Head of Talent

We're a nonprofit startup building the workforce that protects humanity. Since 2022, we've trained over 6,000 people in AI safety and biosecurity. Our alumni work at Anthropic, DeepMind, the UK AI Safety Institute, and dozens of other organisations shaping how transformative technologies affect the world. We're a small team based in London, expanding to San Francisco in Q2 2026. We raised $25M in 2025.

Why this role matters

BlueDot’s impact depends on bringing on exceptional people to our team and programs. We are hiring a Head of Talent to build the engine that attracts, retains, and supports the workforce that protects humanity. We are a small, high velocity team, at our biggest inflection point yet. We've raised $25M, are expanding from London to SF, and in the midst of scaling from 7 to 25 people. We are looking for a Head of Talent that can accelerate our hiring velocity, attract and retain top mission-oriented talent, and build out our people and recruitment functions from the ground up. The Head of Talent will report to and work closely with the CEO.

What you’ll do

• Find and hire exceptional people
• Source the best people relentlessly and creatively
• Build warm relationships with exceptional people even before we have a role open, so that when we do, you already know who to call
• Understand what drives each candidate and tailor the pitch accordingly, so they realise a fast, mission-driven, talent-dense nonprofit is the best place for them.
• Lead offer negotiations including compensation to close our ideal hires
• Design and own the end-to-end hiring process (application forms, work tests, interviews, and work trials) that are so good that candidates rave about them even if they don't get the job
• Bring the median time from first contact to offer down from 12 to 4 weeks
• Scale our high velocity culture
• Design and own compensation strategy, employee onboarding, and performance management to ensure that the best teammates perform, stay, and grow at BlueDot
• Oversee all people operations: contracts, payroll coordination, benefits, and the admin infrastructure that keeps a growing team running. You’ll manage external contractors/agencies for most of this.
• Own BlueDot's employer brand
• Make sure the world knows that BlueDot is one of the most exciting places to work in AI safety
• Keep BlueDot top of mind for exceptional talent by building relationships with them and working with the team on content and events

For the first 6 months, the Head of Talent role is focused on scaling the internal BlueDot team. Beyond that, there is the potential for the Head of Talent to also lead talent recruitment for BlueDot’s programs.

About you

We're looking for a high velocity, magnetic leader to build the talent engine that will unlock BlueDot’s ability to scale in the next six months and beyond.

Who you are:

• Have good taste for talent. You can quickly and accurately tell who will thrive in a high-agency, mission-driven startup, and who won't.
• Source relentlessly. You don't sit back and wait for applications. You know (or could quickly learn) the AI safety talent landscape and can find where our ideal candidates live.
• Consistently close top talent. You know how to compete for and win top talent. You can build the hiring process, employer brand, compensation philosophy, and offer negotiation strategy that mean offers are always accepted.
• Care about the mission. You understand why AI safety and pandemic preparedness matter, and you're keen to learn more. You know that scaling BlueDot is essential for helping us protect humanity.
• Can sell the mission. You understand what motivates different types of people and how to pitch BlueDot as their best option. You're persuasive, charismatic and credible.

Preferred experience:

We're not looking for someone who checks every box. These are examples of backgrounds that might be relevant. If one resonates, we want to hear from you.

• Early stage startup experience at a pre-Series B startup or equivalent: you know what it feels like to scale without a playbook
• Recruited high-bar candidates in a field where the best people aren't always actively looking and recruitment is competitive
• Built a people function from scratch: hiring process, comp bands, onboarding, first hires
• Kept a fast-growing team coherent: as part of the people function, a team lead, chief of staff, or other role; you kept culture and performance high as a team grew 3x+ in a year

What we offer

• Massive impact: This is an opportunity to build a people function from the ground up, and directly scale the AI safety workforce.
• San Francisco-based role: This is an in-person role in our new SF office starting in Q2 2026. US visa sponsorship available.
• Freedom and autonomy: Our expense policy is "act in BlueDot's best interest", unlimited PTO, minimal bureaucracy.
• $200–260k salary depending on experience, 10% employer 401(k) contribution (no match required), and comprehensive health insurance.