Director, Talent Acquisition

Walbridge; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

L5 Mission Critical in the United States is seeking a Director of Talent Acquisition to establish and lead the company’s first senior TA function, aligning strategy with growth in commissioning, facilities management and operations, and project management and retrofit services. The Director will stay hands-on, recruiting for critical roles while the function grows.

You will hire the team, implement the ATS and sourcing tools, create interview standards, and build an employer brand that attracts

Qualifications

• 10+ years in talent acquisition and leadership experience.
• Experience hiring skilled trades or technical field workforces.
• Experience building recruiting from scratch or scaling in startup/high-growth.
• Strong judgment and influence with senior leaders and hiring managers.
• Willingness to travel across North America.

Responsibilities

• Design and own TA strategy aligned to growth and project pipeline.
• Hire, lead, and develop recruiting team.
• Select and implement ATS and sourcing tools.
• Create interview standards and skills assessments.
• Build recruiting scorecards and drive data-driven decisions.

Skills

Talent acquisition

Leadership

Pipeline development

ATS & sourcing

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR/Business

Tools

ATS

Job description

Overview

The Director, Talent Acquisition is L5's first senior recruiting leader and is responsible for building the talent acquisition function from the ground up. This role sets the strategy, hires the team, and puts the systems in place to staff L5's commissioning, facilities management and operations, and project management and retrofit service lines. The Director will also stay hands-on, recruiting for critical roles directly while the function grows. This role suits a builder who likes ambiguity, moves fast, and wants to own the outcome.

Responsibilities

Build the Strategy

• Design and own L5's talent acquisition strategy, tied to the company's growth plan, project pipeline, and
• client commitments.
• Partner with leadership on workforce planning so hiring happens ahead of project starts, not behind them.
• Map the market for critical skilled roles: where the talent is, who competes for it, and what it takes to win.

Build the Team and the Function

• Hire, lead, and develop a recruiting team scaled to hiring demand.
• Select and implement the applicant tracking system (ATS) and sourcing tools.
• Create interview standards and skills assessments.
• Build a recruiting scorecard to track performance and run the function on data.

Build the Employer Brand

• Tell the L5 story in the trades and data center communities: career paths, standards, stability, and growth.
• Build a candidate experience that is fast and respectful.
• Keep hiring compliant with employment law, background, and safety requirements.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in talent acquisition, including 4+ years leading recruiting teams.
• Track record of hiring skilled trades or technical field workforces at volume.
• Experience building a recruiting function from scratch or scaling one fast in a startup or high-growth company.
• Proven pipeline programs with schools, apprenticeships, workforce boards, or military transition groups.
• Hands-on experience with ATS and sourcing tools, and comfortable running the function on data.
• Strong judgment and influence with senior leaders and hiring managers.
• Willingness to travel to sites, schools, and events across North America.
• Recruiting experience in data centers, construction, energy, or utilities strongly preferred.
• Experience with union and non-union labor markets preferred.
• Experience setting up recruiting in new geographic markets preferred.
• Bachelor's degree in HR, Business, or a related field, or equivalent experience.

What Success Looks Like

• A repeatable, scalable recruiting function that supports L5's national growth.
• Critical roles filled ahead of project starts, with a strong pipeline of skilled trades and technical talent.
• Strong, trusted working relationships across HR, operations, finance, and executive leadership.

EEO/AA Employer M/F/D/V

L5 Mission Critical is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.