Talent Acquisition, Research - North America

Mistral•Palo Alto, CA

About The Position

Mistral provides full-stack AI solutions, from frontier models to developer tools, applications, and compute. We partner with enterprises tackling complex problems in finance, manufacturing, defense, healthcare, and the public sector, co-creating customized AI systems. We are a dynamic, collaborative team passionate about AI and its potential to transform society, with a diverse workforce that thrives in competitive environments and is committed to driving innovation. Our teams are distributed across Europe, North America, Asia, and the Middle East. We value creativity, low ego, and team spirit. As a member of the US Talent Acquisition team focused on Research and technical hiring, you will be instrumental in building and scaling Mistral's US-based research and engineering teams from the ground up. Joining early means you'll help shape both our technical recruitment strategy and operations, partnering closely with Research leadership across Research Science, Research Engineering, and adjacent technical functions. Your work will directly influence Mistral's frontier-model ambitions by ensuring we find and engage exceptional researchers and engineers who will drive Mistral's growth in the US. In this role, you'll also foster a strong candidate experience and help establish technical recruiting best practices as we expand across the US.

Requirements

6+ years of recruiting experience, including 2+ years in a startup or high-growth environment, with a focus on Research Science and Research Engineering roles.
Demonstrated ability to independently hire across the technical stack — from Research Engineers to Research Scientists, and senior research talent.
Deep network and sourcing expertise in US research and engineering talent markets, with credibility in AI/ML and ideally connections across top labs and universities.
Track record of hiring in competitive, candidate-scarce markets where top researchers have multiple offers.
Experience working across multiple US markets, including relocation and visa-driven hiring.
Willingness to work on other roles as needs come up.
Comfort navigating ambiguity and switching between strategic planning and hands-on execution.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to influence peers and senior technical stakeholders without direct authority.
Organized, detail-oriented, and able to juggle shifting priorities across a high-volume hiring slate.
Professional experience with modern recruiting tools such as Ashby.
Familiarity with the AI/ML research landscape and the ability to credibly discuss frontier model capabilities, research directions, and publications with technical candidates.

Responsibilities

Partner deeply with technical leaders — from Research Scientists and Research Engineers to team leads and hiring managers — to understand hiring needs, define role specs, and identify the right technical talent.
Own full-cycle recruitment across Research Science and Research Engineering, with flexibility to support other technical roles as they come along.
Advise hiring managers on market mapping, leveling, comp positioning, and the competitive landscape for US research and engineering talent.
Translate the nuances of each technical role into compelling, accurate candidate outreach.
Own the full recruiting lifecycle from sourcing to close, operating with autonomy on complex, competitive technical roles.
Source passive and active candidates across US research and engineering talent pools — from PhD students and postdocs to experienced researchers and engineers at leading AI labs, universities, and technology companies.
Conduct intake and calibration sessions with hiring managers to align on ideal candidate profiles and stage expectations.
Drive efficient, high-conversion pipelines and close candidates in a fiercely competitive market for top research talent.
Guide candidates through the hiring process with clear communication and a compelling narrative about Mistral's mission, culture, and trajectory.
Articulate Mistral's positioning in the AI landscape — frontier models, open-weight philosophy, and research credibility — to differentiate us against better-resourced labs.
Provide candidates with real insight into our research agenda, compute access, publication culture, and the specific impact of their role.
Deliver a high-quality, respectful candidate experience at every stage, regardless of outcome.
Develop and refine technical recruiting processes, tools, and documentation to improve outcomes and efficiency.
Use data to diagnose pipeline issues (e.g., drop-off at specific stages, time-to-fill by role) and propose targeted solutions.
Build and maintain market maps, competitive intel, and talent pools for key US research and engineering segments.
Standardize technical interview rubrics, scorecards, and debrief practices across US technical hiring teams.
Collaborate with Research leadership and the broader Talent team to continuously elevate our hiring standards.
Contribute to defining and evolving our technical talent acquisition strategy in the US as we scale our research presence.
Partner on employer-brand and outbound sourcing initiatives — including academic pipelines, conference presence, and open-source community engagement — that position Mistral as a destination for top research and engineering talent.