Talent Acquisition Lead

Talent Acquisition Recruiter (AI & Robotics Startup)Location: Onsite (M-F) | Cambridge, MA or San Francisco, CARole Type: Full-Cycle Internal Recruiter - 12 Month Contract THE OPPORTUNITYWe are helping our client, a rapidly scaling AI Robotics company, find an experienced Talent Acquisition Recruiter to own full-cycle recruiting as they enter a major phase of post-funding growth. As a key member of the talent team, you will have immense ownership, visibility, and a direct hand in shaping the company's culture and engineering DNA.This isn't a siloed or administrative recruiting role. You will partner directly with technical leaders to hire elite minds across AI/ML, robotics hardware/software, simulation, and executive operations. If you are an independent operator who blends deep-tech credibility with cutting-edge AI recruiting workflows, this is your opportunity.WHY WORK HERE?The Mission: Build and ship next-generation autonomous systems where cutting-edge machine learning meets physical hardware.The Impact: Step into a high-visibility role with meaningful equity, working directly with founders and technical heads.The Edge: Champion a modern recruiting stack, actively building and utilizing custom AI agents to compound your output.WHAT YOU’LL DOOwn the Cycle: Manage searches end-to-end, from crisp intake and role scoping through interview loop design, offer construction, negotiation, and close.Recruit Without Borders: Drive diverse pipelines spanning AI/ML, robot hardware/software, simulation, robot operations, product, and business functions.Source Proactively: Build targeted talent maps using outbound outreach, referrals, research labs, university pipelines, open-source communities, and competitor mapping.Partner with Engineering Leaders: Act as a credible peer to hiring managers. Calibrate on real technical signal, push back when scorecards lack clarity, and maintain momentum.Weaponize AI Tooling: Build and refine AI-assisted workflows (using Claude, custom agents, or prompt libraries) for deep sourcing research, outreach personalization, and pipeline reporting.Lead with Data: Track pipeline health, stage conversion, and source effectiveness to actively pivot strategies rather than just reporting past numbers.WHAT YOU BRING5+ Years of Experience: A proven track record of full-cycle recruiting, specifically closing senior, hard-to-fill technical roles.Deep Tech / Robotics Fluency: Prior experience recruiting within robotics, autonomy, or a comparable deep-tech environment where physical products and machine learning ship together.Technical Range: The ability to read a research paper, GitHub profile, or resume and hold a substantive, script-free conversation with an elite engineer.AI Adeptness: Hands-on, daily use of LLMs and agentic workflows in your recruiting process (be ready to walk through specific workflows you have built).Sourcing Horsepower: Mastery of Boolean, X-Ray, LinkedIn Recruiter, GitHub, and Google Scholar to find passive, high-caliber talent.Strong Closing Skills: Confidence navigating complex equity structures, competing offers, relocation logistics, and visa considerations.BONUS POINTS (NICE TO HAVE)Experience scaling a startup through a period of rapid, post-funding headcount growth.An established network in the Boston/Cambridge or Bay Area AI and robotics ecosystems.Experience evaluating research-profile candidates (PhDs, publication records, academic labs).Knowledge of hardware program timelines and how hiring maps to build and test milestones.