Lead Talent Acquisition Partner

Novanta Inc.; Apex (NC); On-site; USD 107,000 - 148,000; Full time

Job summary

Novanta Inc. in Apex, NC is seeking a Lead Talent Acquisition Partner to join our Global Talent Acquisition team.

You will shape recruiting strategies across Engineering, R&D, and operations, acting as a trusted advisor to hiring managers and senior leaders while driving end-to-end recruitment. You will leverage AI-enabled tools, including Copilot, to automate tasks, improve decision-making, and build proactive pipelines.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in HR, business, or related field with equivalent experience.
• 7+ years of progressive full-cycle recruiting experience across multiple functions.
• Experience partnering with senior leaders and using data to influence decisions.
• Strong sourcing capabilities and building diverse pipelines.
• Experience with AI tools like Copilot and recruiting technologies.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a trusted talent acquisition partner to hiring managers and leaders.
• Develop and execute creative recruiting strategies to attract top talent.
• Partner with HR and business leaders to understand workforce needs and plan.
• Leverage market intelligence and analytics to inform decisions.
• Manage end-to-end recruiting lifecycle across multiple functions.

Skills

Full-cycle recruiting

Data-driven recruitment

Talent market intelligence

Relationship management

AI-enabled recruiting

Sourcing strategies

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Workday

LinkedIn Recruiter

HRIS

Job description

Build a career powered by innovations that matter! At Novanta, our innovations power technology products that are transforming healthcare and advanced manufacturing—improving productivity, enhancing people's lives and redefining what's possible. We create for our global customers engineered components and sub-systems that deliver extreme precision and performance for a range of mission-critical applications—from minimally invasive surgery to robotics to 3D metal printing. Novanta is one global team with over 26 offices located in The Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Looking for a great place to work? You have found it with a culture that embraces teamwork, collaboration and empowerment. Come explore Novanta.

Role Overview

We are seeking a Lead Talent Acquisition Partner to join our Global Talent Acquisition team and be based in our Apex, NC site, one of Novanta's flagship manufacturing locations. This role is ideal for an experienced, consultative recruiter who combines strong full-cycle recruiting expertise with the ability to influence hiring outcomes, build proactive talent pipelines, leverage data and market insights, and partner effectively with business leaders. You will serve as a trusted advisor to hiring managers and senior leaders while driving recruiting excellence across a broad portfolio of functions. You will manage the end-to-end recruiting lifecycle for positions across Engineering, R&D, Supply Chain, Quality, Sales, Product Management, Manufacturing Operations, and Corporate & Shared Services. In addition to delivering recruiting results, you will help shape talent strategies, improve hiring processes, and contribute to strategic Talent Acquisition initiatives.

What You'll Do

• Serve as a trusted talent acquisition partner and advisor to hiring managers and business leaders across multiple functions and locations.
• Develop and execute creative recruiting strategies to attract top talent in competitive labor markets.
• Partner closely with HR and business leaders to understand workforce needs and develop proactive hiring plans.
• Leverage talent market intelligence, compensation trends, and competitive insights to inform recruiting strategy and hiring decisions.
• Conduct candidate sourcing through multiple channels, including referrals, networking, professional associations, targeted outreach, social media, and talent communities.
• Build and maintain diverse talent pipelines for current and future hiring needs.
• Manage the full recruitment lifecycle including intake meetings, sourcing, screening, interview coordination, candidate assessment, offer development, and onboarding support.
• Design and facilitate structured interview processes and candidate evaluation frameworks that improve hiring quality and consistency.
• Embrace emerging technologies, including Copilot and AI-enabled recruiting tools to streamline administrative work, improve decision-making, enhance candidate engagement, and identify opportunities to increase recruiter productivity through automation and process improvement.
• Champion the thoughtful adoption of AI within Talent Acquisition by leveraging tools such as Microsoft Copilot, advanced sourcing technologies, and recruiting analytics to improve productivity, elevate decision-making, and enhance hiring outcomes while ensuring ethical, compliant and responsible use.
• Analyze recruiting metrics and funnel performance to identify trends, bottlenecks, and opportunities for improvement.
• Partner with Talent Attraction and Marketing teams to support employer branding initiatives and elevate Novanta's presence in key talent markets.
• Lead or participate in Talent Acquisition projects focused on process enhancement, recruiting technology, interview training, analytics, candidate experience, and operational excellence.
• Deliver a best-in-class candidate experience through professional communication, responsiveness, and a commitment to inclusive hiring practices.

Experience & Education

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, Organizational Development, a technical discipline, or equivalent experience.
• 7+ years of progressive full-cycle recruiting experience, including experience supporting technical, operational, and business functions.
• Demonstrated success recruiting across multiple levels of an organization, including professional, technical, managerial, and hard-to-fill specialized roles.
• Experience partnering with senior leaders and influencing hiring decisions through data, market intelligence, and recruiting expertise.
• Strong sourcing capability with experience identifying and engaging passive candidates.
• Experience building diverse candidate pipelines and supporting inclusive hiring practices.
• Demonstrated curiosity and practical experience leveraging AI tools such as Copilot, recruiting technologies, workflow automation, or similar solutions to improve efficiency, eliminate manual work, and enhance recruiting outcomes.
• Proficiency with Applicant Tracking Systems (Workday preferred), LinkedIn Recruiter, sourcing tools, AI-enabled recruiting technology, Microsoft Office, and HRIS systems.
• Strong analytical, communication, stakeholder management, and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to work independently, manage multiple priorities, and thrive in a fast-paced, changing environment.
• International recruiting experience is desirable.

Travel Requirements

Up to 10%

Physical Requirements

Mobility to work in a standard office environment and use standard office equipment, including a computer. Ability to read computer screens and printed materials and perform the essential functions of the position.

Compensation

The salary for this role will range from 107,160.00 - 148,200.00 USD annual based on full-time employment. Salary offers are based on a wide range of factors including but not limited to location, relevant skills, training, experience, education, etc. Certain roles may be eligible for performance-based incentive compensation and/or long-term incentives. Incentives could be discretionary or non-discretionary depending on the plan.

Benefits

Novanta supports all aspects of your life's needs. This position provides a full range of medical, financial, and other benefits to make your quality of life better.

Equal Opportunity & Diversity

Novanta is a proud equal employment opportunity and affirmative action workplace. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, military and veteran status, disability, genetics, or any other category protected by federal law or Novanta policy.

Please call [phone] if you need a disability accommodation for any part of the employment process.

About the Company

Solving complex challenges, delivering innovations that matter! Novanta is a leading global supplier of core technology solutions that give medical, life science, and advanced industrial original equipment manufacturers a competitive advantage. We combine deep proprietary expertise and competencies in precision medicine, precision manufacturing, robotics and automation, and advanced surgery with a proven ability to solve complex technical challenges. This enables Novanta to engineer proprietary technology solutions that deliver extreme precision and performance, tailored to our customers' demanding applications. The driving force behind our growth is the team of innovative professionals who share a commitment to innovation, the Novanta Growth System, and our customers' success.

Novanta's common shares are quoted on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "NOVT".