Head of Talent Acquisition

Go Cadre • San Diego, CA

6h

About The Position

You will run talent acquisition at Cadre AI, owning the recruiting pipeline from sourcing through offer acceptance for a fast-growing AI consulting firm. This is a hands-on role: you will manage candidate pipelines across multiple open roles, coordinate with hiring managers in each delivery pod, and drive every req to close. You will report to the Operations Manager and receive strategic direction on headcount priorities, but the execution of recruiting is yours.
Your day-to-day operates like a sales cycle. You will prospect and source candidates, qualify them against role requirements, nurture them through the interview process, and close offers. You will manage two Colombia-based recruiters, keep them focused on the right priorities, and ensure the team collectively maintains pipeline coverage across all open positions. You will also own the ATS, track funnel metrics, and look for ways to make the recruiting process faster and more efficient through AI tools and automation.
The right person for this role thinks like a closer. You may come from recruiting, sales, or business development, but what matters is that you know how to run a disciplined pipeline, follow up relentlessly, and move candidates through a process without letting things stall. You are organized, metrics-driven, and energized by the opportunity to build something from the ground up at a company that is growing fast.

Requirements

• 4+ years of experience in recruiting, talent acquisition, sales, or business development, with a track record of managing a pipeline from prospecting through close.
• Experience running a full-cycle recruiting process or a sales cycle with multiple concurrent opportunities. You know how to prioritize, follow up, and keep things moving without dropping the ball.
• Comfort managing a small team or coordinating with remote collaborators. You do not need years of management experience, but you need to be able to set clear expectations and hold people accountable.
• Familiarity with ATS platforms and recruiting tools. You do not need to be an admin-level expert, but you should be able to navigate a system, keep data clean, and pull basic reports. Gem experience is a plus.
• A metrics-driven mindset. You track your own pipeline numbers, know your conversion rates, and use data to figure out what is working and what is not.
• Strong interest in AI and a willingness to use AI-powered tools across the recruiting workflow. You do not need a technical background, but you should be excited about finding and adopting new tools that make recruiting faster and smarter.
• Excellent written and verbal communication. You can write outbound messages that get responses, represent Cadre well to candidates, and present hiring updates clearly to leadership.
• Ability to operate in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment where you are expected to figure things out, take initiative, and ask for help when you need it.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end recruiting for roles across AI engineering, strategy, consulting, and operations, from sourcing and outreach through interview coordination and offer close.
• Build and maintain a talent bench of 2+ qualified candidates for each key role category so Cadre always has pipeline coverage when a position opens.
• Run sourcing campaigns using AI sourcing platforms, recruiter agency partnerships, LinkedIn, referral networks, and targeted outbound outreach to build candidate flow.
• Partner with hiring managers across delivery pods to define role requirements, align on candidate profiles, and keep the hiring process moving on schedule.
• Manage two Colombia-based recruiters, setting daily and weekly priorities, reviewing pipeline progress, and ensuring consistent output across all open roles.
• Build lightweight playbooks and templates that allow the recruiting team to source, screen, and schedule candidates with minimal back-and-forth.
• Report recruiting metrics (pipeline volume, conversion rates, time-to-fill, source effectiveness) to the Operations Manager on a regular cadence.
• Own the ATS platform, keeping candidate records clean, pipeline stages accurate, and reporting up to date. Gem experience is a plus.
• Identify bottlenecks in the recruiting funnel and implement fixes, whether that means adjusting outreach messaging, streamlining interview scheduling, or cutting underperforming channels.
• Manage relationships with external recruiting agencies and sourcing tool vendors, evaluating performance and recommending changes based on data.
• Leverage AI tools and automation to speed up sourcing, candidate screening, outreach sequences, and pipeline management. Actively seek out new AI-powered recruiting tools and push the team to adopt them.
• Maintain and improve Cadre's existing hiring process, including interview structures, scorecards, case study assessments, and candidate communications.
• Ensure a consistent candidate experience across all roles and pods so every candidate goes through a well-run, professional process.
• Document recruiting workflows and SOPs so the process is repeatable and does not depend on any single person's memory.

Benefits

• Real ownership. You will own the entire recruiting function at a growing company. This is not a support role; the pipeline is yours to build and run.
• Ground-floor opportunity. Cadre's recruiting infrastructure is early-stage. You will shape how this company hires as it scales, and grow with the function you build.
• AI-native culture. We do not just build AI for clients. We use it to run our own operations. You will work with people who are as obsessed with the tools as you are.
• Access to the frontier. Through partnerships with Anthropic, OpenAI, and YC, you will be among the first to experiment with new models and capabilities.
• Upside. We are bootstrapped, profitable, and growing fast. Early team members share in the success they help create.
• No bureaucracy. Small pods. Clear accountability. The best idea wins, regardless of who says it.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed