Founding Talent Partner (San Francisco)

Note: We are recruiting on behalf of our valued client. This opportunity is for a position with their organization, not with People Culture Talent. We're excited to help connect talented professionals with this exceptional team!

The Role

We're hiring a Founding Talent Partner to build and scale recruiting at a fast growing stealth robotics company. This is the first dedicated recruiting hire and an opportunity to build the talent function from the ground up.

You’ll partner directly with founders and senior leaders to define hiring strategy, design recruiting processes, and attract exceptional talent across technical, operational, and leadership functions. As the organization enters a period of accelerated growth, you’ll play a critical role in shaping both the team and the candidate experience.

We're looking for someone who combines strategic recruiting instincts with operational excellence and genuine grit. You’ll be equally comfortable building sourcing strategies, partnering with hiring managers on talent calibration, and personally driving searches for highly competitive candidates.

If you’re energized by ambiguity and can craft fresh playbooks when old ones fall short, enjoy building new systems while offering strategic guidance, and are excited to evolve in a high growth environment, we’d love to connect.

What You’ll Own

• Own Full Cycle Recruiting — Lead hiring across technical, GTM, operations, and leadership roles simultaneously.
• Strategic Sourcing — Go beyond traditional, volume driven sourcing to identify overlooked talent, build lasting relationships, and create repeatable sourcing strategies.
• Leadership Partnership — Collaborate with founders and hiring managers to clarify hiring priorities, align on ideal candidate profiles, and build a structured, effective interview process.
• Employer Brand — Shape the employer brand and candidate experience, from initial outreach through offer.
• ATS & System Optimization — Own and optimize our ATS infrastructure (Ashby), scorecards, and pipeline analytics to ensure a scalable hiring process.
• Hiring Health & Insights — Monitor funnel health (pass-through rates, time-to-hire, rejection themes) and turn those insights into better, faster hiring decisions.
• Team Leadership — Coach current stakeholders and, as the company scales, hire and develop a recruiting team.

What You’ll Bring

• Bring 6+ years of full cycle recruiting, preferably in fast moving startups or technical environments.
• Have built or significantly shaped a recruiting function and can define the bar while scaling it.
• Excel at generating pipelines early: you uncover overlooked candidates and use creative approaches to keep funnels full.
• Work comfortably with modern tools and AI enabled workflows, using them to increase leverage and speed without sacrificing judgment.
• Show grit, humility, and steady maturity: you give candid feedback when needed, stay composed, and protect the candidate experience.
• Learn quickly and create new playbooks when the old ones don’t apply.
• Communicate crisply with a strong, client-facing style; fluent written and spoken English.
• Able to collaborate on Pacific Time, with occasional evening or weekend conversations as needed.
• Background in deep tech and/or hardware recruiting is a bonus, not a requirement.

Why Join Now

• A Rare Stage of Growth — The company has achieved meaningful traction and recently secured a $100M Series A, creating a unique opportunity to join at a moment where your work will directly influence how the company operates and grows as it enters its next chapter.
• Real Impact — You’ll join a team focused on solving complex challenges with technology that is already delivering measurable value in live environments.
• Work Alongside Exceptional People — The team is composed of experienced builders and technical leaders who care deeply about their craft and maintain a high bar for execution.
• Strong Backing and Long-Term Vision — With significant investor support and a growing market opportunity, the company is positioned to invest aggressively in both talent and technology for years to come.
• Build the Future, Not Just Maintain It — This is an environment for people who enjoy creating and shaping what comes next, not simply operating within systems that already exist.

Compensation Band

The starting salary for this role is $175,000 USD , with a range up to $290,000 USD . The provided salary depends on many factors, such as work experience and transferable skills, business needs and impact, and market demands.

About Our Client

This fast growing stealth robotics company is building advanced technologies that help organizations tackle some of the most complex challenges in the physical world. Recently backed by a $100M Series A led by top tier investors, the company combines cutting edge hardware with operational intelligence to develop solutions that improve how critical work gets done at scale.

Focused on deployment and measurable outcomes, the team is committed to bringing technology into live operating environments rather than keeping it confined to research and development. Their products are already generating valuable data and insights that drive continuous improvement, accelerate innovation, and strengthen their long term advantage.

As the company enters an exciting new phase of growth, it is investing heavily in both talent and technology. For individuals who are energized by ambitious challenges, meaningful ownership, and the opportunity to make a lasting impact, this is a rare chance to join at a transformative moment in the company's journey.