Technical Recruiter
Hark Open · verified Oct 19, 2026 At a glance
Mid-level Recruiting & Talent Acquisition role at Hark. San Jose · $120,000–$250,000 base.
hrroles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Run technical hiring end to end, from finding and assessing candidates through interviews and offer close
- Build a varied pipeline for hard-to-fill roles through direct outreach, networking and referrals
- Work with engineering leads to set hiring needs and recruiting plans
- Use time-to-fill and quality measures to improve hiring, while strengthening interviews and candidate experience
- Help new hires get started through onboarding support
What you bring
- A bachelor’s degree and at least five years recruiting for technical roles
- Recruiting experience focused on hardware engineering, AI/ML and embedded systems in fast-growing startups
- A record of finding passive candidates and building pipelines for difficult engineering searches
- Skill with recruiting platforms and ATS tools for pipeline management and reporting
- Strong relationship-building and hiring-advisory skills, including the judgment to challenge hiring managers
Who this fits
This mid-level role suits a recruiter who can handle technical searches across hardware, firmware, AI/ML and operations while advising engineering leads. The role is based in San Jose, and the stated annual base salary range is $120,000 to $250,000.
From the employer
About Hark
Hark is an artificial intelligence company building advanced, personalized intelligence. One that is proactive, multimodal, and capable of interacting with the world through speech, text, vision, and persistent memory.
We're pairing that intelligence with next-generation hardware to create a universal interface between humans and machines. While today's AI largely operates through chat boxes and decade-old devices, Hark is focused on what comes next: agentic systems that interact naturally with people and the real world.
To get there, we're developing multimodal models and next-generation AI hardware together - designed from the ground up as a single, unified interface for a new era of intelligent systems.
About the Role
The Technical Recruiter will be responsible for attracting top talent to tackle the complex challenges of building AI-powered hardware devices. This role requires a commitment to excellence and the ability to thrive in a fast-moving startup environment. The ideal candidate will focus on scaling our team intentionally—ensuring that we not only grow headcount but find the right individuals who align with our values of moving quickly, building exceptional hardware, and staying mission-driven.
Responsibilities
- Manage full-cycle recruiting for technical roles (hardware, firmware, AI/ML, operations) through sourcing, screening, interviewing, and closing.
- Develop a robust, diverse candidate pipeline via direct sourcing, networking, and referrals.
- Partner with engineering leads to define requirements and strategies.
- Analyze recruiting metrics (time-to-fill, quality) to optimize the process.
- Ensure a positive candidate experience.
- Improve the structured technical interview process.
- Support new hire onboarding.
Requirements
- Education: Bachelor’s degree.
- Experience: 5+ years recruiting for technical roles, with a focus on hardware engineering, AI/ML, and embedded systems in fast-growing startups.
- Sourcing: Proven track record sourcing passive candidates and building talent pipelines for hard-to-fill engineering roles.
- Tools: Proficiency with recruiting platforms and ATS systems (e.g., Greenhouse, Lever, LinkedIn Recruiter) to manage pipeline and reporting.
- Communication: Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build trusted relationships, provide strategic hiring advice, and push back on hiring managers when needed.
Bonus Qualifications
- Deep understanding of the hardware and AI talent landscape, including the unique challenges of recruiting electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, and ML researchers.
- Previous experience as the first or early recruiting hire at a startup, building processes and infrastructure from scratch.
Compensation
The US base salary range for this full-time position is between $120,000 - $250,000 annually.
The pay offered for this position may vary based on several individual factors, including job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package may also include additional components/benefits depending on the specific role. This information will be shared if an employment offer is extended.