About this opportunity
Vaco by Highspring lists this SR TECH RECRUITER - AI/ML | 6-MONTH CONTRACT opportunity in san mateo county, California. Review the employer’s description below for duties, qualifications and application requirements.
Job description
SR TECH RECRUITER - AI/ML | 6-MONTH CONTRACT
Location: Menlo Park, CA
Work Arrangement: 4 days onsite / 1 day remote
Engagement: Initial 6-month contract
Pay Rate: $70-$85/hour W-2, depending on experience. Rate is firm and cannot exceed the listed range.
CANDIDATE PROFILE
Hands-on Senior Technical Recruiter with AI/ML and engineering recruiting experience required. Energy, manufacturing, deep tech, or high-growth startup experience strongly preferred.
IMPORTANT DETAILS
- This is not a remote opportunity. Candidates must be able to work onsite in Menlo Park four days per week.
- Initial six-month contract with the potential for extension and/or conversion to a permanent position based on business needs. Extension or conversion is not guaranteed.
- Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship. Employment sponsorship is not available now or in the future.
- No C2C arrangements or third-party submissions will be considered.
ROLE OVERVIEW
-We are seeking an experienced, hands-on Senior Technical Recruiter to support a confidential, high-growth organization in Menlo Park.
-This is an individual-contributor, full-cycle recruiting role requiring recent experience recruiting AI, machine learning, engineering, and other specialized technical talent. This person will independently manage multiple searches across technical, operational, and corporate functions, including senior-level and difficult-to-fill positions.
-The role owns the recruiting lifecycle end to end, including intake and search strategy, direct sourcing, candidate assessment, interview management, stakeholder partnership, compensation discussions, offers, negotiations, closing, and onboarding coordination.
-The ideal candidate is a self-starter who can operate effectively with ambiguity and evolving priorities, quickly understand complex hiring needs, build credibility with senior stakeholders, and independently move searches forward.
-Experience within AI or high-growth technology environments is required.
-Additional recruiting experience within energy, manufacturing, deep tech, or specialized high-tech startup environments is strongly preferred.
-Hands-on experience with Greenhouse, Lever, or comparable ATS platforms is also preferred.
CORE QUALIFICATIONS
- 8+ years of full-cycle recruiting experience, including independently managing multiple searches.
- Recent hands-on experience personally owning searches from intake and sourcing through accepted offer and onboarding.
- Demonstrated experience recruiting AI/ML, engineering, technical, or similarly specialized talent.
- Strong direct-sourcing capabilities, including talent mapping, passive-candidate outreach, screening, assessment, and pipeline development.
- Experience recruiting across technical and corporate/operational functions, including senior-level and difficult-to-fill positions.
- Demonstrated ability to partner directly with senior business leaders and hiring managers.
- Hands-on experience with compensation discussions, offers, negotiations, and candidate closing.
- Strong ATS and pipeline-management experience, including candidate tracking, recruiting metrics, dashboards, and reporting.
- Ability to operate independently in a fast-moving environment with ambiguity and evolving priorities.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Independently manage multiple full-cycle searches from intake through offer acceptance and onboarding.
- Develop sourcing strategies, talent maps, and targeted outreach for specialized and business-critical positions.
- Source, screen, and assess passive candidates across technical, operational, and corporate functions.
- Partner with hiring leaders to define requirements, establish priorities, and develop effective search strategies.
- Manage interview processes, feedback, candidate communication, and overall search momentum.
- Lead compensation and offer processes, including approvals, negotiations, and closing.
- Maintain accurate ATS records, candidate pipelines, recruiting dashboards, metrics, and status reporting.
- Coordinate with external search partners and HR Operations as needed throughout hiring and onboarding.
WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE
Success in this role means being able to personally drive complex searches from strategy through close, build credibility with senior stakeholders, engage hard-to-find talent, and create structure in a fast-moving environment where priorities may change.
Equal Opportunity Notice
Highspring LLC (d/b/a Vaco by Highspring) and its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries ("we," "our," or "Vaco by Highspring") are committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race (including but not limited to traits historically associated with race such as hair texture and hair style), color, sex (includes pregnancy or related conditions), religion or creed, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, status as a veteran, union membership, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, political affiliation, or any other protected characteristics as required by applicable law. The company is also committed to ensuring that persons who need them are provided with reasonable accommodations; if an accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact .
Vaco by Highspring also wants all applicants to know their rights that workplace discrimination is illegal .
Representation Notice
By submitting to this position, you agree that you will be giving Vaco by Highspring the exclusive right to present your as a candidate for the foregoing employment opportunity. Additionally, you agree to be included in our talent pool for future hiring for similarly qualified positions. You further agree that you have represented information about yourself accurately and have not affirmatively misrepresented your qualifications. Lastly, you agree to maintain as confidential, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any information you learn from Vaco by Highspring about the position and you will limit disclosure of information about the position only to the extent necessary to perform any obligations in furtherance of your application. In exchange, Vaco by Highspring agrees to exercise reasonable efforts to represent you through all solicitation, job screening and resume dispersal.
For residents of Ontario, Canada only: to the extent the position for employment is not with Highspring or not otherwise noted as vacant above, candidate should be informed that this role is to replace a presently employed person at Vaco by Highspring's client.
Privacy Notice
Vaco by Highspring respects your privacy and are committed to providing transparent notice of our policies.
California residents may access Vaco by Highspring HR Notice at Collection for California Applicants and Employees here .
Virginia residents may access our state specific policies here .
Residents of all other states may access our policies here .
Canadian residents may access our policies in English here and in French here .
Residents of countries governed by GDPR and UK GDPR may access our policies here .
Additionally, submissions to this position are subject to the use of AI to perform preliminary candidate screenings, focused on ensuring minimum job requirements noted in the position are satisfied. More details about Vaco by Highspring's use of AI can be found here ( ). Further assessment of candidates beyond this initial phase will be conducted by recruiters and hiring managers. Vaco by Highspring does not know and cannot opine on if its client's use of AI products in hiring.
Pay Transparency Notice
Determining compensation for this role (and others) at Vaco by Highspring depends upon a wide array of factors including but not limited to:
· the individual's skill sets, experience and training;
· licensure and certification requirements;
· office location and other geographic considerations; and
· other business and organizational needs.
With that said, as required by local law, Vaco by Highspring believes that the following salary range referenced above reasonably estimates the base compensation for an individual hired into this position in geographies that require salary range disclosure. The individual may also be eligible for discretionary bonuses and/or participation in medical, dental, and vision benefits as well as the company's retirement plan (or similar retirement benefits).
Who can apply
Review the original listing for work authorization, qualifications and employer requirements.