Founding Talent Lead

name · via Himalayas ·

TypeFull-time job
LocationWorldwide
Posted2 hours ago
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.

Originally posted on Himalayas
talent-acquisition recruitment people-and-culture hr-leadership human-resources talent-lead talent-leader head-of-talent talent-acquisition-lead recruiting-lead talent-acquisition-team-lead
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