Want to know if this job is worth applying to?
New York, New York, United States
Hybrid
About Valence
We're the only company pioneering leadership coaching for large enterprises in an AI-first way. Our mission is to transform how the world's biggest companies approach learning and development, helping teams work better together through AI-powered personalization that adapts to individual goals and organizational culture using the latest advances in machine learning and natural language processing.
We've been featured in Harvard Business Review, TIME, World Economic Forum, Financial Times, Forbes and an Inc. 5000 fastest-growing private companies in America. Our clients represent the most diverse and sophisticated enterprise AI implementations globally, including Coca-Cola, Delta, Nestlé, General Mills, Schneider Electric, Deutsche Telekom, AstraZeneca, Prudential, CVS and Bristol Myers Squibb.
Working at Valence means building the team behind one of the fastest-growing companies in enterprise AI. You'll recruit across GTM and technical roles for a business trusted by the likes of Coca-Cola, Delta, and Bristol Myers Squibb; partnering directly with leadership, owning your process end-to-end, and shaping who gets to define what AI-first transformation looks like. The bar is high, and you'll be the one who holds it.
The Role
We’re hiring a Lead Recruiter to own and evolve how Valence hires at a critical stage of company growth. This is a high-ownership IC role reporting to the VP of People & Talent, with responsibility not just for executing searches, but for shaping hiring strategy, calibrating talent bar, and influencing how we make talent decisions across the company.
You’ll operate as a thought partner to hiring managers and leadership, helping define role scope, prioritize hiring needs, and ensure we are consistently hiring people who raise the bar. This role sits at the center of how Valence scales — with direct visibility into business priorities and the opportunity to build a recruiting system that is fast, rigorous, and aligned with how an AI-native company should operate.
What You'll Do
Own full-cycle recruiting across GTM (Sales, CS, Marketing) and technical roles as needed, from role definition through close
Partner with hiring managers and leadership to define role scope, calibrate level, and align on success criteria tied to business outcomes
Contribute to headcount planning and hiring prioritization, helping the company make informed tradeoffs on where and how to invest in talent
Design and run structured, high-signal interview processes; drive calibration across interviewers to ensure consistent and high-quality hiring decisions
Build proactive, high-quality pipelines through sourcing, referrals, and network mapping, with a focus on reaching top-quartile talent
Help shape Valence's employer brand and deliver a high-touch, high-integrity candidate experience that reflects Valence’s standards, regardless of outcome
Use funnel data (conversion rates, source quality, time-to-hire) to manage hiring performance and turn insight into action
Bring market intelligence (talent landscape, compensation, competitor dynamics) into hiring decisions and leadership conversations
Partner with leaders to turn what recruiting learns [about the talent market, comp, and competitors] into insight that sharpens decisions across the company
8+ years of full-cycle, in-house recruiting experience in high-growth B2B SaaS or AI environments, with exposure to both GTM and technical hiring
A clear, well-formed point of view on what great recruiting looks like - how to assess talent, design effective processes, and hold a high hiring bar
Genuine AI fluency: a real grasp on how AI changes recruiting, and a bias toward building it into the process
A track record of operating autonomously in ambiguous, fast-moving environments, and of building or materially improving recruiting systems
Demonstrated success hiring high-caliber talent in competitive markets through proactive sourcing and effective closing
Strong sourcing instincts and an actively cultivated network, you don't wait on inbound to build pipeline
Data fluency - you understand your funnel, use metrics to guide decisions, and hold yourself accountable to outcomes
Experience influencing senior stakeholders, including challenging assumptions and driving alignment
Experience with Ashby (or a comparable ATS), with a commitment to maintaining clean systems and using them as a source of truth
Nice to have
Hands-on with AI sourcing/screening/ops tooling in your day-to-day workflow
Experience hiring the "consulting / professional-services → tech" profile, or recruiting in NYC's AI/tech market
Founding-recruiter DNA: you've stood up recruiting as an early or first dedicated hire
Exposure to employer-brand or talent-marketing work
Experience partnering on compensation benchmarking and levelling
Ownership & Rapid Growth
Outsized missions from day one, with direct responsibility for company-defining projects
Work alongside the executive team with transparency into strategy and decision-making
Influence on direction through real-time customer feedback and market insights
AI-First Operator
Work directly with cutting-edge AI models and next-generation platforms
Build expertise in enterprise AI implementation across Fortune 500 companies and multiple industries
Establish yourself as a recognized leader among peers in shaping how AI transforms work at a global scale
Compensation
Competitive salary including base + bonuses
Comprehensive health coverage (medical, dental, vision) from day one
Generous PTO, company-wide R&R shutdowns, and paid parental leave
Retirement plan support for US and global employees
Equity
Meaningful ownership in a venture-backed company at a growth inflection point
Financial upside that comes from scaling fast
Top-up grants as we scale and you deliver exceptional performance — your compensation grows alongside your impact
Top-Performing Culture
A culture built for top talent: intensity to win, growth without limits, and a team that solves hard problems and celebrates big wins together
Learn more about us and meet our team here
Valence takes candidate fraud seriously. We verify identity, LinkedIn profiles, employment history, and references; any misrepresentation during the hiring process is grounds for withdrawing an offer or ending employment. All offers are contingent on successful completion of these checks.
#LI-HYBRID
