Senior Technical Recruiter

About Merlin:

Merlin is a venture backed aerospace startup building a non-human pilot to enable both reduced crew and uncrewed flight. Backed by some of the world’s leading investors, Merlin is scaling alongside our customers to begin leveraging autonomy today to solve some of aviation’s biggest challenges.

About you:

We’re looking for a technical recruiter who’s energized by the thrill of building something meaningful. In this role, you’ll work side-by-side with hiring leaders to uncover exceptional talent—engineers, operators, innovators—who will help shape the future of autonomous flight. You’ll be the connective tissue between our teams and the people who will bring our most ambitious ideas to life.

Are you seeking a role where you can influence every stage of the recruiting journey? Do you want to immerse yourself in a fast-moving startup where brilliant engineers are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in aviation? If the idea of building and scaling a team that will redefine autonomous flight excites you, then you might be exactly who we’re looking for at Merlin.

Responsibilities:

• Partner closely with hiring leaders to design and execute thoughtful, end-to-end recruiting strategies that bring top talent into the most impactful roles.
• Develop creative sourcing approaches and research methods to uncover both active seekers and hidden passive talent in competitive technical markets.
• Own the full recruiting lifecycle with a high degree of autonomy—from first touch to final offer.
• Build and nurture a strong pipeline of high-potential candidates who can scale with the company.
• Evaluate technical resumes with a sharp eye for specialized skills, unique career paths, and engineering depth.
• Conduct engaging pre-screen conversations to assess experience, capabilities, and potential.
• Lead interviews using a mix of structured techniques, technical assessments, and behavioral questioning to uncover a full picture of each candidate.
• Assess alignment not only on skills, but on values and cultural contribution.
• Craft thoughtful, personalized outreach that resonates with passive candidates and sparks genuine interest in our mission.
• Represent Merlin at tech conferences, meetups, and industry events—building community and expanding our network of exceptional talent.

Qualifications:

• 5+ years of recruiting experience—internal or agency—with a strong track record hiring for highly specialized engineering positions.
• The ability to deeply understand and clearly articulate complex job requirements and technical domains.
• Experience operating across a variety of interview formats and evaluation techniques.
• Familiarity with modern applicant tracking systems such as Lever or Greenhouse.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with a talent for building rapport and earning trust.
• A solid understanding of HR compliance practices and commitment to ethical, transparent hiring.

Merlin Labs offers an innovative, entrepreneurial, and team-focused startup environment. We also offer a top-notch benefits package (health, dental, life, unlimited vacation, and 401k with match) and work/life integration. Being part of the Merlin team allows you to become part of a small team that supports professional development while working together to achieve our mission.

Merlin Labs is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy), gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, military service or obligation or disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law. All job offers are contingent upon the candidate passing background and reference checks.

At this time, we are unable to provide visa sponsorship or consider candidates who require visa transfers. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without the need for visa sponsorship now or in the future.

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.

If you require reasonable accommodation in completing an application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to: [email protected]

Merlin Labs does not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than directly from candidates.