Steve Navarro

Technical Recruiting Leader with 18+ years of full-cycle hiring experience across Fortune 1 and Fortune 1000 enterprises, high-growth startups, and mission-critical technology organizations — spanning semiconductors, cloud/VoIP communications, software engineering, solar, and defense sectors. Deep domain expertise recruiting for AI/ML, full-stack and FinTech software engineering, Big Data, cloud communications, semiconductor, computational lithography, Unified Communications, datacenter/storage, and finance/accounting leadership. Adept at engaging C-suite executives, SVPs, and line managers to build strategic sourcing plans and convert passive candidates through targeted research, boolean search, and cold outreach.

Senior Talent Acquisition Partner (Technical Recruiter) - Walmart Global Tech - Sunnyvale, CA

(2018-08)

Lead full-cycle technical recruiting for Walmart Global Tech (Fortune 1), supporting software engineering and finance/accounting functions at enterprise scale. Scope spans engineering levels L3 through Principal, including Full-Stack, Frontend, Backend, and FinTech Software Engineers; Principal TPMs; Project Managers; Directors of Engineering; and Senior Managers across Record to Report, Accounts Receivable, Supplier to Serve, Lease Accounting, Global Subsidiary Accounting, Governance, Tax, Compliance, and Treasury.

• Delivered 75 offers across the full fiscal year (Feb 2025 – Jan 2026), and 13 offers in the first 3 months of the current fiscal year (Feb 2026 – present) — operating as a solo recruiter with limited sourcing coordination support.
• Maintained an average time-to-fill of ~60 days across a complex, high-volume requisition load spanning engineering and accounting leadership roles.
• Pioneered AI-driven resume force-ranking to shortlist and prioritize candidate profiles, reducing average review cycles from 1+ week to next-day turnaround in many cases.
• Leveraged AI tools (Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, ChatGPT) for sourcing list curation — identifying targeted companies, locations, relevant titles, and generating optimized boolean search strings.

Senior Technical Recruiter - Orbotech - San Jose, CA

(2017-09 - 2018-07)

Lead full-cycle technical recruiter for Photon Dynamics, the yield management business unit of Orbotech. Hired across a broad spectrum of roles including software engineers, algorithm developers, motion control engineers, directors, hardware managers, senior operations managers, final test engineers, mechanical/optical assembly technicians, mechatronics engineers, process engineers, data scientists, product managers, Controller/Director of Finance, and program/project managers.

• Core Areas: Metrology, system design & integration, motion controls, manufacturing/device fabrication, hardware engineering, mechatronics, C/C++, Solaris/Unix, algorithm development, software architecture, final tool test & validation, QA, supply chain/purchasing.
• Built targeted pipelines of scarce, hard-to-find technical talent through LinkedIn, database mining, web scraping, and cold outreach — supporting an unusually broad role mix from technicians to Directors and Controllers.

Senior Recruiter - ASML (Brion Technologies) - San Jose, CA

(2016-09 - 2017-04)

Lead full-cycle recruiter for Brion Technologies, the software business unit of ASML — a global leader in semiconductor lithography systems. Hired software engineers, technical leads, data scientists, systems engineers, architects, product engineers, product marketing managers, account executives, and Field Application Engineers.

• Core Areas: Photolithography, algorithm development, C++, Python, Java, front-end/back-end/full-stack, UI/UX design, Optical Proximity Correction, Pattern Fidelity Control, Resolution Enhancement Technique, metrology/defect inspection, Source Mask Optimization, D4C, Big Data, Machine Learning, AI, SQA.
• Delivered 44 offers (35 hires) within six months through a blended pipeline of passive prospects, employee referrals, agency submissions, and direct applicants.
• Led a distributed team of 2 remotely deployed sourcers, 1 recruiting coordinator, and external agency resources.

Senior Technical Recruiter - Intel Corporation - Santa Clara, CA

(2015-04 - 2016-09)

Member of the ProActive Talent Solutions team, supporting Intel's diversity hiring strategy. Sourced and hired hardware/software engineers, technical leads, analysts, technicians, data scientists, and researchers across multiple business units.

