AdAstra Talent Advisor & Headhunter

Location: Remote About AdAstra AdAstra builds exceptional teams for frontier hardtech companies across space, energy, defense, and embodied AI. We operate in complex, high-stakes hiring environments and win by deeply understanding talent, market dynamics, and what great actually looks like. This is precision search with strategic advising. We run on EOS, hold a high bar, and expect a lot from each other. The work is demanding, fast-paced, and deeply meaningful. The Role We are hiring a Talent Advisor & Headhunter who can step in and lead searches immediately. You will own your desk: your client relationships, your search strategy, and your hiring recommendations. You are expected to operate with autonomy, urgency, and strong judgment from day one. You are not an order taker. You are a true advisor. You will work directly with founders and technical leaders to shape hiring decisions that materially impact their companies and the entire planet. This role is for advisors who exercise independent judgment, take ownership, and hold a high personal standard. If you need consistent direction or external motivation to perform, this will not be the right environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Client Partnership & Search Definition
• Own the client relationship from intake forward
• Run intake calls, define and challenge the role specification
• Advise the client on title, market compensation, and candidate availability
• Market Mapping & Initial Search Sweep
• Research the talent market at search kickoff to map available candidates
• Validate the role specification against market reality and shape sourcing strategy
• Inform the client conversation on feasibility, comp, and timeline
• Slate Decision & Candidate Assessment
• Decide which candidates are presented and when
• Assess candidates against the search brief, exercising independent judgment on who meets the bar
• Offer Negotiation & Close
• Advise on offer structure
• Negotiate compensation within approved parameters
• Close the candidate
• Candidate Relationship Management
• Lead candidate communication through offer and post-placement
• Engage highly competitive, passive candidates in technical markets
• Deliver high-signal candidate evaluations including capability, trajectory, motivation, and fit

What Success Looks Like

• Consistently running multiple high-quality searches with strong client trust
• Presenting candidates that clients are excited to hire, not just willing to consider
• Giving founders market reads they act on, from role definition through offer
• Making sound, independent calls on slates and offers with minimal oversight

Basic Qualifications

• 5+ years of recruiting experience in startups, agency, or executive search environments
• Proven track record owning searches end-to-end from intake through close
• Demonstrated ability to engage and close candidates in competitive, technical markets
• Strong ownership mentality and follow-through
• Excellent communication and ability to build trust quickly
• Ability to manage multiple priorities without sacrificing quality

Bonus Qualifications

• Experience in retained or executive search
• Experience advising founders or senior leadership
• Exposure to aerospace, defense, climate, or other hard tech sectors
• Strong market research and talent mapping skills with a talent detective mindset
• Ability to assess technical talent across engineering disciplines

Core Values & Fit

• Extreme Ownership: Takes full responsibility and closes loops
• Agile in Chaos: Brings clarity and adapts quickly
• Better Together: Elevates clients, candidates, and teammates
• Cultivated Excellence: High standards, strong organization, constant improvement
• Emotionally Attuned: Builds trust and navigates complex dynamics
• Courageous Impact: Pushes for better outcomes, not just easy ones

The Ideal Candidate

• Does not wait for direction - identifies problems and acts quickly
• Has operated in high-performance environments and wants a higher bar
• Can represent AdAstra credibly with founders and technical leaders
• Exercises strong judgment in both candidate evaluation and client communication
• Is motivated by growth, impact, and winning
• Is particularly interested in the hard tech ecosystem

Benefits

• Unlimited commission tied directly to performance
• PTO, paid holidays, and 401(k) with employer contribution
• Remote-first flexibility
• Direct exposure to top-tier founders and frontier companies
• Opportunity to help build a category-defining firm

Compensation

• $70,000 - $300,000

Specific compensation details are determined by skill and experience

• Base salary (no claw back draw base) + uncapped commission

Why Join AdAstra

• Work on high-stakes hiring problems that shape the future
• Partner directly with founders and technical leaders
• Be part of a small, high-performing, high-expectation team
• Build something meaningful and be measured by your impact

Meet The Founders & Explore Our Website CEO, Seyka Mejeur | LinkedIn profile CTO / COO, Brian Mejeur | LinkedIn profile AdAstra Website Employment Type: FULL_TIME