Senior Recruiter

About the role

Rainmaker is pioneering a modern cloud seeding system to mitigate water scarcity and inclement weather. We develop and incorporate radar and satellite validation, weather-resistant UAS, weather modeling, and novel sensors and dispersions into an effective precipitation enhancement solution. The Senior Recruiter will own the end-to-end recruitment process, building the system that sources, interviews, decides for, and closes exceptional technical, scientific, and operational talent. This role requires scientific rigor, technical excellence, disciplined execution, and strong cross-functional communication across teams to uphold the highest bar of excellence. The hire will partner closely with the Head of People and leadership while retaining full ownership of execution to ensure Rainmaker attracts and secures the people who can drive its mission forward.

Key facts

BUILD THE RECRUITING ENGINE

You will architect and operate the end-to-end recruiting system that enables Rainmaker to hire exceptional people consistently, defining sourcing strategies, structured interview loops, closing playbooks, and the weekly operating review that aligns every search with company priorities. You will create predictable, fast, and disciplined hiring workflows so that quality becomes the reliable output of a system rather than the product of heroics.

REACH THE PEOPLE WHO CLEAR THE BAR

You will design and execute sourcing strategies and proactive pipeline-building for every critical role, targeting candidates who meet Rainmaker's high standard but are not always actively applying. This requires sharp outreach, structured target mapping, and the judgment to identify who is genuinely exceptional in competitive domains.

RUN A RIGOROUS, EVIDENCE-BASED HIRING PROCESS

You will design interview loops where every interviewer owns a clear signal, require approved scorecards before sourcing begins, and run calibrated debriefs and disciplined closes to win the candidates who matter most. Decisions at Rainmaker will rest on evidence and structured assessment rather than intuition or first impressions.

OWN THE CANDIDATE EXPERIENCE

You will own how every candidate experiences Rainmaker from first contact through signed offer, recognizing that this experience is one of the clearest expressions of the company's values and standards. You will ensure that even candidates who are not selected leave with respect for the company and the seriousness of its work in cloud seeding and weather modification.

PROTECT RAINMAKER'S BAR AND CULTURE

You will act as the steward of hiring quality across every search, defining what exceptional performance looks like for each role and holding that line against pressure for speed, convenience, or rapid headcount growth. Hiring is where Rainmaker's culture is reinforced or eroded, and your most important job is to grow the company without ever lowering the standard that makes it exceptional.

REINFORCE CROSS-FUNCTIONAL COLLABORATION

You will work hand-in-hand with leadership, engineering, science, and operations teams to align hiring priorities with business objectives and ensure shared accountability for outcomes. This requires translating technical and scientific needs into clear role requirements and success criteria that all stakeholders can understand and support.

DRIVE DATA-DRIVEN RECRUITING IMPROVEMENT

You will track and analyze key recruiting metrics, including source quality, time-to-fill, offer acceptance, and early performance of new hires, using insights to continuously refine sourcing, interviewing, and closing strategies. You will translate these learnings into actionable changes that strengthen the overall system.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

5+ years of experience recruiting in a high-growth company with a track record of building exceptional recruiting operations, including its process, systems, and standards. You have operated in environments where precision and consistency are required, and you understand what it takes to scale recruiting without sacrificing quality.

Demonstrated ability to hire hard-to-find talent in competitive markets across multiple domains, including engineering and hardware, science and research, operations, and senior leadership. You have successfully sourced and closed candidates who are not actively looking and who meet rigorous technical and scientific standards.

Deep fluency in structured, evidence-based hiring, including scorecards, signal-owned interview loops, and calibrated debriefs, with the conviction to hold the standard under pressure for speed or convenience. You insist on rigor even when timelines are aggressive or stakeholders expect faster decisions.

Strong sourcing and closing instincts, including proactive pipeline-building for roles where the best candidates are not actively looking, and a real feel for reading and managing offer risk. You understand how to negotiate terms and navigate constraints while protecting the integrity of the hiring bar.

Exceptional communication, judgment, and follow-through, with the ability to operate from data and earn trust across technical, scientific, operational, and executive teams. You build structure without unnecessary bureaucracy, enabling clarity and accountability at every stage of the hiring journey.

NICE TO HAVE

Experience recruiting for technical, scientific, aerospace, robotics, aviation, or similarly complex multidisciplinary organizations where domain knowledge matters.

Experience in an early-stage or founder-led environment moving into a more structured operating company, adapting processes as the organization scales.

Experience designing and running interview systems and interviewer calibration at scale, not just managing individual searches and one-off hiring efforts.

Working knowledge of recruiting analytics and tooling, including ATS, sourcing platforms, funnel and source-quality reporting, and quality-of-hire measurement to inform decision-making.

Experience partnering with People, Finance, and hiring managers to connect hiring plans to workforce planning, compensation, onboarding, and manager readiness to ensure cohesion across the employee lifecycle.

PRACTICAL NOTES

This role is based in El Segundo, California, and is a full-time engagement. The position requires adherence to local regulations and company policies regarding employment eligibility and documentation as required by law.