HR Lead

Foundational; Greater London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

EMI share options

25 Days Annual Leave + Bank Holidays

Enhanced Parental Leave

Cycle to work scheme

Office in central London

Job summary

Foundational, a spacetech startup in London, is building a precise picture of Earth and orbit. We design laser ranging stations and data platforms to support space operations, with a small, fast-moving team of engineers, scientists and operators.

We are opening an HR Lead role to own hiring from first CV to offer, shaping the candidate experience and employer brand as we scale our team across engineering, commercial and operations.

Qualifications

• In-house or agency recruitment experience for technical roles.
• Strong sourcing skills for niche profiles.
• Strong organisation, and a fast, respectful candidate experience.
• Confidence advising founders and hiring managers.

Responsibilities

• Run full-cycle recruitment across engineering, commercial and operations roles.
• Source specialists in small technical fields such as laser ranging, geodesy and optics.
• Run our applicant tracking system, pipelines and reporting.
• Design interview processes with hiring managers.
• Manage our talent pool and keep promising candidates warm.

Skills

Recruiting experience

Sourcing niche profiles

Organisation & candidate experience

Advising founders & hiring managers

Tools

Ashby

Job description

HR Lead

This is a future role. We're building a shortlist now and will contact you when it opens.

About us

Foundational is building the most precise picture of Earth and orbit, using lasers fired from the ground. We call it ground truth for orbit.

We design and run low-cost, autonomous satellite laser ranging stations. They measure the distance to satellites with extreme precision, day and night. Our data platform turns those measurements into tracking data and orbit products for satellite operators, space agencies and governments. We also build our own flight‑proven laser retroreflector arrays, so any satellite can be tracked.

Our station network is expanding across Europe, South America, Africa and Australia. The data supports resilient navigation, Earth observation and the safe, sustainable use of space.

We're a small, fast-moving team of engineers, scientists and operators in London. We're backed by venture investors and supported by ESA, the UK Space Agency, Innovate UK and the European Innovation Council.

Position Overview

London · Full time · On‑site

You'll own hiring as we grow, from the first CV to the signed offer, and make sure every candidate has a great experience.

What you'll do

• Run full-cycle recruitment across engineering, commercial and operations roles

• Source specialists in small technical fields such as laser ranging, geodesy and optics

• Run our applicant tracking system, pipelines and reporting

• Design interview processes with hiring managers

• Manage our talent pool and keep promising candidates warm

• Shape our employer brand, careers content and onboarding

What you'll bring

• In‑house or agency recruitment experience for technical roles

• Strong sourcing skills for niche profiles

• Strong organisation, and a fast, respectful candidate experience

• Confidence advising founders and hiring managers

Nice to have

• Space, defence or deep‑tech hiring

• Experience with Ashby

• Visa, right‑to‑work and security‑clearance hiring processes

What We Offer

• A high-impact role with real ownership at an early‑stage, venture‑backed spacetech company

• EMI share options (UK employees)

• 25 Days Annual Leave + Bank Holidays

• Enhanced Parental Leave

• Cycle to work schemes

• Work alongside engineers and scientists across optics, lasers, software and astrodynamics

• Offices in central London, with snacks, tea, coffee and regular socials

We actively champion underrepresented groups and seek to bridge gaps in our workforce. Building the best team is our priority.