Senior Technical Recruiter

Job description

**Help Build Europe's Hypersonic Capability** At **Hypersonica**, we’re redefining what’s possible in European defence technology. We exist to deliver speed, resilience, and technological independence at a pace that sets a new standard. We are a small, elite team working on problems that matter, and solving them fast. As our Senior Technical Recruiter you’re not stepping into a predefined role. You’re joining a talent dense environment where every individual shapes the direction of the company. Our philosophy is to hire a small number of exceptional people with broad, deep technical capability, strong judgement, and the ability to operate autonomously. We hire for talent, not rigid boxes. This role represents a business need, but the way it evolves will be shaped by the individual. If you’ve achieved what others said was impossible, or you bring a unique combination of skills that doesn’t fit a traditional mould, we want to hear from you. The work you do here directly contributes to Europe’s technological independence. ### What you'll do - Work directly with the Head of Talent day to day, with close access to the CEO, CTO, and technical heads - Own hiring in Germany end to end, from role definition and sourcing through to closing and signed offers - Turn senior leadership priorities into a capability based hiring plan and sequencing that matches delivery reality - Partner with hiring managers to define what “great” looks like, set the bar, and build structured interview loops and scorecards - Build targeted sourcing strategies for top tier engineers and operators across our core disciplines, with a focus on defence grade talent - Run tight pipeline management in Lever, keeping data clean, stages meaningful, and momentum high - Drive a fast, high signal candidate experience with clear comms, short loops, and decisive feedback - Bring market intelligence back to leadership on availability, compensation, competing offers, and how to win in the German market - Protect talent density by calibrating relentlessly, referencing properly, and holding the line on quality - Improve the system over time, talent maps, sourcing playbooks, referral motion, and post hire retrospectives so UK recruiting compounds every month ### Who you are - Senior technical recruiter, full life cycle, with a track record of filling genuinely hard technical roles - You have experience recruiting in defence or a closely related high trust environment such as aerospace, space, advanced manufacturing, autonomy, or deep tech hardware - You understand the realities of secure hiring, export controls, and discretion, and you can operate professionally around sensitive programmes - You’ve worked in a high growth startup environment before, ideally Series A or similar, and you enjoy the pace and the lack of safety rails - You treat recruiting as a strategic function, not an admin service, and you’re comfortable challenging briefs and sharpening the bar - You can take a messy need and turn it into a crisp role, clear success outcomes with scorecards - You can proactively source top tier talent and build pipelines, not just manage inbound applicants - You communicate directly, move fast, and you like being accountable for outcomes - You care about signal and craft and you do not push “good enough” through a process ### What we offer - A mission driven environment with the opportunity to work on one of Europe’s most consequential defence challenges, with direct impact on sovereign capability and security. - Daily collaboration with top experts across engineering, operations, and defence, with real opportunity to learn from the best, contribute, and grow. - High ownership and autonomy; no time tracking, no micromanagement, just clear objectives and accountability for outcomes. - A fast paced environment where good ideas are implemented quickly, and feedback from test and flight drives real decisions. - A culture that values clarity, integrity, and excellence, and supports people who take initiative and push boundaries responsibly. - Competitive compensation and real share options aligned to responsibility and impact, not tenure or hierarchy.