Founding Talent Lead - Applied AI Start-up

Salary: up to c$220k + stock options

Location: Soho, New York

Working style: 4-5 days on-site

Contact: FT

Introduction:

Hawkwood are partnering with a tier one VC-backed Applied AI start-up in their search for a Founding Talent Lead, to be based in Soho, New York.

Our client has an impressive Founding team with highly-relevant industry experience. They are now deploying their experience to build an innovative start-up which is driving the adoption and utilization of AI across large, complex industries - many of which are the backbone of the US economy.

About the role:

This is the first dedicated Talent Acquisition hire into the company and, as such, the successful candidate will lead on all recruitment, as well as the effective build out of recruitment operations and the talent attraction strategy.

• Run full-cycle recruiting across engineering, AI/ML, product, operations, and leadership roles
• Partner with the CEO and leadership team on hiring goals, headcount planning, and compensation strategy
• Build and manage recruiting operations, tracking funnel health, forecasting needs, and optimizing hiring metrics
• Coach early-career recruiters and define what “great” looks like in hiring across the business
• Shape and evolve the candidate experience, including interview design, assessment methods, and Percepta’s market positioning
• Establish foundational people systems covering onboarding, contractor sourcing, and employer branding

About you:

• Experience recruiting high-calibre technical talent within machine learning and AI, as part of an internal recruitment role
• Experience working in Talent Acquisition within an early stage start-up (sub-100 employees), such that you have a demonstrable track-record of securing sought-after talent in the face of larger, more established competitors
• Proven ability to source, pitch, and close exceptional technical and business talent
• A systems mindset, with experience designing and measuring hiring pipelines
• Strong communication skills and sound judgment in shaping narrative and culture standards
• A balance of strategic leadership and hands-on execution
• A bias for action, creativity under pressure, and ownership over outcomes

Next steps:

We recognise how challenging this current job market is for candidates, and Hawkwood are therefore striving to provide the best candidate experience we can.

If you are interested in this opportunity, we kindly request that you apply via this LinkedIn advert, as opposed to sending us an email or LinkedIn direct message. We are eager to ensure that each candidate application is considered fairly, and receives a consistent experience.

Unfortunately, we cannot ensure this standard if you enquire about a role via email or LinkedIn message, as it falls outside of our established process.