Senior Executive Recruiter - Hivemind (R6523)

Responsibilities

The Senior Executive Recruiter will independently lead complex leadership searches across the Hivemind Autonomous Software business, managing the full lifecycle from intake to offer negotiation. They will partner with senior business leaders to define hiring strategies, assess high-caliber talent, and leverage AI tools to improve recruiting efficiency.

Requirements

Candidates must have 8+ years of progressive executive recruiting experience, specifically within technical domains like autonomy, robotics, or software engineering. A bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience is required, along with strong executive presence and the ability to influence senior stakeholders.

Skills

• Executive recruiting
• Talent acquisition
• Market mapping
• Candidate assessment
• Strategic sourcing
• Stakeholder management
• Business acumen
• Executive presence
• Negotiation
• Technical recruiting
• Autonomy
• Robotics
• Artificial intelligence
• Software engineering
• Data analytics
• AI tools

Benefits

• Bonus
• Equity
• Health Insurance

About this role

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 www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.
Job Description:
We are seeking an intellectually curious, learning-agile, and strategic Senior Executive Recruiter to identify and attract exceptional leaders who will help shape Shield AI's future. As a fast-growing defense technology company, our hiring priorities evolve quickly, requiring adaptability, sound judgment, and the ability to navigate ambiguity while delivering results.
Reporting to the Head of Executive Search, the Senior Executive Recruiter – Hivemind will independently lead complex senior leadership searches across Shield AI's Hivemind Autonomous Software business, identifying leaders responsible for developing and scaling next-generation autonomy and AI-powered software systems. This includes executive recruiting across Autonomy, Robotics, Perception, Planning, Controls, Embedded Software, Distributed Systems, Simulation, Machine Learning, Infrastructure, and other highly specialized software engineering disciplines.
This senior individual contributor will own the full executive search lifecycle, from intake and market mapping through candidate assessment, offer negotiation, and close. The ideal candidate combines strong executive search fundamentals, business acumen, executive presence, operational rigor, and exceptional talent judgment. Success requires quickly developing expertise across specialized technical disciplines, translating complex engineering requirements into effective recruiting strategies, building trusted relationships with senior leaders, and delivering high-quality hiring outcomes.
You will partner closely with business leaders, People Experience (PX) Business Partners, and Talent Acquisition colleagues to develop targeted search strategies aligned with business priorities.
Our Talent Acquisition team actively embraces AI and automation to accelerate research, improve decision-making, streamline execution, and create more capacity for high-value recruiting activities. We seek individuals who continuously identify innovative ways to improve executive search effectiveness.
What you'll do:
Executive Search Strategy & Execution
Independently manage complex executive and senior leadership searches from intake and position scoping through market mapping, assessment, offer negotiation, and acceptance.
Partner with senior leaders to define role requirements, success profiles, assessment criteria, search strategies, and hiring milestones.
Identify, engage, and cultivate relationships with high-caliber passive executive talent across aerospace and defense, AI, autonomy, robotics, software, and adjacent enterprise technology markets.
Build targeted executive talent pipelines supporting immediate and anticipated leadership hiring needs.
Execute searches across highly specialized software engineering disciplines, including Autonomy, Robotics, Perception, Planning, Controls, Embedded Software, Distributed Systems, Simulation, Machine Learning, Infrastructure, and related technical domains.
Anticipate search challenges, adjust strategies, and maintain accountability for hiring outcomes.
Executive Stakeholder Partnership
Serve as a trusted advisor to senior business leaders, hiring managers, and PX Business Partners across assigned functions.
Provide consultative guidance on talent availability, market dynamics, compensation expectations, and competitive positioning.
Establish consistent communication and reporting cadences to maintain stakeholder alignment, transparency, and accountability.
Influence hiring decisions through market intelligence, candidate insights, and evidence-based recommendations.
Proactively manage expectations, resolve obstacles, and navigate competing priorities constructively.
Executive Assessment & Candidate Experience
Conduct comprehensive executive assessments evaluating technical expertise, leadership capabilities, business impact, and alignment with Shield AI's mission and values.
Apply structured interviews, competency frameworks, and assessment tools to support informed hiring decisions.
Deliver clear, balanced candidate evaluations highlighting strengths, development areas, and potential risks.
Partner with interview teams to drive consistent candidate calibration and effective selection decisions.
Deliver an exceptional candidate experience while building long-term relationships with executive talent.
Market Intelligence & Talent Mapping
Develop deep knowledge of executive talent markets across autonomy, robotics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, embedded software, and related software engineering disciplines.
Partner with Global Talent Sourcing to execute targeted market mapping, competitive research, and candidate identification strategies.
Provide actionable insights on talent availability, organizational structures, compensation trends, and competitive hiring practices.
Leverage recruiting technology, research tools, and analytics to improve sourcing effectiveness, candidate engagement, and search outcomes.
Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement
Execute searches using established executive recruiting processes, assessment methodologies, tools, and templates.
Maintain accurate, timely candidate and pipeline information in applicant tracking and recruiting systems.
Track and communicate search metrics, including pipeline health, candidate conversion, search velocity, and hiring outcomes.
Identify opportunities to improve recruiting efficiency, assessment quality, and stakeholder and candidate exp...