Watney

Ops

FoundingTalentPartner

$180–270k ~AI est. San Francisco, California, United States FULL TIME
Market Sentiment
HIGH DEMAND

Neural analysis suggests this role is
optimal for Senior candidates.

The Brief

“Founding Talent Partner at Watney. Skills: Full-cycle recruiting, Talent strategy, Recruiting infrastructure. Own full-cycle recruiting. Build sourcing strategies”

Industry & Context.

Ops

What They're Looking For.

Must Have

Significant full-cycle recruiting experience, Led or shaped recruiting function, Exceptional top-of-funnel operator, AI-native and tool-savvy, Genuine grit, humility, and maturity, Adapt fast and create new playbooks

Nice to Have

High-growth startup experience, Technical company experience, Robotics recruiting experience, Deep tech recruiting experience, Hardware recruiting experience

What You'll Do.

Own full-cycle recruiting

Build sourcing strategies

Shape candidate experience

Partner with founders

Partner with hiring managers

Define hiring criteria

Design interview processes

Calibrate on ideal profiles

Stand up recruiting infrastructure

Optimize pipeline analytics

Make better decisions

Coach recruiting team

Build out recruiting team

How You'll Work.

Team & Collaboration

Partner with founders; Partner with operators; Work with hiring managers

Full Job Description

OUR MISSION Expand human ambition in the physical world. Critical infrastructure is constrained by labor shortages, hazardous working conditions, and operational complexity. Watney builds and deploys autonomous robotic systems that increase the speed and capacity of buildout, starting with data centers. We believe the most important decision you can make is what you work on and who you work with. Watney builds and deploys autonomous robotic systems for the largest hyperscalers in the world. Come work with the former GSM for the iPhone, the architect of Uber's realtime pricing engine, and the engineer behind the world’s fastest EV racecar at ETH Zurich. ABOUT THE ROLE Watney is hiring its first dedicated Talent Partner to own recruiting end-to-end and build the function from the ground up. You'll set strategy, build sourcing playbooks, and partner directly with our founders and operators to hire across technical, operational, and executive functions as we scale from ~20 to 60+ people this year. We're looking for someone with genuine grit, strategic instincts, and the rare ability to be both a visionary recruiter and a hands-on operator. You also won't be doing this alone. Founders, engineers, and operators are deeply invested in hiring and will show up as real partners in the process. If you are equally comfortable sourcing a hard-to-find profile, calibrating with a founder on what "great" looks like, and designing a hiring process from scratch - this could be the right opportunity for you. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Own full-cycle recruiting across multiple disciplines simultaneously: technical, GTM, operational, and leadership roles - Build and refine sourcing strategies that go beyond volume: creative outbound, referral networks, and community engagement - Shape Watney's employer brand and candidate experience from first touch to offer - Partner with founders and hiring managers to define hiring criteria, design interview processes, and calibrate on ideal profiles - Stand u

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