University Recruiting Lead

K2 is building the largest and highest-power satellites ever flown, unlocking performance levels previously out of reach across every orbit. Backed by $450M from leading investors including Altimeter Capital, Redpoint Ventures, T. Rowe Price, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Alpine Space Ventures, and others – with an additional $500M in signed contracts across commercial and US government customers – we’re mass-producing the highest-power satellite platforms ever built for missions from LEO to deep space.

The rise of heavy-lift launch vehicles is shifting the industry from an era of mass constraint to one of mass abundance, and we believe this new era demands a fundamentally different class of spacecraft. Engineered to survive the harshest radiation environments and to fully capitalize on today’s and tomorrow’s massive rockets, K2 satellites deliver unmatched capability at constellation scale and across multiple orbits.

With multiple launches planned through 2026 and 2027, we're Building Bigger to develop the solar system and become a Kardashev Type II (K2) civilization. If you are a motivated individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment and you're excited about contributing to the success of a groundbreaking Series C space startup, we’d love for you to apply.

The Role

K2 Space is growing fast, and our future team starts with the students and new grads we bring in today. We're looking for a University Recruiting Lead who genuinely enjoys getting to know students, faculty, and career centers, and who wants campus recruiting to feel like the start of a real relationship, not just a transaction. You'll be the person who finds great students, helps us choose the right ones fairly, and makes sure their internship or first job here actually sets them up to do meaningful work. You'll partner closely with our engineers, our People team, and our leadership, and you'll have real ownership over how this program grows. This role is based in person at our headquarters in Torrance, CA, with regular trips out to campuses and career fairs.

Responsibilities

• Build and own our intern and new grad recruiting strategy, covering how we attract students, how we select them, and how we set them up to succeed once they join us
• Build relationships with target schools (career centers, student clubs, labs, and professional societies) so we're a familiar, steady presence on campus instead of a company that only shows up once a year
• Create a warm, genuine employer brand for students: campus events, info sessions, career fairs, ambassador programs, and content that gets students excited about K2 well before they start job hunting
• Design and improve our interview process for interns and new grads so it feels fair, clear, and focused on potential rather than years of experience, with rubrics that keep bias out of the room
• Work with engineering and other team leads to shape internship projects and new grad placements so people land in roles where they can actually contribute and learn
• Own the process for turning great interns into full-time offers, including deciding when, how, and to whom we extend those offers
• Manage full cycle recruiting for intern and new grad roles, from the first conversation through the offer
• Partner with People/HR on onboarding, mentorship, and the everyday details of running an intern program, like housing support, events, and manager training
• Keep an eye on how well our pipeline is working (conversion, sourcing, offer acceptance) and use what you learn to make each recruiting cycle better than the last
• Build our early career hiring plan and calendar with Finance and People so campus recruiting lines up with where K2 is headed

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree
• 4+ years of full-cycle recruiting experience, including real ownership of a university or early career recruiting program
• Experience recruiting for technical roles (engineering, hardware, and/or software)
• Experience building or growing an internship or new grad program, not just filling open roles
• A track record of building genuine relationships with university career centers, faculty, and student organizations
• Strong project and people skills, and you're comfortable juggling multiple campus cycles and events at once
• A natural communicator who can make K2's mission land with students and new grads

Nice to Have

• Experience recruiting for aerospace, defense, or other hardware-heavy industries
• Experience in an organization with serious compliance requirements such as ITAR and OFCCP
• Experience running a structured intern cohort program (30+ interns)
• Familiarity with campus recruiting tools like Handshake and Greenhouse
• Comfort with data, and using it to spot what's working and fix what isn't
• Experience thriving in a fast-moving, resource-conscious startup
• Happy to travel regularly to campuses and career fairs

Compensation and Benefits:

• Base salary range for this role is $100,000 to $150,000 plus equity in the company
• Salary will be based on several factors including, but not limited to: knowledge and skills, education, and experience level
• Comprehensive benefits package including paid time off, medical/dental/vision coverage, life insurance, paid parental leave, and many other perks

If you don’t meet 100% of the preferred skills and experience, we encourage you to still apply! Building a spacecraft unlike any other requires a team unlike any other and non-traditional career twists and turns are encouraged!

If you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.

Export Compliance

As defined in the ITAR, “U.S. Persons” include U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (i.e., Green Card holders), and certain protected individuals (e.g., refugees/asylees, American Samoans). Please consult with a knowledgeable advisor if you are unsure whether you are a “U.S. Person.”

The person hired for this role will have access to information and items controlled by U.S. export control regulations, including the export control regulations outlined in the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR). The person hired for this role must therefore either be a “U.S. person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.15 or otherwise eligible for a federally issued export control license.

Equal Opportunity

K2 Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with K2 Space is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.