Principal Executive Recruiter
Leads and scales an in-house executive recruiting function while personally managing critical Director+ searches and advising C-suite leaders. Requires 15+ years of recruiting experience, substantial executive search expertise, and player-coach leadership in a technical, high-growth environment.
About the job
Responsibilities
- Design and scale a world-class executive search function, including managing and coaching a small team, developing internal executive research capabilities, and supporting long-term succession planning.
- Own the full executive recruitment lifecycle from initial strategy meeting through offer and closing.
- Personally lead candidate generation, engagement, negotiation, and closing for high-priority Director+ searches.
- Develop data-driven executive talent market maps across autonomous technology, automotive, software, hardware engineering, operations, and finance.
- Present the company mission, vision, and culture to senior candidates and manage complex compensation and relocation strategies.
- Handle sensitive candidate and organizational information with discretion.
- Advise the CEO, co-founder, C-suite, and senior leaders on talent planning and executive hiring practices.
- Improve executive search processes using tools, metrics, and interview methodologies.
- Create strategies to engage and convert highly passive executive candidates.
- Provide competitive intelligence and talent benchmarking to the executive team.
Requirements
- 15+ years of total recruiting experience, including 8+ years conducting Director+ executive searches.
- Experience recruiting executive talent in highly technical or rapidly scaling environments, such as hardware, software, AI/ML, autonomous systems, or high-growth technology.
- Successful multi-year experience as a player-coach managing a small team or direct reports.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to influence and present to C-level executives.
- Expert negotiation and closing skills for complex executive compensation packages.
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.
Nice-to-haves
- Experience at a technology-focused retained executive search firm.
- Interest in the autonomous and electric vehicle industry.
Compensation
- Annual salary range: $244,000-$321,000.
Skills
Executive Recruiting, Executive Search, Talent Mapping, Market Research, Succession Planning, Candidate Sourcing, Candidate Engagement, Negotiation, Compensation Strategy, Interview Methodologies, Competitive Intelligence, Talent Benchmarking, AI/ML, Autonomous Systems
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