Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist

About the role

Team CATHEXIS elevates the government contracting experience through rapid response, deep skill, and thoughtful problem-solving and communication. Our core capabilities are our top-tier program and project management, data analytics, and audit services, the backbone of which is our integrated approach to operational excellence. Our values are centered around leading with integrity, owning the outcome, growing together, and moving with purpose in everything we do for our employees, customers, partners, and communities. We believe success is best when we listen and lead with empathy; model high standards of ethics to provide a rewarding candidate experience; work hard, have fun, and appreciate the strengths we all bring to the team; and empower our employees to create innovative and trusted results. We are seeking an exceptional Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist to join our growing Talent Acquisition team. This is a senior, strategic role — not a transactional recruiting seat. You will own full-lifecycle recruiting for cleared technical positions across our federal client portfolio, with immediate ownership of surge requisitions for AI/ML Engineers and Data Scientists.

Responsibilities

• Own full-lifecycle delivery for assigned cleared technical requisitions — structured intake, market mapping and sourcing strategy, outreach, technical screening, interview coordination and velocity management, and offers and negotiations.
• Hunt passive cleared talent — AI/ML Engineers, Data Scientists, and adjacent domains (software engineering, cloud/DevOps, data engineering, etc.) through ClearanceJobs, LinkedIn Recruiter, Boolean search, professional networks, etc.
• Recruit across clearance levels (Secret through TS/SCI), with a solid understanding of clearance eligibility.
• Screen with technical credibility — assess ML frameworks, data pipelines, model deployment, and cloud architecture experience well enough to earn the respect of hiring managers and candidates alike.
• Run offers like a closer: cleared-market compensation intelligence, expectation-setting from first contact, pre-closing before the offer stage, and structured counteroffer negotiations.
• Build and maintain a talent pipeline of cleared AI/ML and data science talent — and deliver reporting metrics.
• Architect durable, always-on talent pipelines — tiered engagement of prior contacts, networks, referral cultivation, and employer-brand touchpoints — so surge demand is met from warm pipeline rather than cold-start sourcing.
• Partner with hiring managers — structured intake meetings, weekly data-backed pipeline reviews, market feedback, and proposed resolutions.
• Provide consultative guidance to hiring managers on interview best practices, offer strategy, talent/req activity, candidate experience, etc.
• Influence and advise when necessary — advocating for competitive offers, realistic timelines, and process improvements that protect candidate quality and business outcomes.
• Represent CATHEXIS credibly to every candidate.
• Own your numbers — time-to-fill, source-of-hire, submittal-to-interview and interview-to-offer ratios, and offer acceptance.
• Present market intelligence, pipeline insights, and recruitment performance summaries to stakeholders and the Director, Talent Acquisition with clear, actionable recommendations.
• Operate