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- Tasks: Lead the hiring process for a groundbreaking AI scale-up and shape its talent strategy.
- Company: Join a VC-backed AI business with ambitious growth plans and a collaborative culture.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, bonuses, equity, and the chance to build a team from scratch.
- Other info: Opportunity for career growth into a leadership role as the company expands.
- Why this job: Be part of an innovative journey, hiring top talent and shaping the future of AI.
- Qualifications: 5+ years in tech recruitment, especially in fast-paced startup environments.
The predicted salary is between 80000 - 120000 £ per year.
This is a confidential opportunity to join a VC-backed AI business building something genuinely new - digitising critical workflows, data and decision-making across the physical world. The long-term vision is highly ambitious: to build a proprietary dataset that can help automate increasingly complex field-based work over time, including through AI, robotics and natural language interfaces. Backed by Index Ventures, the company has recently raised a major funding round and is scaling rapidly, with strong revenue growth, high customer expansion, and a global enterprise client base. With significant runway and ambitious growth plans, hiring is now one of the company’s most important strategic priorities.
As the Founding Recruiter, you will work directly with the founders to build the talent function from first principles. The immediate mandate is clear: hire exceptional engineers and commercially-minded deployment talent at pace, while creating the systems, processes and candidate experience that allow the business to scale without compromising on quality. This is not a pure process role. It is a hands-on, high-ownership opportunity for someone who wants to be close to the company-building journey - sourcing exceptional people, shaping the employer value proposition, raising the bar, and helping build the team that will define the next chapter of the business. Over time, this role has the potential to grow into a broader Talent and People leadership position as the company scales.
This role is fully office-based, with a five-day-per-week presence in their London office. The team believes strongly in the pace, energy and camaraderie that comes from building together in person.
What you'll do:
- Build and own the hiring engine across engineering, deployment, product and GTM roles
- Partner directly with the founders on hiring strategy, prioritisation and execution
- Deliver against ambitious near-term hiring goals across technical and commercial functions
- Personally source, engage and close high-calibre passive candidates
- Shape a compelling employer value proposition for candidates choosing between top-tier AI startups
- Design and improve interview processes, scorecards, feedback loops and hiring decision frameworks
- Own hiring metrics including time-to-hire, conversion rates, source quality and candidate experience
- Maintain a fast, thoughtful and high-touch candidate journey from first contact to close
- Build long-term talent pipelines ahead of future hiring demand
- Help embed a consistently high bar for talent across the organisation
- Contribute to early people foundations, including onboarding, salary bands and evaluation processes as the company scales
You will bring:
- 5+ years’ experience hiring technical talent, particularly engineers
- Experience in early-stage or high-growth startup environments
- Strong direct sourcing capability and confidence engaging top passive talent
- A track record of hiring high-calibre candidates in competitive markets
- Strong judgement on technical quality, motivation, culture fit and growth potential
- Experience building or improving hiring processes from an early-stage foundation
- A hands-on mindset, with the appetite to source directly and operate at pace
- Strong founder partnership skills and confidence working with senior stakeholders
- A clear view on how Talent should evolve in an AI-first company
- High ownership, urgency and ambition, with the desire to grow into a broader leadership role
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 inquire about a role via email or LinkedIn message, as it falls outside of our established process.
Founding Recruiter, Series A, AI Scale-up employer: Hawkwood
Contact Detail:
Hawkwood Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Founding Recruiter, Series A, AI Scale-up
✨Tip Number 1
Get to know the company inside out! Research their mission, values, and recent projects. This will not only help you tailor your conversations but also show that you're genuinely interested in being part of their journey.
✨Tip Number 2
Network like a pro! Connect with current employees on LinkedIn or attend industry events. Building relationships can give you insider info and might even lead to referrals, which can be a game-changer in landing that role.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for interviews by practising common questions and scenarios specific to the role. Think about how your experience aligns with their needs, especially around sourcing and hiring top talent in a fast-paced environment.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to follow up after interviews! A quick thank-you note can leave a lasting impression and shows your enthusiasm for the position. Plus, it keeps you on their radar as they make their decisions.
We think you need these skills to ace Founding Recruiter, Series A, AI Scale-up
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV is tailored to the role of Founding Recruiter. Highlight your experience in hiring technical talent and any relevant achievements that showcase your ability to source exceptional candidates.
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Your cover letter is your chance to shine! Use it to express your passion for AI and how your skills align with our mission. Be genuine and let your personality come through.
Showcase Your Sourcing Skills: In your application, mention specific strategies you've used to engage passive candidates. We want to see your creativity and resourcefulness in action!
Apply Through Our Website: Remember, the best way to apply is through our website. This ensures your application gets the attention it deserves and keeps everything organised on our end. We can't wait to see what you bring to the table!
How to prepare for a job interview at Hawkwood
✨Know the Company Inside Out
Before your interview, dive deep into the company's mission, values, and recent achievements. Understanding their vision for digitising workflows and how they plan to leverage AI will show your genuine interest and help you align your answers with their goals.
✨Showcase Your Sourcing Skills
As a Founding Recruiter, you'll need to demonstrate your ability to source top talent. Prepare examples of how you've successfully engaged passive candidates in the past, and be ready to discuss your strategies for building talent pipelines in competitive markets.
✨Prepare for Hands-On Scenarios
Expect to discuss real-life scenarios where you've built or improved hiring processes. Be ready to share specific metrics you've achieved, like time-to-hire and conversion rates, and how you maintained a high-touch candidate experience throughout.
✨Emphasise Cultural Fit and Growth Potential
The company is looking for exceptional engineers and deployment talent, so highlight your judgement on cultural fit and growth potential. Share stories that illustrate how you've assessed these qualities in candidates and how it contributed to team success.