Head of Talent

Rhoda AI•Mountain View, CA

11d•$200,000 - $240,000

About The Position

Rhoda AI is seeking a Head of Talent to lead company-wide recruiting and build the recruiting team and capabilities needed for the company’s next stage of growth. The role partners closely with founders and functional leaders to set hiring priorities, attract exceptional candidates, and make recruiting a competitive advantage. This is a hands-on leadership position. The Head of Talent will personally lead critical searches while building an internal recruiting team, strengthening sourcing capabilities, and creating processes that support speed without compromising hiring quality. The scope spans AI research, software, hardware, operations, and business functions, and includes recruiting strategy, headcount planning, recruiting operations, candidate experience, and employer brand.

Requirements

8+ years of recruiting experience, including experience leading a talent function or recruiting team at a high-growth technology company.
A strong record of personally sourcing and closing exceptional technical talent, including senior individual contributors and leaders in competitive markets.
Experience building and developing recruiting teams and understanding how sourcing, full-cycle recruiting, and recruiting operations work together.
Ability to partner credibly with founders and technical leaders, translate ambiguous needs into well-defined searches, and constructively challenge assumptions.
Strong operational judgment and the ability to create structure and accountability without unnecessary bureaucracy.
Excellent communication, relationship-building, and negotiation skills, with discretion in handling sensitive candidate and business information.
A hands-on approach and strong sense of ownership, including comfort with strategy development, candidate outreach, and resolving process bottlenecks.

Nice To Haves

Experience recruiting for AI research, robotics, advanced hardware, or other deeply technical organizations, with established relationships in relevant talent communities.
Experience scaling an internal recruiting function through significant company growth and improving the balance between direct sourcing and agency support.
Familiarity with Ashby or similar recruiting platforms, recruiting analytics, and practical workflow automation.

Responsibilities

Own recruiting strategy and execution across AI research, software, hardware, operations, and business functions, translating company priorities into hiring plans.
Partner with leadership and Finance on headcount planning, recruiting budgets, and resource allocation, using market insight to inform hiring decisions.
Personally lead critical technical and leadership searches, from role definition and market mapping through candidate relationships and offer closing.
Work with hiring managers to communicate opportunities, understand candidate motivations, and develop closing strategies in competitive markets.
Build, lead, and develop a talent team across sourcing, recruiting, and recruiting operations, scaling capacity as the company grows.
Establish internal sourcing capabilities through targeted outreach, referrals, research communities, and long-term relationships.
Use external search partners selectively and maintain accountability for their quality, results, and cost.
Build efficient hiring processes covering role intake, interview design, evaluation criteria, interviewer training, timely decisions, and offer approvals.
Own recruiting systems, workflows, and reporting; use recruiting metrics and hiring outcomes to identify bottlenecks and improve performance.
Set a high standard for candidate experience through clear communication, thoughtful engagement, and a coordinated process from first contact through transition to onboarding.
Partner with Research, Engineering, and Marketing to communicate Rhoda’s distinctive qualities and build relationships with relevant talent communities.