Technical Recruiter (Defense)

Applied Compute

Applied Compute

People & HR, IT

Washington, DC, USA

USD 120k-160k / year + Equity

Posted on May 21, 2026

Location

Washington D.C.

Employment Type

Full time

Department

Recruiting

About the role

As a Technical Recruiter (Defense) at Applied Intuition, you will partner closely with engineering and program leadership to design and execute hiring strategies that attract, evaluate, and close exceptional software engineering talent for our defense business unit. This is an exciting opportunity to play a business-critical role at the intersection of autonomy and national security, scaling a high-priority team building technology that matters. Extremely strong technical Sourcerers looking for mentorship on full desk work are urged to apply.

At Applied Intuition, you will:

  • Develop and execute recruiting strategies to identify and hire software engineers, ML engineers, and other technical talent with defense-relevant experience across cleared and non-cleared talent pools

  • Partner with engineering leaders, program managers, and cross-functional stakeholders to understand hiring needs, clearance requirements, and long-term workforce strategy

  • Leverage AI and agentic coding tools to drive recruiting workflow automation and increase recruiting productivity

  • Lead structured, high-quality interview processes that assess technical excellence, problem-solving ability, and alignment with Applied's values and defense mission

  • Build and maintain pipelines into defense-adjacent talent communities

  • Provide leadership with data-driven insights on funnel health, pass-through rates, and time-to-fill across both cleared and non-cleared requisitions

  • Deliver an exceptional candidate experience and represent Applied Intuition's mission within the defense and national security talent community

We're looking for someone who has:

  • 3+ years of experience in technical recruiting, with meaningful experience hiring for defense product companies

  • Extremely strong candidate sourcing capabilities is required

  • Strong business partnership skills and the ability to influence stakeholders using data and insights

  • Proven ability to manage multiple complex searches in a fast-paced, high-growth environment with shifting program priorities

  • High ownership mindset with the ability to operate autonomously

Nice to have:

  • Experience recruiting software or systems engineers for autonomy, robotics, embedded systems, or defense platforms (UAS, ground vehicles, C2 systems)

  • Familiarity with modern ATS such as Ashby or Greenhouse.

Compensation at Applied Intuition for eligible roles includes base salary, equity, and benefits. Base salary is a single component of the total compensation package, which may also include equity in the form of options and/or restricted stock units, comprehensive health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance coverage, 401k retirement benefits with employer match, learning and wellness stipends, and paid time off. Note that benefits are subject to change and may vary based on jurisdiction of employment.

Applied Intuition pay ranges reflect the minimum and maximum intended target base salary for new hire salaries for the position. The actual base salary offered to a successful candidate will additionally be influenced by a variety of factors including experience, credentials & certifications, educational attainment, skill level requirements, interview performance, and the level and scope of the position.

Please reference the job posting’s subtitle for where this position will be located. For pay transparency purposes, the base salary range for this full-time position in the location listed is: $120,000 - 160,000 USD annually.