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Shield AI

a16z — Backed by a16z
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Senior Staff Technical Sourcer

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Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit . Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.

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.
Full-time regular employee offer package:
Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity
Temporary employee offer package:
Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment)
Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information.
###
Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.
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What this application asks

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Resume/CV, Full name, Email, Phone, Current location, Current company, LinkedIn URL, Twitter URL, GitHub URL, Portfolio URL, Other website

  • Are you authorized to work in the United States? choose one
  • Will you require sponsorship for employment now or in the future? choose one
  • If yes, what type of sponsorship? written answer · optional
  • This position may require access to information and technology that is subject to export controls, such as EAR. Are you any of the following? choose one
  • If you selected "A protected Individual" OR "Other" to the above question, please explain further. written answer · optional
  • Shield AI provides technology, services, and support to the United States military and allied forces with their various missions. If selected for employment with Shield AI, your contributions will directly relate to and/or support these missions. Are there any reasons why you would not be able to fully contribute in support of the U.S. military and allied forces? choose one
  • (Optional) If you selected other or would like to expand on the above, feel free to do so below: written answer · optional
  • How did you hear about us? choose one
  • If "Industry Conference" or "Other," please provide more details: written answer · optional
  • Please state your full legal name:
  • Are you a transitioning service member? choose one
  • If yes, what partnership program are you working with? choose one · optional
  • If other, please provide further details written answer · optional
  • When are you available to start your fellowship? written answer · optional
  • When are you available for full time work? written answer · optional
  • What full time job(s) are you applying for? written answer
  • Are you local to or willing to relocate? choose one · optional
  • What office(s) would you be willing to relocate to? (Select all that apply) yes / no · optional
  • If you selected international, what location(s)? written answer · optional
  • To help us better understand your sourcing approach, please share links to 3 LinkedIn profiles you believe could be a strong fit for a Principal Fuel Systems Engineering (R3300) role at Shield AI. This is optional, but highly encouraged. written answer · optional

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