Head of Talent / Talent Lead

About the Role

Join an innovative early-stage AI company headquartered in New York City, building AI-native agents to integrate seamlessly across finance, marketing, operations, and engineering tools, aiming to consolidate and replace multiple SaaS applications with a single intelligent coworker.
As the Head of Talent, you will spearhead talent acquisition for two rapidly growing AI startups, executing full-cycle recruitment from sourcing through closing, and crafting scalable hiring systems alongside company founders. This is an onsite position based in NYC.

Key Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end hiring processes for engineering, go-to-market, and operations roles across NYC, Warsaw, and Munich.
• Lead proactive talent sourcing using outbound strategies to build targeted candidate pipelines and conduct engaging outreach campaigns.
• Develop and implement hiring frameworks including AI-driven workflows, scorecards, structured interview loops, applicant tracking system (ATS) configuration, referral programs, and employer branding to scale teams from 20 to over 100 employees.
• Conduct candidate negotiations and promote the company's mission, products, equity incentives, and team culture to secure top talent.
• Collaborate with founders on organizational design decisions involving hiring priorities, timing, and team composition.
• Track and manage talent acquisition metrics such as time-to-hire, source effectiveness, offer acceptance rates, and six-month retention.

Candidate Requirements

• Must be located in New York City and able to work onsite full-time.
• Proven experience establishing and building recruiting functions from the ground up in high-growth startup environments.
• Capability to recruit across multiple disciplines: engineering, GTM, and operations.
• Hands-on expertise with AI-enabled hiring workflows, scorecard development, interview process design, and ATS implementation.
• Strong intuition and high standards for identifying and attracting exceptional talent.
• Demonstrated ability to manage outbound sourcing for competitive technical roles.

Desirable Qualifications

• Experience as one of the first or second talent hires in a tech startup that has scaled from under 50 to over 100 employees.
• Familiarity with international recruitment, particularly in Poland and Germany.
• Practical knowledge of leveraging AI tools for recruitment optimization.
• Established network within the AI and machine learning talent community.
• Track record of partnering with founders on organizational development and strategic hiring plans.

Soft Skills

• High ownership and self-driven attitude with an execution-focused mindset.
• Exceptional persuasive and candidate closing capabilities.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, minimally process-driven environment with founder proximity.
• Strong decision-making and the confidence to challenge leadership constructively.

Work Environment and Culture

The organization maintains a small, high-trust team with minimal bureaucracy. Talent acquisition is valued as a "contact sport," emphasizing the effectiveness of onsite collaboration and direct interactions over remote alternatives. Candidates should expect to begin searching for talent immediately upon joining.

Additional Information

• This is a strategically critical hiring role with direct reporting and partnership with the founders.
• The company does not provide visa sponsorship or relocation support; applicants must have existing authorization to work in the United States and be willing to work full-time onsite in New York City.