About the RoleWe're looking for our first Talent Lead to help us build an exceptional team-fast.
This is a recruiting-first role. You'll own how we find, attract, and close great people across engineering, product, go-to-market, and operations. You'll work side-by-side with leadership to define what "great" looks like, sharpen our hiring bar, and bring in people who raise it.
Beyond hiring, you'll help shape the foundations of how the team operates-onboarding, how we show up to candidates, how we think about compensation and leveling-but always with a bias toward simplicity and usefulness. This is not a traditional HR role. We're not looking to build layers of process-we're looking for someone who enables a high-performing, low-ego, deeply motivated team to do the best work of their careers.
If you have strong taste in people, move quickly, and care deeply about building teams that win, this role is for you.
What You'll Do- Own end-to-end recruiting across all functions, with a focus on high-quality, efficient hiring
- Partner directly with leadership to scope roles, define hiring criteria, and run tight, thoughtful interview processes
- Develop creative sourcing strategies and build strong pipelines for hard-to-fill roles (especially engineering)
- Close exceptional candidates by crafting compelling narratives about Photon's mission, product, and trajectory
- Continuously raise the hiring bar-improving how we assess talent, make decisions, and avoid bias
- Build Photon's presence in the market as a place top talent wants to work
- Design simple, effective onboarding that helps new hires ramp quickly and feel connected
- Support leadership on comp, leveling, and org design as we grow-keeping things pragmatic and market-aware
- Plan and run team events and offsites that actually strengthen relationships and reflect our culture
- Use data and intuition to improve hiring velocity, quality, and candidate experience over time
What We're Looking For- 5+ years of experience in recruiting or talent at high-growth startups or technology companies
- Proven track record of hiring exceptional talent across multiple functions, especially technical roles
- Strong instincts and taste in people-you know how to identify high performers and culture add
- Ability to operate with speed and ownership while maintaining a high bar
- Experience working closely with founders or senior leadership on hiring strategy
- Excellent communicator and relationship builder with both candidates and internal stakeholders
- Highly resourceful and proactive-you figure things out and make things happen
Preferred Qualifications- Experience as an early or first Talent/People hire at a startup
- Background recruiting for engineering and product roles
- Familiarity with modern recruiting tools (e.g., Gem, Greenhouse)
- Experience supporting comp conversations, leveling, or org planning
- Interest in healthcare, marketplaces, or complex systems
Pay TransparencyThe estimated base salary for this role is
$150,000 - $175,000 USD annually. Actual compensation will depend on skills, qualifications, and experience, and includes equity and benefits. At our stage, we place significant value on equity as part of total compensation.
