Talent Acquisition Lead (Head of TA)

Company Overview

Imagine a piloted air taxi that takes off vertically, then quietly carries you and your fellow passengers over the congested city streets below, enabling you to spend more time with the people and places that matter most. At Joby, we've been working to make that dream a reality since 2009 and we're now in the final stages of certifying our aircraft with the FAA. With plans to launch our aircraft in the US and Dubai, we're now scaling manufacturing and preparing for the launch of our commercial service.

Overview

The Talent Acquisition Lead is responsible for defining and executing Joby’s global talent acquisition strategy in alignment with long term business objectives. This role serves as a key member of the People leadership team and a trusted advisor to executive leadership, ensuring the company attracts, assesses, and hires exceptional talent to enable scale, innovation, and operational excellence.

This leader owns the full recruiting lifecycle, from workforce planning and employer brand to hiring execution and candidate experience, and is accountable for building a best-in-class, data driven recruiting function. The Talent Acquisition Lead will lead and develop a high performing team while driving continuous improvement in systems, processes, and outcomes. This role is based at Joby’s headquarters in Santa Cruz, CA, or in our San Carlos, CA office and reports to the Chief People Officer.

Responsibilities

Strategy & Executive Partnership

Define Joby’s enterprise talent acquisition strategy across engineering, manufacturing, operations, software, and corporate functions—aligned to company growth, technical roadmap, and workforce planning

Serve as a strategic advisor to executive leadership on talent market trends, hiring risks, and organizational scaling decisions

Partner with senior leaders to anticipate talent needs and translate business strategy into forward-looking hiring plans

Collaborate with People, Finance, and business leaders on headcount planning, budgeting, and organizational design

Function Building & Team Leadership

Build, structure, and lead a high-performing recruiting organization capable of scaling efficiently across functions, geographies, and hiring profiles

Establish the systems, processes, operating rhythms, and governance required for a scaling recruiting function (including ATS optimization, sourcing infrastructure, and recruiting analytics)

Build and manage strategic partnerships with external agencies, universities, and talent networks

Hiring Execution & Candidate Experience

Drive a best-in-class candidate experience that reflects the company’s mission and competitive differentiation

Develop and execute employer branding and talent marketing strategies to attract top-tier and hard-to-find talent

Analytics & Operational Excellence

Implement a recruiting analytics framework that provides visibility into pipeline health, sourcing effectiveness, funnel efficiency, quality of hire, and hiring manager effectiveness

Ensure hiring practices comply with applicable employment laws across all jurisdictions, including OFCCP requirements and ITAR/export control considerations

Required

12+ years of talent acquisition experience, with 7+ years in a recruiting leadership role, experience leading recruiting and sourcing teams in high-growth technology environments.

Proven experience building and scaling recruiting functions in high growth, complex environments

Demonstrated success partnering with executive leadership and influencing enterprise level decisions

Track record of hiring across technical, operational, and leadership roles

Deep expertise in talent strategy, workforce planning, and recruiting operations

Strong analytical mindset with experience leveraging data to drive decision making and performance improvements

Experience leading, coaching, and developing high performing recruiting teams

Exceptional stakeholder management, communication, and executive presence

Desired

Experience working in an OFCCP environment and strong understanding of employment compliance

Experience in aerospace, aviation, advanced manufacturing, or similarly complex technical industries

Experience supporting rapid scale in a startup or hypergrowth environment

Familiarity with global recruiting operations and international hiring

Experience building employer brand in competitive talent markets

Expertise in recruiting technologies and systems implementation (e.g., ATS, CRM, talent intelligence tools)

Strong background in diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies within talent acquisition

Familiarity with iCIMS and Gem

Additional Information

Compensation at Joby is a combination of base pay and Restricted Stock Units (RSUs). The target base pay for this position is $220,000-$260,000 . The compensation package will be determined by job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

Joby also offers a comprehensive benefits package, including paid time off, healthcare benefits, a 401(k) plan with a company match, an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP), short-term and long-term disability coverage, life insurance, and more.

Joby is an Equal Opportunity Employer