Role Overview

We are looking for a senior, hands-on Head of Talent to build and own our people function from the ground up. This is a 0-to-1 role for someone who has done it before - ideally in an early-stage, multi-location startup environment.

You will own recruiting first - building a high-performing TA function across India, Dubai, KSA, and the US - then progressively expand into people operations, culture, and retention as we scale from ~15 people to 50+ over the next 12-18 months.

This role requires someone who can operate at both strategic and tactical levels: hands-on enough to source and close candidates yourself in the early days, while building the systems, processes, and team that will scale beyond you.

Key Responsibilities

Recruiting Function (Day 1 Priority)

Immediate Priorities:

• Take over and professionalize our recruiting process end-to-end

• Own hiring across engineering, AI/ML, product, and GTM roles in 4 locations

• Hire and manage a Senior TA Partner in India

• Partner directly with C-suite as internal customers

Recruiting Execution:

• Be hands-on: source, screen, and close candidates yourself initially

• Build structured intake, scorecard, and debrief processes with founders

• Implement recruiting tools and metrics to drive accountability

• Run weekly recruiting syncs with founders to manage pipeline and priorities

• Advise leadership on talent market realities, trade-offs, and hiring strategy

People Operations (Simultaneous Build)

Run in parallel from Day 1:

• Onboarding & Culture: Design and run onboarding that infuses company culture and sets new hires up for success - critical as we're actively hiring

• Retention & Engagement: Build mechanisms to prevent attrition (especially in Bangalore), including stay interviews, pulse checks, and culture-building initiatives - urgent given current attrition issues

• Performance Management: Implement lightweight performance frameworks (1-on-1s, feedback cycles, goal-setting) to support existing team

• HR Business Partnering: Act as trusted advisor to founders on organizational design, team dynamics, and people challenges

Why both at once: We're past the 0-to-5 stage. With ~40 people already and active hiring, you need to both bring in great talent AND take care of the people we have. Recruiting without retention is a leaky bucket.

What We're Looking For

Required Experience

• 8+ years in People/HR roles, with at least 3-4 years in early-stage startups (pre-Series A to Series B)

• Proven track record building HR/TA functions from scratch - you've done the 0-to-1 before

• Deep recruiting experience: You can personally source, assess, and close technical and GTM talent

• Multi-location experience: You've hired and managed people across India, Middle East, and ideally US markets

• Startup DNA: You've worked in fast-paced, ambiguous environments where you built the plane while flying it

Critical Skills

• Recruiting excellence: Can do it yourself, not just manage others who do it

• Stakeholder management: Comfortable working directly with technical founders who have strong opinions

• Process + speed: You build structure without slowing things down

• Market knowledge: Deep understanding of talent markets in India and Dubai/UAE, with insight into attrition drivers and mitigation strategies

• Systems thinking: You implement tools (ATS, HRIS, performance systems) that scale beyond you

Traits & Mindset

• Bias for action: You move fast and don't wait for perfect information

• High ownership: You own outcomes, not just activities

• Comfortable with ambiguity: You thrive when things aren't clearly defined yet

• Strategic but scrappy: You can think long-term while doing the tactical work today

• Cultural awareness: You understand how to build diverse, inclusive teams across cultures and geographies

• Energy & presence: You bring the energy level that an early-stage startup requires