experience and a track record of closing senior engineers.
U.S.-based; ability to support a defense customer environment.

Engagement Details
Direct-hire, full-time role recruited by AEP Hawaii for a confidential defense technology client. Base salary $150,000 to $180,000 plus equity. Benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k) match, unlimited PTO plus company downtime, wellness stipends, fully paid parental leave, coworking access, military reserve duty pay top-up, and child/pet care reimbursement during travel. Client identity is shared with qualified candidates after an initial screen with AEP Hawaii.