• Core Areas: IC design, enterprise networking, 5G/4G/LTE, IoT, embedded firmware, pre/post-silicon test engineering, wearable technologies (biosensors), cloud infrastructure, OpenStack, Environmental Health & Safety.
• Facilitated 29 offers (23 hires) within the first 11 months — exceeding the initial target of 2 hires/month by over 2×.
• Executed targeted passive candidate outreach via LinkedIn, database mining, web scraping, and cold-calling to build diverse, high-quality pipelines.

Lead Recruiter - 8x8, Inc. - San Jose, CA

(2012-07 - 2015-03)

Owned full life-cycle recruiting for 8x8, a leader in cloud-based business communications and unified communications. Hired directors, software engineers, technical leads, account executives, sales, deployment engineers, marketing managers, technical support engineers, network engineers, analysts, and technicians across technical and non-technical functions.

• Core Areas: Software development (Java, front-end/back-end/full-stack, mobile apps), product management, Network Operations/DevOps, enterprise/SMB channel sales, customer success, marketing, finance (SEC reporting, AP, GL), and human resources.
• Identified and closed 100+ hires over 2.5 years across technical and non-technical functions through prospecting, cold-calling, interviewing, and salary negotiation.
• Partnered with C-level executives, SVPs, directors, and line managers to architect candidate sourcing plans — defining candidate pools, hiring criteria, core competencies, KPIs, and target skill levels.
• Managed 3rd-party vendor relationships (contingent staffing firms), including contract negotiations, viability assessments, and sourcing strategy development.
• Supervised design and rollout of SmartRecruiters ATS — led vetting, testing, implementation, staff training, and served as in-house system administrator and primary point of contact for external support.
• Hired and mentored a junior recruiter and recruiting intern; led overall 8x8 recruiting strategy.

Corporate Recruiter - Huawei Enterprise Group - Santa Clara, CA

(2011-10 - 2012-07)

Managed full life-cycle recruiting for the Enterprise networking and datacenter division. Served as lead recruiter for Channel Sales, Solution Sales, Marketing, and the GM Office across three key product areas: Routing/Switching (IP), Datacenter (IT), and Unified Communications (CT).

• Core Areas: Enterprise networking, videoconferencing & telepresence, virtual office, pre/post-sales engineering, systems architecture, solutions engineering, Solid State Drive (SSD), branding and marketing communications.
• Closed 14 hires in under 9 months: 4 channel sales managers, Director of Operations, 2 solutions architects, 2 marketing managers, technical marketing engineer, product marketing manager, solution sales manager, bid manager, business analyst, and facilities/office admin.
• Architected strategic sourcing plans — identified candidate pools, established hiring criteria, core competencies, and skill-level requirements.
• Owned end-to-end offer and onboarding activities — approvals, offer letters, background screens, start dates, new-hire paperwork, and IT/HR/badging coordination.

Recruiter - Solyndra, LLC - Fremont, CA

(2011-07 - 2011-08)

• Core Areas: Solar cell manufacturing & design, IT/desktop support, C#/C++, equipment maintenance, process engineering, mechanical engineering, systems automation & calibration, packaging/injection molding.
• Sourced and screened engineers and technicians via database mining, phone sourcing, on-site interviewing, and referral management.
• Presented salary analysis, hiring criteria, and candidate profiles through to offer stage.

HR Staffing Specialist - SVTC Technologies, LLC - San Jose / Morgan Hill, CA

(2010-12 - 2011-07)

Sourcer - Force10 Networks - San Jose / Morgan Hill, CA

(2010-04 - 2010-11)

Staffing Coordinator - SunPower Corporation - San Jose / Morgan Hill, CA

(2009-06 - 2010-04)

Candidate Sourcer - Independent Consulting - San Jose / Morgan Hill, CA

(2008-09 - 2010-04)

Director of Sales - InsidersReferral.com, Inc. - San Jose / Morgan Hill, CA

(2009-01 - 2009-03)

Recruiter - ITT Corporation - San Jose / Morgan Hill, CA

(2008-07 - 2008-09)

Executive Director - MHT Employment Center - San Jose, CA

(2006 - 2015)

Directed daily operations of a federally funded nonprofit employment center, providing career counseling, resume review, and job placement services to skilled and semi-skilled job seekers.

• Coached clients on career profile development, job search strategies, interview preparation, networking, and salary negotiation across light industrial, construction, retail, administrative, and custodial sectors.

B.S. - Human Resource Management - San Francisco State University