Founding Talent Lead

Job description

Your mission About Graswald AI Graswald AI is a Series A start up building the AI operating system for fashion brands and retailers. In the past year, we’ve signed 50+ enterprise fashion clients who use our AI to collapse creative timelines and slash production costs. We are backed by top-tier VCs and strategic investors like Lakestar and Orendt Studios. The Role This is a foundational hire. As our first Founding Talent Lead, you won't just fill roles - you'll build the engine that powers Graswald AI's growth. You'll own the full talent function from day one: defining how we hire, who we hire, and how fast we move. You'll work closely with the founding team to attract exceptional people across engineering, commercial, and operational disciplines - and you'll be as comfortable sourcing a senior ML engineer as you are closing a Head of Sales. This is a hands-on, high-ownership role for someone who thrives in ambiguity, moves with urgency, and cares deeply about candidate experience and quality of hire. Your profile What You'll Do Build the Talent Function Design and own Graswald AI's end-to-end hiring process - from sourcing strategy to offer - across all teams Define our employer brand and value proposition to attract world-class candidates Select and implement the ATS, sourcing tools, and AI-powered recruitment platforms that will underpin how we hire Establish hiring principles, scorecards, and structured interview frameworks to ensure consistent, high-quality decisions Drive the Candidate Experience Lead first-round interviews across all functions, assessing for skills, values, and potential Design and iterate on take-home tasks and technical assessments tailored to each role Act as a thoughtful advocate for candidates throughout the process, ensuring every interaction with Graswald AI is exceptional Own Recruiting Across the Business Partner closely with hiring managers across engineering, product, operations, and commercial teams to understand role requirements and team needs Actively source candidates directly through LinkedIn, community networks, events, and AI-assisted tools Manage relationships with external recruiters and headhunters, holding them to high standards while keeping agency spend lean Write compelling, accurate job descriptions that attract the right candidates and reflect our culture Own the End-to-End Hiring Process Manage the legal and administrative hiring process from offer acceptance through to signed contracts Draft and issue offer letters, employment contracts, and NDAs in coordination with legal counsel where required Coordinate background checks, right-to-work verification, and any role-specific compliance requirements Serve as the primary point of contact for candidates during the offer and pre-boarding period, keeping the process smooth and professional through to day one Advise on Compensation & Career Progression Own compensation benchmarking across all functions - maintaining a clear view of market rates for salary and equity to keep Graswald AI competitive and consistent Partner with the founding team to design and evolve our equity and compensation philosophy as we scale Build and maintain a levelling framework and career progression pathways across teams, giving candidates and employees clarity on how they grow at Graswald AI Advise hiring managers on offer structuring, ensuring packages are compelling, fair, and sustainable within our comp bands Think Strategically Build and maintain talent pipelines for critical roles before they become urgent Track and report on key hiring metrics - time to hire, source quality, pipeline health - and use data to improve Stay ahead of the market: compensation benchmarks, talent trends, and competitor hiring signals What We're Looking For Experience 5+ years in talent/recruiting, with at least 2–3 years in a high-growth, venture-backed startup or scale-up Proven track record of hiring strong technical talent - software engineers, ML/AI roles, or similar - in a competitive market Experience building or significantly improving a hiring function, not just executing within one Comfortable owning commercial and operational hiring in parallel with technical roles Skills & Approach Exceptional sourcing skills - you don't wait for inbound; you go and find people Familiarity with AI-powered recruiting and sourcing tools Strong judgment and interviewing instincts - you can assess a candidate's potential and motivations, not just their CV Sharp written communication - your job descriptions make people want to apply Highly organised and data-driven; you track what matters and act on it Low ego, high ownership - you're as happy scheduling interviews as you are advising on org design Why us? What We Offer Competitive compensation package including stock options The opportunity to shape the culture and team of a company at a genuinely exciting inflection point 26 Working Days of Paid Vacation + 24.12 and 31.12 : You’ll have plenty of time to unwind and enjoy life outside of work. Flexible Work Options : Choose to work remotely from anywhere at the times that work best for your job. You decide what suits you best. Annual Company Offsite : Enjoy a yearly team offsite where we come together to plan, connect, and have some fun. Premium Work Equipment: Get fully set up for success with the laptop & monitor of your choice, ensuring you have everything you need to do your best work. Wellhub Subscription: Access thousands of gyms, fitness studios, and wellness apps to support your physical and mental well-being, wherever you are.