Talent Partner/Sourcer - GTM/Non Tech at Black Forest Labs

, , -

Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

17 Mar, 26

Salary

0.0

Posted On

17 Dec, 25

Experience

5 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

Full-Cycle Recruiting, Sourcing, Talent Acquisition, Pipeline Building, Negotiation, Stakeholder Management, Technical Fluency, Communication Skills, ATS Familiarity, Market Understanding, Creative Strategies, Candidate Experience, Assessment Skills, Trust Building, Closing Strategies, Recruiting Bottlenecks

Industry

Software Development

Description

What if the bottleneck to building frontier AI isn't compute or capital, but finding the commercial, operational, and strategic leaders who can actually scale a breakthrough company? Our founding team pioneered Latent Diffusion and Stable Diffusion - breakthroughs that made generative AI accessible to millions. Today, our FLUX models power creative tools, design workflows, and products across industries worldwide. Our FLUX models are best-in-class not only for their capability, but for ease of use in developing production applications. We top public benchmarks and compete at the frontier - and in most instances we're winning. If you're relentlessly curious and driven by high agency, we want to talk. With a team of ~50, we move fast and punch above our weight. From our labs in Freiburg - a university town in the Black Forest - and San Francisco, we're building what comes next. What You'll Pioneer You'll be our first dedicated Non-Technical Talent Partner, owning full-cycle recruiting across all business functions. This isn't about filling requisitions—it's about building pipelines from scratch for roles where we're competing against OpenAI, Anthropic, and enterprise giants for scarce commercial talent, then convincing those candidates that BFL is where they should do the best work of their careers. You'll be the person who: Sources and attracts world-class non-technical talent by building robust pipelines for specialized roles—enterprise sales leaders, product managers, marketers, people ops, revenue operations, partnerships, customer success, finance, legal—where traditional recruiting approaches fall short Excels at direct sourcing, knowing where to find top talent across business functions (AI/ML companies, technical product orgs, developer-first companies, PLG success stories, high-growth startups) and how to engage them effectively when they're not looking Develops creative strategies to reach passive candidates who aren't actively job hunting and crafts compelling, personalized outreach that breaks through noise and generates response rates that exceed benchmarks Maps talent landscapes for emerging roles in AI companies—AI product managers, technical marketers, people ops leaders who've scaled research-heavy orgs, RevOps for developer-first products—and proactively builds networks before roles open, because reactive recruiting loses in this market Owns end-to-end recruiting for non-technical roles across the organization—GTM (sales, marketing, partnerships, customer success, developer relations), product, people operations, finance, legal, operations—moving fast without compromising quality Assesses functional excellence and cultural fit through effective screening conversations and structured evaluation frameworks, distinguishing between candidates who've built/scaled in technical environments versus those who just know the buzzwords Proactively identifies and eliminates recruiting bottlenecks to maintain hiring velocity in a high-growth environment Builds deep trust with functional and executive leaders by understanding their strategic goals, operational needs, and how their functions enable both research and commercial success—not just their job descriptions Coaches managers on effective interviewing, functional assessment design, and closing strategies—pushing back constructively when needed because you're a partner, not an order-taker Develops sophisticated closing strategies for talent choosing between FAANG offers, startup equity, and roles at better-funded AI companies—serving as a compelling ambassador for BFL's research pedigree, technical mission, and commercial potential Creates high-touch, personalized candidate experiences that differentiate us from larger tech companies with bigger budgets Navigates complex negotiations involving equity, role scope, and growth opportunities in ways that close competitive deals Questions We're Wrestling With How do you find product managers who can ship AI products when most "AI PMs" have never launched anything? What makes a Head of People at a well-funded AI lab actually respond to outreach from a 50-person startup? How do you assess whether a marketer can actually tell a complex technical story versus just run paid ads? Where's the line between moving fast and compromising quality when scaling business functions? How do you build pipelines for roles like "AI Product Marketing" or "Developer Relations for Research Engineers" that barely existed two years ago? What closing strategies actually work when candidates have offers from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google on the table? How do you maintain hiring velocity with limited resources while competing against recruiting teams 10x your size? These aren't hypothetical—they're challenges you'll navigate daily in the most competitive talent market in tech. Who Thrives Here You're a sourcing-led recruiter who gets energized (not drained) by finding hard-to-reach talent across business functions. You've built pipelines from scratch for specialized roles and developed a reputation for closing competitive hires. You understand the AI/ML landscape, can evaluate a product manager's technical fluency, and hold credible conversations with functional leaders without pretending to be one. You likely have: 5+ years of full-cycle recruiting experience with deep expertise recruiting business talent—product managers, marketers, sales leaders, people ops, operations, finance—ideally in technical environments Exceptional sourcing skills with a proven track record of building pipelines from scratch for hard-to-fill roles across multiple business functions Experience recruiting for AI/ML, deep tech, or technical product companies where the quality bar is exceptionally high and business functions must operate effectively alongside research teams Strong execution skills—you ship results, not excuses, and know when to be scrappy versus methodical Experience recruiting across US and European markets with understanding of geographical nuances, visa processes, and relocation logistics Technical fluency to engage credibly with leaders in a research-driven company—you can discuss AI products, understand go-to-market strategies for developer tools, and evaluate candidates' experience working with technical teams A reputation for building trust and credibility quickly with hiring managers and candidates across diverse functions Outstanding written communication skills, especially for crafting compelling outreach that generates responses Deep familiarity with ATS platforms and modern sourcing tools (LinkedIn Recruiter, Boolean search, etc.) We'd be especially excited if you: Were a first or early talent hire at a scaling AI/ML or deep tech startup and built the non-technical recruiting function from scratch Have a track record recruiting across multiple business functions (not just GTM or just operations) in high-growth technical companies Bring experience recruiting product managers, marketers, or commercial leaders who've successfully brought technical/developer products to market Are comfortable with ambiguity and rapidly changing organizational priorities Have deep knowledge of European business talent markets Have built relationships in AI/ML company communities and understand the competitive landscape for non-technical talent

Responsibilities

You will be responsible for full-cycle recruiting across all business functions, focusing on sourcing and attracting non-technical talent. This includes building pipelines for specialized roles and developing creative strategies to engage passive candidates.