[Hiring] Founding Talent Lead @Graswald

Role Description

This is a foundational hire. As our first Founding Talent Lead, you won't just fill roles - you'll build the engine that powers Graswald AI's growth. You'll own the full talent function from day one: defining how we hire, who we hire, and how fast we move. You'll work closely with the founding team to attract exceptional people across engineering, commercial, and operational disciplines - and you'll be as comfortable sourcing a senior ML engineer as you are closing a Head of Sales. This is a hands-on, high-ownership role for someone who thrives in ambiguity, moves with urgency, and cares deeply about candidate experience and quality of hire.

What You'll Do

• Build the Talent Function
  • Design and own Graswald AI's end-to-end hiring process - from sourcing strategy to offer - across all teams.
  • Define our employer brand and value proposition to attract world-class candidates.
  • Select and implement the ATS, sourcing tools, and AI-powered recruitment platforms that will underpin how we hire.
  • Establish hiring principles, scorecards, and structured interview frameworks to ensure consistent, high-quality decisions.
• Drive the Candidate Experience
  • Lead first-round interviews across all functions, assessing for skills, values, and potential.
  • Design and iterate on take-home tasks and technical assessments tailored to each role.
  • Act as a thoughtful advocate for candidates throughout the process, ensuring every interaction with Graswald AI is exceptional.
• Own Recruiting Across the Business
  • Partner closely with hiring managers across engineering, product, operations, and commercial teams to understand role requirements and team needs.
  • Actively source candidates directly through LinkedIn, community networks, events, and AI-assisted tools.
  • Manage relationships with external recruiters and headhunters, holding them to high standards while keeping agency spend lean.
  • Write compelling, accurate job descriptions that attract the right candidates and reflect our culture.
• Own the End-to-End Hiring Process
  • Manage the legal and administrative hiring process from offer acceptance through to signed contracts.
  • Draft and issue offer letters, employment contracts, and NDAs in coordination with legal counsel where required.
  • Coordinate background checks, right-to-work verification, and any role-specific compliance requirements.
  • Serve as the primary point of contact for candidates during the offer and pre-boarding period, keeping the process smooth and professional through to day one.
• Advise on Compensation & Career Progression
  • Own compensation benchmarking across all functions - maintaining a clear view of market rates for salary and equity to keep Graswald AI competitive and consistent.
  • Partner with the founding team to design and evolve our equity and compensation philosophy as we scale.
  • Build and maintain a levelling framework and career progression pathways across teams, giving candidates and employees clarity on how they grow at Graswald AI.
  • Advise hiring managers on offer structuring, ensuring packages are compelling, fair, and sustainable within our comp bands.
• Think Strategically
  • Build and maintain talent pipelines for critical roles before they become urgent.
  • Track and report on key hiring metrics - time to hire, source quality, pipeline health - and use data to improve.
  • Stay ahead of the market: compensation benchmarks, talent trends, and competitor hiring signals.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in talent/recruiting, with at least 2–3 years in a high-growth, venture-backed startup or scale-up.
• Proven track record of hiring strong technical talent - software engineers, ML/AI roles, or similar - in a competitive market.
• Experience building or significantly improving a hiring function, not just executing within one.
• Comfortable owning commercial and operational hiring in parallel with technical roles.

Skills & Approach

• Exceptional sourcing skills - you don't wait for inbound; you go and find people.
• Familiarity with AI-powered recruiting and sourcing tools.
• Strong judgment and interviewing instincts - you can assess a candidate's potential and motivations, not just their CV.
• Sharp written communication - your job descriptions make people want to apply.
• Highly organised and data-driven; you track what matters and act on it.
• Low ego, high ownership - you're as happy scheduling interviews as you are advising on org design.

What We Offer

• Competitive compensation package including stock options.
• The opportunity to shape the culture and team of a company at a genuinely exciting inflection point.
• 26 Working Days of Paid Vacation + 24.12 and 31.12: You’ll have plenty of time to unwind and enjoy life outside of work.
• Flexible Work Options: Choose to work remotely from anywhere at the times that work best for your job. You decide what suits you best.
• Annual Company Offsite: Enjoy a yearly team offsite where we come together to plan, connect, and have some fun.
• Premium Work Equipment: Get fully set up for success with the laptop & monitor of your choice, ensuring you have everything you need to do your best work.
• Wellhub Subscription: Access thousands of gyms, fitness studios, and wellness apps to support your physical and mental well-being, wherever you are.