Our client is a mission-driven nonprofit working at the intersection of AI safety, research, mentorship, and talent development. The organization is entering a significant growth phase and preparing to fill 40+ roles over the next year.

They are hiring their first dedicated Recruiting Lead — a hands-on, systems-minded recruiter who can build a scalable hiring function while continuing to personally drive searches forward.

This role will report to a newly created Head of People, making this a unique opportunity to help shape the People function from the ground up. The right person will bring structure without bureaucracy, speed without chaos, and rigor without losing the human touch.

The Opportunity

This is not a “post and pray” recruiting role. It is a build-and-execute opportunity for someone who understands what good hiring looks like and wants to create a recruiting engine that can support rapid, thoughtful growth.

You will own full-cycle recruiting across a range of roles, many of them specialized, technical, research-oriented, or hard to benchmark. You will partner closely with hiring managers to clarify needs, build sourcing strategies, design selection processes, manage candidate flow, and ensure a strong candidate experience from first touch through close.

You will also help create the infrastructure that makes hiring scalable and visible: ATS workflows, pipeline dashboards, time-to-hire metrics, conversion tracking, sourcing loops, process documentation, and repeatable hiring practices.

What You’ll Do

• In partnership with the Head of People, own full-cycle recruiting for a range of technical, research, operations, policy, and community-oriented roles
• Draft compelling job descriptions and outreach materials
• Build sourcing strategies for specialized and hard-to-find talent
• Screen candidates and manage hiring pipelines with urgency and care
• Partner with hiring managers to design interview questions, rubrics, work samples, and structured assessments
• Improve and document recruiting workflows so the process can scale
• Build visibility through dashboards, metrics, and regular reporting
• Ensure candidates experience a professional, responsive, and human hiring process

You’ll Be a Strong Fit If You Bring

• 3-5 years of recruiting, hiring, or talent acquisition experience
• Experience owning full-cycle recruiting pipelines
• Experience recruiting for technical, scientific, research, AI/ML, policy, operations, or similarly complex roles
• A strong grasp of evidence-based hiring practices
• Experience working with or improving an ATS or similar pipeline management system
• Strong project management instincts and the ability to coordinate multiple stakeholders
• Clear, proactive written and verbal communication
• A builder mindset and comfort creating systems where few may exist
• Curiosity about mission-driven work and the ability to learn enough about specialized roles to recruit effectively

Additional Experience That Would Be Valuable

• Experience leading or mentoring other recruiters
• Technical recruiting experience, especially in AI, machine learning, research, or highly specialized fields
• Experience creating structured interviews, rubrics, work samples, or written assessments
• Familiarity with Industrial-Organizational Psychology or research-based selection practices
• Experience with Greenhouse, Airtable, dashboards, recruiting analytics, automations, or data visualization
• Prior recruiting experience in a nonprofit, research, academic, policy, or mission-driven environment

Location and Work Environment

This is a full-time role based in Berkeley, California with hybrid flexibility with at least three days a week onsite, preferably four. This is not a fully remote role.

The organization offers a thoughtful office environment, catered meals, dedicated desks, flexible hours, casual attire, professional development support, paid work trips, and a collaborative, intellectually stimulating culture.

Compensation and Benefits

The compensation range is $120,000–$170,000, depending on experience. Benefits include medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, retirement benefits, paid time off, professional development funding, and additional mission-aligned opportunities for learning and connection.

Why This Role, Why Now

This is a rare opportunity to join at the foundation-building stage. The organization has momentum, funding, and a consequential mission — and now needs the recruiting infrastructure to support continued growth.

For a recruiter who loves building, values rigor, and wants to see a direct line between their work and organizational impact, this is a compelling next step.