Sourcing Lead

Sofar Ocean
San Francisco, CA
Hybrid

Who this role is best for

A natural match if you have experience sourcing technical and go-to-market talent in a startup environment.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with a background in sourcing technical talent for defense or government programs
    — “security-cleared engineers, government-facing technical roles”
  • Individuals with a history of using AI tools to scale sourcing efforts
    — “Interest in using AI tools to scale sourcing”

Things to consider

  • Requires in-office presence at least a few days a week in San Francisco
    — “based at our Pier 28 office in San Francisco a few days a week”
  • Role involves managing multiple open positions simultaneously
    — “managing many open roles at once”

How to stand out

  • Highlight experience with AI-assisted sourcing and creative candidate engagement methods
    — “Help shape our sourcing playbook and tooling, including AI-assisted sourcing”
  • Emphasize success in building pipelines for niche roles like cleared engineering
    — “Build talent pipelines for recurring and hard-to-fill roles”
  • Showcase your ability to write clear, warm outreach that generates responses
    — “Write outreach that gets replies, and keep testing what works”
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • talent pipelines
  • qualified candidates
  • pipeline health
Typical background
startup recruitingtechnical roles sourcing

Skills & requirements

Required

SourcingFull-cycle RecruitingCandidate EngagementPipeline BuildingInitial Screens

Preferred

Security-cleared CandidatesDefense-adjacent EngineeringAi-assisted Sourcing

Stack & domain

SourcingFull-cycle RecruitingTechnical RolesEngineering SourcingGTMBooleanLinkedin RecruiterATSAi-assisted SourcingCommunicationCollaborationProblem-solvingTeamworkLeadershipHiringTalent AcquisitionRecruitingTalent Pipelines

About the role

Original posting from Sofar Ocean via Ashby

ABOUT SOFAR OCEAN

Sofar Ocean is building the world's largest real-time ocean sensor network. Our Spotter buoys collect ocean data across the globe, and our software, including Wayfinder for voyage optimization, turns that data into decisions for commercial shipping, government, and defense customers. We're a team of about 100 based at Pier 28 in San Francisco, and we're growing fast.

ABOUT THE ROLE

We're hiring our first in-house Sourcing Partner to build the top of our hiring funnel. You'll own finding and engaging the people we need to hit our growth plans, with a focus on hard-to-find talent: security-cleared engineers, government-facing technical roles, and sales hires who can open new markets.

You'll report to the Head of People and work directly with hiring managers across engineering, product, and sales. This is a high-ownership role on a lean team. You'll have real influence over how we source, what tools we use, and how we measure success.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

  • Partner with hiring managers at kickoff to define the profile, target companies, and must-have signals for each role
  • Source and engage passive candidates through LinkedIn Recruiter, Ashby, Metaview, referrals, communities, and creative channels
  • Write outreach that gets replies, and keep testing what works
  • Build talent pipelines for recurring and hard-to-fill roles, including cleared and defense-adjacent engineering
  • Run initial screens and hand off qualified candidates with clear notes
  • Keep Ashby data clean and report weekly on pipeline health, response rates, and source quality
  • Help shape our sourcing playbook and tooling, including AI-assisted sourcing as we build it out

WHAT YOU BRING

  • 5+ years of sourcing or full-cycle recruiting experience, ideally at a startup
  • A track record of filling technical roles, with engineering sourcing and GTM as core strengths
  • Strong Boolean and LinkedIn Recruiter skills, plus comfort finding talent beyond LinkedIn
  • Experience with Ashby or a similar ATS, and a habit of keeping data clean
  • Clear, warm writing that makes candidates want to talk to us
  • An outgoing, curious approach to meeting people and building relationships
  • Comfort working independently on a small team and managing many open roles at once

NICE TO HAVE

  • Experience sourcing go-to-market roles, especially enterprise sales
  • Experience sourcing security-cleared candidates or recruiting for defense or government programs
  • Familiarity with ITAR and export-control hiring requirements
  • Background in hardware, maritime, climate tech, or deep tech
  • Interest in using AI tools to scale sourcing

LOCATION, COMPENSATION, AND BENEFITS

The preference is for this role is based at our Pier 28 office in San Francisco a few days a week to work seamlessly with our hiring mangers however we are open to remote applicants.

The base salary range for this role is $130,000 to $160,000, plus equity. Final pay depends on experience and skills. We offer medical, dental, and vision coverage, 401(k), flexible PTO, and a learning and development stipend.

Sofar Ocean is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.

Source: Sofar Ocean careers (Ashby)

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