Founding Talent Lead - AI

Sxaler; Greater London; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Sxaler is hiring a Founding Talent Lead in London to build and own recruitment from the ground up, partnering closely with the founding team and senior leaders to shape hiring priorities and strategy. You will design scalable processes, own sourcing, and manage candidate engagement across critical hires, while staying hands-on across the full recruiting lifecycle.

You will help define what great looks like, build a repeatable talent machine, and translate ambitious hiring goals into tangible

Qualifications

• Experience hiring for high-growth tech companies, ideally at early or growth stage.
• Strong track record in technical hiring across AI/ML, infrastructure, engineering, or product roles.
• Strategic thinker with hands-on execution.
• Confident partnering with founders and senior leaders.
• Excellent sourcing, assessment, stakeholder management, and closing skills.
• Builder mindset with ability to create processes without bureaucracy.

Responsibilities

• Build and lead the company’s talent function from an early stage.
• Partner directly with founders and hiring managers on role definition, search strategy, and assessment.
• Own hands-on sourcing and candidate engagement for critical hires.
• Design scalable recruiting processes, interview loops, scorecards, and reporting.
• Hire across technical, product, commercial, and operational functions.
• Create an exceptional candidate experience in a highly competitive market.
• Develop a clear talent narrative that helps the company stand out to exceptional people.
• Use data, market insight, and judgement to improve hiring quality and velocity.
• Spend time in the office to understand the culture, pace, and talent bar first-hand.

Skills

Talent acquisition leadership

Sourcing

Stakeholder management

People assessment

Closing candidates

Job description

Sxaler has been appointed by a rapidly growing AI company in London to find their Founding Talent Lead. This is a high-impact role for someone who can build the recruiting function from the ground up while staying close to the work: sourcing, assessing, closing, and partnering directly with founders on the hires that will shape the company.

Fresh off a significant raise, the company is building an exceptional team with high-talent density. You'll help them define what great looks like, earn the trust of technical and commercial leaders, and can translate ambitious hiring goals into a repeatable talent machine.

The Role

As Founding Talent Lead, you will own talent acquisition across the business, partnering closely with the founding team and senior leaders to define hiring priorities, raise the bar, and deliver exceptional candidates. You will build the systems, processes, and hiring rhythm needed for scale, while remaining hands-on across sourcing, candidate management, interviewing, and closing.

This is not a role for someone who wants to manage from a distance. You will spend meaningful time in the office, understand the culture from the inside, and help shape how the company attracts, assesses, and hires world-class people.

What You’ll Do

• Build and lead the company’s talent function from an early stage

• Partner directly with founders and hiring managers on role definition, search strategy, and assessment

• Own hands-on sourcing and candidate engagement for critical hires

• Design scalable recruiting processes, interview loops, scorecards, and reporting

• Hire across technical, product, commercial, and operational functions

• Create an exceptional candidate experience in a highly competitive market

• Develop a clear talent narrative that helps the company stand out to exceptional people

• Use data, market insight, and judgement to improve hiring quality and velocity

• Spend time in the office to understand the culture, pace, and talent bar first-hand

Your Background

• Experience hiring for high-growth technology companies, ideally at early or growth stage

• Strong track record across technical hiring, with exposure to AI, ML, infrastructure, engineering, or product roles

• Ability to operate strategically while staying highly hands-on

• Confidence partnering with founders and senior leaders

• Strong sourcing, assessment, stakeholder management, and closing skills

• Excellent judgement around talent quality, culture fit, and long-term potential

• Comfort working in ambiguous, fast-moving environments

• A builder mindset: someone who can create process without adding unnecessary bureaucracy

• Willingness to work closely with the team in the London office