Head of Talent

oWOW; Oakland (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Performance incentives

Equity participation

Job summary

oWOW is building a world-class talent engine to scale a fast-growing, vertically integrated design-build platform. The Head of Talent will recruit across development, architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, operations, and corporate teams, shaping systems, culture, and processes that attract, assess, hire, onboard, and retain top performers.

You will partner with the CEO and leadership to define org structure, headcount plans, and KPIs, while building incentive plans and a

Qualifications

• 4+ years in talent acquisition or people leadership in relevant industries.
• Proven ability to recruit senior leadership and engineering teams.
• Strong sourcing, assessment, and organizational design capabilities.
• Experience designing KPIs, performance systems, and incentive plans.
• Process builder who thrives in high-speed, entrepreneurial environments.

Responsibilities

• Own full-cycle recruiting for critical hires across development, design-build, engineering, and ops.
• Design talent strategies, sourcing systems, and assessment frameworks.
• Translate roles into outcomes, KPIs, and 30/60/90-day plans.
• Build and scale onboarding and culture programs to accelerate productivity.

Skills

Talent acquisition

Leadership

Sourcing

Performance design

Tools

ATS

Workforce analytics

Job description

oWOW is on a mission to solve America’s housing shortage by building housing abundance through innovative design-build systems, industrialized construction, and vertical-integration. We are scaling a platform that delivers high-quality, attainable homes at a quantum improvement in speed and efficiency.

We are looking for a Head of Talent who can help us build a world-class team to match the scale of our mission.

Fun fact: we are the group behind 1510 Webster, the tallest mass-timber building on the West Coast:

Role Summary

The Head of Talent will build and own the entire talent engine for oWOW. You will recruit exceptional people across development, architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, operations, computational design and corporate teams — while designing the systems, culture, and processes that attract, assess, hire, onboard, and retain top performers.

This role is for a builder: someone who thrives in high-growth environments, is obsessed with quality of talent, and can scale an org from dozens to hundred+ people over the next 24 months with precision and speed. You will be a strategic partner to the executive team and a core architect of oWOW’s long-term success.

Key Responsibilities

1. Build a High-Performance Recruiting Engine

• Own full-cycle recruiting for all critical hires across development, design-build, engineering, supply chain, computational design and operations.
• Design and implement talent acquisition strategies, sourcing systems, and assessment frameworks.
• Directly source top candidates from target companies and industry verticals.
• Create recruiting dashboards, funnel metrics, and KPIs for speed and quality.

2. Partner With Leadership to Scale the Organization

• Work with the CEO to design org structure, headcount plans, and critical role sequencing.
• Build competency frameworks for development, engineering, construction, and factory operations.
• Advise leaders on hiring decisions, performance standards, and team design.
• Translate each role into clear Outcomes, KPIs, and 30/60/90-day expectations.
• Build scorecards for all positions to align hiring, onboarding, and performance.
• Develop scalable incentive plans, bonus structures, and performance-linked compensation aligned with company goals.
• Implement a semi annual performance review system that ties outcomes to compensation and advancement.
• Ensure every team understands what success looks like, how it’s measured, and how they can grow.

4. Build oWOW’s Team Brand

• Build a talent brand that reflects our mission and ambition.
• Craft compelling job descriptions, outbound messaging, and recruiting campaigns.
• Represent oWOW at industry events, universities, and talent networks.

5. Build & Own the Onboarding & Culture System

• Create a world-class onboarding system that makes new hires productive within 30 days.
• Launch talent development systems (performance reviews, L&D programs, leadership development).

6. Build Talent Infrastructure That Scales

• Select and implement the right ATS, sourcing tools, and assessment technologies.
• Build dashboards and workforce analytics for data-driven decision-making.
• Implement recruiting operations best practices to support rapid growth.

Ideal Candidate Profile

• 4+ years in talent acquisition or people leadership, ideally in construction, real estate development, manufacturing, AEC, or high-growth tech.
• Proven ability to recruit senior leadership, engineering teams, and construction/design-build talent.
• Strong sourcing, assessment, and organizational design capabilities.
• Experience designing and implementing KPIs, performance systems, and incentive plans.
• Process builder who thrives in high-speed, entrepreneurial environments.
• Mission-driven and energized by solving the housing shortage at scale.

Why oWOW

• Be a foundational leader in a company solving one of America’s most urgent problems.
• Build a world-class talent and performance engine for a vertically-integrated design-build platform.
• Competitive salary + performance incentives + equity participation.