Share of this job’s tasks that AI is already used for at work, from real usage. It is not a forecast of job loss, and a low number means no use seen yet. Source: Anthropic Economic Index.

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About the job

We're looking for a Head of Talent to build our talent function from scratch and help define how Mach9 attracts, evaluates, and closes exceptional talent. You’ll work closely with the CEO, CTO, and broader leadership team on high-priority talent initiatives, from headcount planning and compensation strategy to our talent brand and DEI efforts. You’ll also build and manage a growing team, setting the bar for how Mach9 attracts, evaluates, and closes exceptional talent.

This is a truly cross-functional role. You’ll build and lead a team while staying on the ground with candidates, running your own searches across technical and non-technical roles and a range of seniority levels, wherever the business needs you most. It’s a rare chance to join early, shape the talent org alongside the founders, and work on something that matters.

RESPONSIBILITIES

- Own full-cycle recruiting across technical and non-technical roles: Sourcing, coordinating, and closing.

- Own the candidate experience end-to-end: Every touchpoint, every piece of feedback, every offer call; we want every person who goes through our process to walk away excited about what we're building, whether or not they join

- Build the recruiting infrastructure from scratch: ATS, interview rubrics, comp calibration, hiring manager alignment, then keep improving it as we grow

- Partner with founders on talent strategy and headcount planning: Help the founders translate the business plan into a hiring plan: how many people, in which roles, and in what order. Forecast hiring needs and budget so we’re never scrambling.

- Lead our talent brand: Define what makes us a place top people want to join, and make sure it shows up consistently in outreach, content, events, and every candidate conversation.

- Build and manage a growing talent team: Hire and develop recruiters and coordinators, and decide when to add sourcers and specialists as we grow.

- Budget and vendor ownership: Recruiting spend, tooling, job boards, and agency fees.

- Track the data that matters: Passthrough rates, time-to-fill, offer acceptance rates. Use it to make better decisions, not just report numbers

REQUIREMENTS

- 6+ years of full-cycle recruiting experience; startup experience and experience managing or mentoring recruiters are strong pluses.

- Comfortable with modern recruiting tools (ATS platforms like Ashby, sourcing tools, LinkedIn Recruiter)

- Builds relationships quickly across all levels (candidates, hiring managers, founders) and adjusts communication style accordingly

- Creative sourcer who finds candidates others overlook, and tenacious enough to follow through

- Highly organized with strong attention to detail; can run multiple open roles across different functions simultaneously without things falling through the cracks

- Clear, direct communicator in writing and in conversation- equally comfortable selling a candidate on the role and pushing back on a hiring manager