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Principal Associate - Students & Grads Recruiting Lead, Product Team

Capital One

Capital One

People & HR, Product
McLean, VA, USA · Richmond, VA, USA
Posted on Feb 5, 2026
Principal Associate - Students & Grads Recruiting Lead, Product Team

Capital One’s Students and Grads Recruiting team is at the forefront of attracting, sourcing, and developing future leaders. We aspire to provide a best-in-class experience for candidates, hiring teams, program associates, and business partners, and have a ton of fun along the way. Our culture and people are integral to our growth and success and we’re looking for proactive, innovative leaders with a knack for finding the best of the best to join our team.

The ideal candidate will have proven experience in leading people and projects in a well-managed way. You should be excited about the opportunity to influence strategic decisions using a data-backed approach. We are looking for team-players who are solution and detail oriented, are comfortable working in ambiguity, and have superior communication and influencing skills.

As a Principal Associate in Students and Grads Recruiting, you will lead your team’s recruiting activities focused on hiring talent for our Product Programs. You and your team will effectively manage candidates through the recruiting and selection process, provide consultation and guidance to internal clients, and complete projects that enhance the recruiting experience. As a recruiting leader, you will drive day-to-day data management and reporting and keep abreast of trends and innovative recruiting techniques that enable us to be a best-in-class recruitment organization.

Roles and Responsibilities

  • People leadership - lead and develop a team of recruiters responsible for identifying and acquiring top campus talent

  • Client management - partner with fellow team leaders, hiring managers, campus programs teams, and other key stakeholders to understand recruiting needs and developing strategies to meet hiring goals

  • Candidate management - lead a team in executing a sourcing and recruiting strategy that identifies top talent and delivers an optimal candidate experience

  • Season prep & interview logistics - partner with operations ahead of each season on forecasting, selection logistics, and interviewer engagement strategies

  • Problem solving - Look ahead and identify potential obstacles, deadlines or problems that may be coming and actively own and drive solutions and actions to help mitigate, using data to inform recommendations and drive work forward

  • Data management & reporting - Drive day-to-day data management and reporting of sourcing and recruiting pipelines to keep partner teams informed and drive strategic decision-making

  • Administrative tasks - Leverage Workday and other recruiting technologies necessary to fulfill role requirements

  • Ad hoc project work & documentation - lead miscellaneous department projects through project management frameworks; create clear and engaging decks for strategy-sharing and process capture, making critical information easily accessible and well-organized for the team

Basic Qualifications

  • High School Diploma, GED, or equivalent certification

  • At least 3 years of experience in recruiting, human resources, client consulting OR a combination of the three

  • At least 1 year of People Leadership experience

Preferred Qualifications

  • 2+ years of people leadership experience

  • 2+ years of campus recruiting experience

  • 2+ years of technical recruiting experience

  • 2+ years of project or process management experience

  • 3+ years of experience in Client Management

  • 4+ years of experience in Corporate Recruiting – full life cycle, research, and sourcing

  • Experience interpreting metrics, trends, and data to drive decisions

  • Ability to influence and drive results in a fast-paced environment

  • Ability to use innovative techniques to attract and recruit diverse talent

  • Experience in compensation and general HR requirements as related to hiring

At this time, Capital One will not sponsor a new applicant for employment authorization for this position.

The minimum and maximum full-time annual salaries for this role are listed below, by location. Please note that this salary information is solely for candidates hired to perform work within one of these locations, and refers to the amount Capital One is willing to pay at the time of this posting. Salaries for part-time roles will be prorated based upon the agreed upon number of hours to be regularly worked.

McLean, VA: $120,800 - $137,900 for Principal Recruiter


Richmond, VA: $109,900 - $125,400 for Principal Recruiter










Candidates hired to work in other locations will be subject to the pay range associated with that location, and the actual annualized salary amount offered to any candidate at the time of hire will be reflected solely in the candidate’s offer letter.

This role is also eligible to earn performance based incentive compensation, which may include cash bonus(es) and/or long term incentives (LTI). Incentives could be discretionary or non discretionary depending on the plan.

Capital One offers a comprehensive, competitive, and inclusive set of health, financial and other benefits that support your total well-being. Learn more at the Capital One Careers website. Eligibility varies based on full or part-time status, exempt or non-exempt status, and management level.

This role is expected to accept applications for a minimum of 5 business days.No agencies please. Capital One is an equal opportunity employer (EOE, including disability/vet) committed to non-discrimination in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Capital One promotes a drug-free workplace. Capital One will consider for employment qualified applicants with a criminal history in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable laws regarding criminal background inquiries, including, to the extent applicable, Article 23-A of the New York Correction Law; San Francisco, California Police Code Article 49, Sections 4901-4920; New York City’s Fair Chance Act; Philadelphia’s Fair Criminal Records Screening Act; and other applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations regarding criminal background inquiries.

If you have visited our website in search of information on employment opportunities or to apply for a position, and you require an accommodation, please contact Capital One Recruiting at 1-800-304-9102 or via email at RecruitingAccommodation@capitalone.com. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodations.

For technical support or questions about Capital One's recruiting process, please send an email to Careers@capitalone.com

Capital One does not provide, endorse nor guarantee and is not liable for third-party products, services, educational tools or other information available through this site.

Capital One Financial is made up of several different entities. Please note that any position posted in Canada is for Capital One Canada, any position posted in the United Kingdom is for Capital One Europe and any position posted in the Philippines is for Capital One Philippines Service Corp. (COPSSC).