Staff Talent Sourcer - UK & EU

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. We are looking for a Staff Talent Sourcer who lives and breathes talent discovery, able to translate complex, highly specialized talent needs across multiple functions into precision sourcing strategies across the EU region. The role serves as the go-to expert for talent intelligence, market mapping, proactive candidate generation, and pipeline cultivation across aerospace, autonomy, AI, advanced hardware, and broader business organizations.

Responsibilities

Own the top of funnel: partner with recruiters and hiring leaders to define target profiles and build data-informed sourcing strategies across the EU; Map the EU market: develop talent landscapes by company, skillset, function, geography, seniority, and organizational structure, identifying talent pools, competitor insights, regional talent hubs, and emerging trends; Generate and engage: use advanced Boolean search, sourcing platforms, and creative sourcing channels to identify, engage, and attract talent; Build pipelines proactively: cultivate long-term relationships with passive and hard-to-find talent to enable just-in-time hiring; Navigate diverse talent markets: adapt sourcing strategies to local market dynamics, candidate expectations, languages, mobility considerations, and regional hiring requirements; Leverage AI to scale sourcing: design, build, and improve AI-powered sourcing workflows, research agents, and automations; Build repeatable sourcing systems: create structured market maps, talent intelligence reports, outreach content, and scalable recruiting processes; Be the sourcing SME: coach recruiters and hiring managers on regional market insights, sourcing strategy, and candidate engagement; Partner for impact: collaborate with Talent Acquisition Operations, Employer Brand, University Recruiting, People teams, and business leaders across the EU; Track and iterate: use recruiting analytics and experimentation to measure sourcing effectiveness and optimize outreach

Requirements

8+ years of sourcing experience, with significant experience supporting hiring across multiple EU markets and a broad range of functions and talent profiles; Proven track record in market mapping, competitive intelligence, and candidate generation for highly specialized, difficult-to-fill, and business-critical roles; Demonstrated experience sourcing across multiple disciplines, which may include Engineering, Software, AI/ML, Hardware, Manufacturing, Operations, Product, Program Management, Commercial, G&A, and other corporate functions; Deep expertise in advanced Boolean search, LinkedIn Recruiter, HireEZ, SeekOut, GitHub, and other modern sourcing platforms, with the ability to identify talent across diverse EU markets; Strong knowledge of the EU talent landscape, including regional talent hubs, competitor ecosystems, candidate behaviors, market dynamics, and differences in recruiting across countries; Demonstrated ability to operate as a consultative partner to recruiters, hiring managers, and senior leaders, influencing hiring strategy through market insights and talent intelligence; Hands-on experience building or leveraging AI-powered sourcing workflows, agentic AI tools, workflow automations, or practical AI solutions that improve recruiting or business processes; Direct experience using AI development environments or coding assistants (such as Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, Gemini, or similar tools) to create repeatable sourcing workflows, structured research outputs, market intelligence, process automation, or operational documentation; Experience building and maintaining long-term relationships with passive, niche, senior, or otherwise difficult-to-engage talent across multiple markets; Excellent communication and storytelling skills with the ability to engage candidates from diverse professional and cultural backgrounds and influence stakeholders across functions and geographies; Strong judgment, curiosity, cultural awareness, and a continuous improvement mindset with the ability to evaluate and adopt emerging AI technologies to improve recruiting outcomes; Highly organized, data-driven, and able to operate autonomously in a fast-paced, mission-driven, internationally distributed environment

Nice to have

Prior experience supporting aerospace, defense, robotics, autonomy, AI/ML, advanced technology, manufacturing, or other complex hardware/software organizations; Experience sourcing across multiple European talent markets, including established and emerging technology and engineering hubs; Experience navigating cross-border hiring considerations, candidate mobility, work authorization, export control, or other regulatory considerations relevant to hiring across EU; Experience sourcing across both highly technical and non-technical functions, with the ability to quickly develop expertise in new talent markets and disciplines; Familiarity with Ashby and recruiting analytics, CRM, or talent intelligence platforms; Experience supporting high-growth, venture-backed, multinational, or rapidly scaling technology organizations; Demonstrated passion for staying ahead of emerging recruiting technologies, regional talent trends, sourcing methodologies, and AI advancements

Benefits

Comprehensive total rewards package aligned to your country office location