Talent Acquisition Lead
Job description
About the role
This role partners with engineering leadership to own end-to-end engineering hiring and scale the process as the company grows.
People teams handle hiring, development, and employee experience. Recruiters find and screen candidates. HR partners advise managers on policy and performance. People operations run payroll, benefits, and compliance. The work requires discretion, fairness, and clear communication. People teams support employees through every stage, from hiring to exit. Most companies run structured processes for reviews, compensation, and policy changes.
Key facts
What you'll do
Scalable talent processes are designed so the function can expand alongside business growth.
Engineering roles are filled through built hiring systems and pipelines that maintain quality standards.
Multiple concurrent searches for product, engineering, ML/AI, and infrastructure roles are run without lowering the candidate experience.
Hiring requirements are defined with engineering leaders to treat them as partners rather than clients.
Engineers who deliver quickly with AI and think clearly without it are identified to match modern B2B support workflows.
Referrals, outbound outreach, and talent community building shape sourcing strategies to keep the pipeline .
Hands-on Talent Ops and People Ops tasks are handled to support the business wherever needs arise.
Requirements
A Bachelor's degree is required for the role.
End-to-end ownership of product engineering and related technical hiring is demonstrated throughout the lifecycle.
Referrals, employer branding, outbound sourcing, or a mix of these methods are used to build hiring pipelines.
Multiple searches are managed at pace without dropping the bar or candidate experience.
Engineering leaders are partnered with closely, operating as an extension of the team instead of a service function.
Hands-on Talent Ops and People Ops work beyond pure technical hiring is handled comfortably.
Nice to have
Experience in fast-paced, AI-forward B2B environments where support workflows span Slack, Discord, and other collaboration channels is present.
Skills & tools
General hiring platforms and collaboration tools common in modern tech teams are used.
Practical notes
This role requires a degree and may involve travel within UK offices.
Typical interview steps
People team interviews usually include a case scenario, a policy question, and behavioral rounds. Candidates may be asked to design an interview process or handle a sensitive employee situation. Confidentiality and judgment are tested throughout. Structured answers with empathy land best. Interviewers often test how you handle sensitive information and disagreement. Framing answers around policy, fairness, and company values works well.
Good to know
Technical recruiting in B2B SaaS often requires fluency with fast-moving AI tools and support workflows.
Building scalable hiring systems is a core part of the role, not an afterthought.
Strong partnerships with engineering leaders are central to success in this position.
General talent operations may include sourcing, screening, and pipeline management.
The team values referrals and employer brand as key channels for sourcing candidates.
Questions to ask
Good questions to ask the employer in the interview: what does success look like in the first six months, how is the team structured, what is the current biggest challenge, and how are decisions made. Asking about growth paths and the review process is also well received. Employers expect questions, and good ones show preparation.
Career growth
People careers grow from coordinator to generalist, manager, and director levels. Recruiters can move into talent leadership. HR partners can move into people operations leadership. Business acumen becomes more important at each level. People careers reward breadth across recruitment, development, and operations. Experience with tools such as HRIS and ATS systems helps at every level.
About the company
Plain is redefining customer support for the next generation of B2B companies. We're building the fastest, most powerful platform to help companies move beyond reactive support and build true customer relationships.