Talent Acquisition Lead

Job Summary:

We are seeking a hands-on and strategic Talent Acquisition Lead to build and lead the recruiting function for our Talent Solutions (Staffing, Direct Hire, and Contractor/Freelance solutions) across Engineering, Healthcare, Education, and Legal verticals. You will own the recruiting lifecycle end-to-end — from sourcing and screening to placement and process design.

The initial focus will be on high-skill roles (engineers, healthcare professionals, educators, legal experts). This is a player-coach role: senior enough to architect strategy, but willing to roll up your sleeves and do the work until the team is formed.

This is a remote position. We do not offer visa sponsorship or assistance. Resumes and communication must be submitted in English.

Responsibilities:

The following information is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, or required skills.

·        Design and execute scalable recruiting strategies across direct hire, temp-to-hire, temporary, and freelance models.

·        Hire, train, and manage a team of recruiters as the business scales; personally engage in recruiting for high-skill roles in the initial phase.

·        Partner with Business Development Leads and clients to align on requirements and hiring strategies.

·        Build and maintain strong pipelines of specialized talent across multiple verticals.

·        Conduct candidate outreach, screening calls, interviews, and guide candidates through the hiring process.

·        Track recruiting KPIs (time-to-fill, cost-per-hire, pipeline health, quality of hire) and report insights to leadership.

·        Ensure compliance with legal and staffing requirements, including documentation and background checks.

·        Leverage ATS, sourcing platforms, and AI-driven tools to manage pipelines and ensure data accuracy.

·        Contribute to process improvements, playbooks, and TA best practices to support scalability.

In the first week, expect to:

·        Onboard and integrate into Toptal.

·        Undergo training on staffing processes, ATS tools, and sourcing platforms.

In the first month, expect to:

·        Begin sourcing candidates for open requisitions across high-skill verticals.

·        Partner with BD Leads to align on role requirements and priorities while exercising discretion and independent judgment.

In the first three months, expect to:

·        Own the full recruiting lifecycle for assigned roles.

·        Successfully place your first high-skill candidates into client roles.

·        Build repeatable sourcing and recruiting processes.

In the first six months, expect to:

·        Consistently meet staffing KPIs.

·        Begin hiring and managing junior recruiters to expand delivery capacity.

·        Establish Toptal’s reputation as a reliable staffing partner for high-skill roles.

In the first year, expect to:

·        Fully own and be recognized as the leader of the TA function.

·        Build and manage a multi-vertical TA team.

·        Contribute to strategic initiatives improving staffing delivery, operations, and candidate experience.

Qualifications and Job Requirements:

·        Bachelor’s degree is required.

·        8+ years of recruiting experience, including leadership roles in talent solutions or staffing agencies, RPOs, or high-volume in-house recruiting.

·        Proven success in both hands-on recruiting and building/managing teams.

·        Strong track record filling high-skill roles across multiple verticals.

·        Experience with direct hire, contract-to-hire, and temporary staffing models.

·        Proficiency in sourcing tools (LinkedIn Recruiter, job boards, AI platforms).

·        Strong interviewing, candidate assessment, and pipeline management skills.

·        Experience with ATS systems and collaboration tools (Slack, Zoom, etc.).

·        Outstanding written and verbal communication skills in English.

·        Ability to work in a fast-paced, rapidly growing company and handle a wide variety of challenges, deadlines, and a diverse array of contacts.

·        You must be a world-class individual contributor to thrive at Toptal. You will not be here just to tell other people what to do.