The posting
Hop Aero is a venture-backed startup building rockets that deliver cargo anywhere on Earth in minutes. Our mission is to enable resilient global logistics to protect and improve our way of life. Our founding team has prior experience founding a satellite startup and taking it to orbit, launching 20+ Falcon 9 missions at SpaceX, and leading engineering teams at some of the world’s most advanced aerospace organizations. The company is well-capitalized through venture funding and government contracts.
About the role We're hiring a Technical Recruiter to build and own Hop Aero's recruiting function from the ground up. This is a foundational role for someone who knows how to find exceptional people, build relationships, and convince them to join an ambitious company doing something that hasn't been done before. You'll report directly to the CEO, and work with the core team to recruit across engineering, operations and other key roles. You'll own the entire recruiting process, from sourcing candidates, running interviews across the pipeline and owning the candidate experience through the hiring funnel. We're looking for someone who wants to work with the best people, and has the skills to attract them to Hop Aero.
We are not considering contract recruiters, staffing agencies, or external recruiting firms for this role.
What you'll do Own full-cycle recruiting across technical and non-technical positions, from sourcing and initial outreach through interviews, offers, and closing Work directly with founders and engineering leadership to define hiring priorities, candidate profiles, and recruiting strategies Proactively identify and engage exceptional engineering talent across aerospace, defense, robotics, and other advanced technology industries Build and maintain long-term talent pipelines for future hiring needs, developing relationships with high-potential candidates well before positions become available Develop creative sourcing strategies beyond traditional job boards, including industry events, technical communities, professional networks, and direct outreach Build and maintain a database of exceptional candidates, tracking relationships and engagement over time Own candidate experience throughout the hiring process, ensuring clear communication, efficient coordination, and a positive impression of Hop Aero Establish and improve recruiting infrastructure, including applicant tracking systems, sourcing tools, interview processes, and hiring workflows Help build Hop Aero's employer brand through engineering content, university outreach, industry engagement, and recruiting campaigns Track and improve recruiting metrics, including time-to-hire, sourcing effectiveness, pipeline quality, and offer acceptance rates Develop relationships with universities, engineering organizations, and technical communities to establish sustainable sources of future talent Build the processes and systems that enable Hop Aero to scale its engineering team without compromising on talent quality Act as a strategic partner to leadership on workforce planning, compensation benchmarking, and long-term hiring strategy
Requirements 3+ years of proven experience in technical recruiting, talent acquisition, or executive search Demonstrated success independently sourcing, engaging, and closing highly technical candidates in aerospace, defense, robotics, or hardware startups. Strong understanding of technical recruiting, with the ability to evaluate engineering backgrounds and identify exceptional candidates Experience proactively sourcing passive candidates rather than relying exclusively on inbound applications Prior experience using LinkedIn Recruiter, applicant tracking systems (ATS), and other sourcing and recruiting tools Willingness and ability to take end-to-end ownership over the entire talent acquisition process across multiple roles in parallel Must be based in the United States, with remote work available Must be a US Person under ITAR. Hop Aero will not sponsor visas for this role.
Nice to have Existing professional networks within the US aerospace and defense engineering communities Experience recruiting engineers from leading aerospace and defense startups and companies. Experience establishing recruiting processes or talent acquisition functions at early-stage startups Familiarity with specialized engineering disciplines such as propulsion, GNC, avionics, hypersonics, and advanced manufacturing Experience with employer branding, university recruiting, or technical community engagement Experience scaling engineering teams from fewer than 20 employees to 100+
What we offer Competitive salary and meaningful equity compensation Remote work flexibility, with opportunities to visit our Orange County HQ and Oklahoma test site Healthcare and other employee benefits Direct access to founders and early influence over how the company grows Full ownership of recruiting strategy, tools, and processes A clear path from individual contributor to talent acquisition leadership as the company scales
Even if you don't meet every requirement, we'd still love to hear from you. Greatness looks different in everyone, and we need people who make teams move faster.
