Lead Recruiter, India

Handshake; India; On-site; INR 900,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Handshake is hiring a Lead Recruiter to support hiring across business, operations, and technical roles as we scale India. The role is based in Bangalore with three onsite days per week and coordinating across time zones to ensure a smooth candidate experience.

You will build strong pipelines, partner with senior stakeholders, and drive recruiting processes as Handshake AI expands its India presence.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of full-cycle recruiting experience across business, operations, and technical roles.
• Experience in startup or fast-scaling environments and ability to operate in ambiguity.
• Strong partnering with hiring managers and senior stakeholders, with clear communication.
• Experience recruiting for technical/specialized roles and assessing skill requirements.

Responsibilities

• Partner with hiring managers and senior stakeholders to understand hiring needs and align priorities.
• Own end-to-end recruiting for diverse roles from intake to close.
• Lead candidate scheduling, interview ops, and logistics for varying time zones.
• Build and maintain pipelines for hard-to-fill roles across India and beyond.
• Provide insights on talent markets, compensation expectations, and competitive dynamics.

Skills

Full-cycle recruiting

Stakeholder partnering

Tech recruiting

Sourcing

Recruiting operations

Metrics & analytics

Communication across time zones

Tools

LinkedIn Recruiter

CRM tools

Job description

About Handshake

Handshake is the career network for the AI economy. 20 million knowledge workers, 1,600 educational institutions, 1 million employers (including 100% of the Fortune 50), and every foundational AI lab trust Handshake to power career discovery, hiring, and upskilling, from freelance AI training gigs to first internships to full-time careers and beyond. This unique value is leading to unparalleled growth; in 2025, we tripled our ARR at scale.

Why join Handshake now:

• Shape how every career evolves in the AI economy, at global scale, with impact your friends, family and peers can see and feel

• Work hand-in-hand with world-class AI labs, Fortune 500 partners and the world’s top educational institutions

• Join a team with leadership from Scale AI, Meta, xAI, Notion, Coinbase, and Palantir, among others

• Build a massive, fast-growing business with billions in revenue

The Role:

Handshake is hiring a Lead Recruiter to support hiring across business, operations, and technical roles as we continue to scale our India presence. Reporting to the Sr. Manager of Recruiting, you’ll partner closely with stakeholders across functions while helping build and evolve recruiting processes locally.

You’ll work closely with senior stakeholders to build our India team from zero to scale and help define how we hire as the office grows. This is a unique opportunity to join a fast-growing team and play a foundational role in building and scaling Handshake AI’s India office.

This role is based in our Bangalore office and requires 3 days per week onsite. While the majority of the office will work 4 PM - 4 AM, this role will work 11 AM - 8 PM to better accommodate candidate schedules.

• Partner with hiring managers and senior stakeholders across business, operations, and technical teams to understand hiring needs, shape role scope, and align on priorities

• Own the end-to-end recruiting process for a diverse set of roles, from intake and sourcing through interviews, offers, and close

• Lead candidate scheduling, interview ops, and candidate logistics for evening and overnight interviews (core ownership of 4pm–2am).

• Build and maintain strong pipelines for hard-to-fill business, operations, and technical roles across India and other regions. Proactively engage passive talent and develop long-term candidate relationships

• Provide insights on local and global talent markets, compensation expectations, and competitive dynamics to inform hiring decisions

• Own interview scheduling, candidate logistics, and cross-time-zone coordination, ensuring a smooth, timely, and consistent candidate experience

• Contribute to building recruiting processes, norms, and ways of working as the India office continues to grow

• Deliver a thoughtful, high-quality candidate experience that reflects Handshake AI’s values and standards

You Have:

• 7+ years of full-cycle recruiting experience supporting business, operations, and/or technical roles

• Experience recruiting in a startup or fast-scaling environment, with comfort operating in ambiguity and evolving processes is a must

• Strong experience partnering with hiring managers and senior stakeholders, with the ability to set expectations and communicate clearly

• Experience recruiting for technical or specialized roles, with the ability to assess skill requirements and partner effectively with technical interviewers

• Hands-on experience sourcing across multiple role types using LinkedIn Recruiter, Boolean search, CRM tools, and referrals

• Comfortable supporting recruiting operations and coordination while maintaining ownership of individual requisitions

• Ability to track recruiting metrics, identify trends, and adjust approach as needed

• Clear written and verbal communication skills, especially across teams and time zones