Executive Leadership Technical Recruiter (AI Scale-up)

Qualifications

• Deliver an exceptional candidate experience for individuals being considered for unconventional and high-stakes opportunities
• Work closely with the wider people team to craft compelling offers for transformative hires, including preparing and presenting business case approvals where required
• Experienced in executive/leadership-level Technical Recruitment (software engineering, machine learning and research science), from a search firm or as part of an in-house team in a high-performing deeply-technical company
• Your interest in AI and future mobility aligns with the company mission, and you're energised by the opportunity to help build a company that’s redefining what’s possible
• Comfortable navigating change, thinking creatively, and delivering results in a fast-moving environment

Responsibilities

• Collaborate closely with senior leadership, to proactively shape and define talent strategies for the most critical and forward-looking roles
• Own the full lifecycle recruitment process for highly complex, high-impact positions that are instrumental to our mission
• Build and nurture deep talent networks through strategic partnerships and presence at key industry events—expanding beyond traditional sourcing methods
• Maintain an up-to-date strategic talent landscape for emerging functions, offering regular data-driven insights and recommendations to leadership
• Play an active role in Global Leadership Talent Acquisition initiatives, sharing thought leadership and contributing to projects that strengthen and scale the function

Full Description

Location: Sunnyvale, CA

Working style: Hybrid

Hawkwood have been engaged to help a unicorn AI scale-up in their search for a new Executive Leadership Technical Recruiter.

They’re not just building AI-powered systems - they’re reimagining the future of intelligent mobility. Their mission is to solve one of the most complex technical challenges of our time: enabling machines to understand and navigate the real world autonomously, safely, and at scale. They’re pioneering a new approach grounded in cutting-edge research, deep learning, and real-world deployment.

As an Executive Talent Partner, you’ll be embedded at the heart of a fast-growing, mission-led technology company operating at the frontier of machine learning and robotics. As a high-impact individual contributor within their global talent team, you’ll work directly with senior leadership - including the founding team - to define and fill roles that are shaping the future, often before they’re fully scoped.

Why this role matters:

Meaningful, Mission-Led Work

They’re building technology with real-world consequences - changing how people and goods move through cities and across continents.

Next-Gen AI Innovation

Their approach goes beyond rule-based systems and static maps - they’re enabling adaptive, general-purpose intelligence that learns and improves with scale.

Global Growth, Real Impact

Backed by world-class investors and driven by a clear long-term vision, they’ve rapidly expanded across multiple international markets - and they’re just getting started.

Job summary:

• Collaborate closely with senior leadership, to proactively shape and define talent strategies for the most critical and forward-looking roles. Own the full lifecycle recruitment process for highly complex, high-impact positions that are instrumental to our mission.

• Build and nurture deep talent networks through strategic partnerships and presence at key industry events—expanding beyond traditional sourcing methods.

• Maintain an up-to-date strategic talent landscape for emerging functions, offering regular data-driven insights and recommendations to leadership.

• Play an active role in Global Leadership Talent Acquisition initiatives, sharing thought leadership and contributing to projects that strengthen and scale the function.

• Deliver an exceptional candidate experience for individuals being considered for unconventional and high-stakes opportunities.

• Work closely with the wider people team to craft compelling offers for transformative hires, including preparing and presenting business case approvals where required.

About you:

• Experienced in executive/leadership-level Technical Recruitment (software engineering, machine learning and research science), from a search firm or as part of an in-house team in a high-performing deeply-technical company

• Strategic and impact-driven talent acquisition professional with a strong background in hiring high-calibre, leadership-level technical talent into complex, specialist roles.

• Your interest in AI and future mobility aligns with the company mission, and you're energised by the opportunity to help build a company that’s redefining what’s possible.

• Comfortable navigating change, thinking creatively, and delivering results in a fast-moving environment.