Director, Talent Acquisition & Recruiting Operations

Axion•New York, NY

About The Position

We’re looking for a Director, Talent Acquisition & Recruiting Operations to lead and scale Axion Ray’s recruiting function through our next phase of growth. This is a player-coach role — balancing hands-on recruiting for critical leadership and technical roles with strategic ownership of our end-to-end talent operations. This leader will build scalable recruiting systems, develop the team, and ensure a world-class candidate experience. The role will also own pre-onboarding and recruiting-adjacent people operations such as headcount planning, talent mapping, and performance management for the recruiting team.

Requirements

Proven track record leading and scaling recruiting in a fast-paced, high-growth startup or enterprise SaaS environment.
Experience managing full-cycle recruiting for both technical and go-to-market roles.
Strong operational rigor: able to use data and dashboards to drive accountability, measure success, and improve processes.
Experience managing and developing recruiting teams, including performance management and career development.
Deep familiarity with modern ATS systems (ideally Ashby) and talent operations workflows.
Excellent communication and influencing skills; able to partner effectively with executives and cross-functional leaders.
High bar for candidate experience and culture fit; thoughtful about how recruiting reflects Axion’s mission and values.

Responsibilities

Talent Acquisition Leadership
Own Axion Ray’s overall recruiting strategy across EPD, GTM, and operations roles.
Manage a growing team of recruiters and talent operations professionals, including senior recruiters with leadership responsibilities for sourcing and recruiting operations.
Balance strategic planning with hands-on execution for priority roles and senior-level hires.
Partner with Finance and hiring managers to develop headcount plans aligned with company objectives.
Build and maintain a diverse, mission-aligned talent pipeline through proactive sourcing and relationship management.
Drive consistency and quality in interview processes — from calibration through offer — ensuring a candidate experience that reflects Axion’s values.
Develop and track recruiting metrics and KPIs (pipeline health, hiring velocity, quality of hire, cost per hire).
Oversee recruiting systems (e.g., Ashby) and tools to optimize efficiency and data accuracy.
Collaborate with Marketing and leadership to strengthen employer branding and thought leadership in target markets.
Recruiting Operations & People Processes
Own pre-onboarding to ensure a smooth transition from offer acceptance to Day 1; partner with HRBP/Operations for broader onboarding.
Conduct performance reviews and coaching for direct reports, ensuring alignment with clear goals and metrics.
Partner with Finance on headcount and talent mapping to ensure alignment between hiring plans and budget.
Develop hiring manager training, interview calibration sessions, and process documentation to drive consistency and operational rigor.
Build the recruiting team’s career ladder and development framework to support growth and retention within the function.
Partner cross-functionally to ensure recruiting processes integrate seamlessly with downstream people and operations workflows.