University & Early Talent Recruiter

Description

The company builds AI-native robotics manufacturing capability, deploying advanced assembly and production systems for leading robotics firms and hardware that matters for national security. In plain terms, it builds robots that build robots.

The goal is to rebuild US manufacturing as an AI-first, assembly-focused, dual-use contract manufacturer.

This is a founding role with a direct effect on the product, the culture, and the company's outcome. The position is based in the Emeryville, CA office, and travel is required.

Responsibilities

• Build the early-talent pipeline for interns, new grads, and apprentices from start to finish: school strategy, sourcing, the hiring loop, project design, mentoring, conversion to full-time, and alumni relationships.
• Find talent beyond the usual top-ten ME, EE and CS schools. Target state schools, community college mechatronics and technical programs, and competition teams such as Formula SAE, Baja, FIRST, RoboMaster and rocketry, where students choose hard hands-on work.
• Create intern projects that test a specific skill and deliver work the company actually needs. Assessment through real project work is the most reliable interview you can run.
• Work with the Volume Recruiter and manufacturing leads to build a shop-floor apprenticeship path for people without a four-year degree.
• Analyse where strong hires have come from and maintain the data on promising talent sources and pools.

Requirements

• Strong ownership mindset: you act as if the company were yours, move quickly, take responsibility, and find a route forward when none is clear. You are willing to take sensible risks. If you need a defined role, steady pace and full answers before starting, this company is probably not the right fit.
• At least 3 years of university or early-career recruiting, ideally in engineering-heavy hiring.
• You have run a full program, not only staffed career fairs, and can explain the hiring loop you designed and the conversion rate it achieved.
• You understand the collegiate engineering competition scene and why a strong Formula SAE member can be a stronger signal than a high GPA.
• You build lasting relationships with faculty, club leaders and career services staff that continue after you change jobs.
• You have designed an intern project that delivered real work and real assessment data.
• Your best hire came from a school few people on the hiring panel knew.
• Experience designing apprenticeship or non-degree pathway programs.
• Experience hiring early-career staff into ITAR-controlled programs, including the eligibility rules.
• Experience in robotics, aerospace, defense or another hardware-heavy industry.
• Experience using Ashby.
• Comfortable with ethical hiring practices.
• Able and willing to travel across the US to build the employer brand and speak about the mission.
• Note: the academic calendar sets your timing and cannot be moved. Peak season is intense.
• Engineers whose time you need are among the busiest people at the company, and each hour you request is taken from building the product.

Conditions

Full-time position based in Emeryville, CA, with required travel across the US.

The base salary range for this role in Emeryville is $115,000 to $175,000 USD.

Equal opportunity: the company considers applicants regardless of protected characteristics.

Benefits

• Equity-based compensation for eligible roles, subject to Board of Directors approval.
• Comprehensive health, dental and vision coverage, and generous PTO, among other benefits.
• The salary range shown reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hires and depends on location, skills, experience, interview performance, and relevant education or training.
• You work alongside manufacturing operators, mechanical engineers, robotics researchers and software engineers in one room, building production systems together.
• The company is committed to the US industrial base and aims to make American manufacturing more scalable, resilient and competitive through adaptive robotic assembly.
• If you want to run a mature, well-defined commercial organisation, this role may not suit you. If you want to build the commercial engine that brings AI-driven manufacturing to industrial and energy customers across America, it does.