Talent Acquisition Lead (head of Ta)

Joby Aviation Joby Aviation · Robotics · Santa Cruz, CA · People

This role is for a Talent Acquisition Lead at Joby Aviation, responsible for defining and executing the company's global talent acquisition strategy. The role involves leading the recruiting lifecycle, building a high-performing team, and ensuring a data-driven approach to hiring. It requires significant leadership experience in talent acquisition, particularly in high-growth, complex environments, and partnering with executive leadership. The company is in the final stages of certifying its aircraft and preparing for commercial launch, indicating a mature stage of product development and scaling.

What you'd actually do

  1. Define Joby’s enterprise talent acquisition strategy across engineering, manufacturing, operations, software, and corporate functions—aligned to company growth, technical roadmap, and workforce planning
  2. Build, structure, and lead a high-performing recruiting organization capable of scaling efficiently across functions, geographies, and hiring profiles
  3. Drive a best-in-class candidate experience that reflects the company’s mission and competitive differentiation
  4. Implement a recruiting analytics framework that provides visibility into pipeline health, sourcing effectiveness, funnel efficiency, quality of hire, and hiring manager effectiveness
  5. Ensure hiring practices comply with applicable employment laws across all jurisdictions, including OFCCP requirements and ITAR/export control considerations

Skills

Required

  • 12+ years of progressive talent acquisition experience, including significant leadership responsibility
  • Proven experience building and scaling recruiting functions in high growth, complex environments
  • Demonstrated success partnering with executive leadership and influencing enterprise level decisions
  • Track record of hiring across technical, operational, and leadership roles
  • Deep expertise in talent strategy, workforce planning, and recruiting operations
  • Strong analytical mindset with experience leveraging data to drive decision making and performance improvements
  • Experience leading, coaching, and developing high performing recruiting teams
  • Exceptional stakeholder management, communication, and executive presence

Nice to have

  • Experience working in an OFCCP environment and strong understanding of employment compliance
  • Experience in aerospace, aviation, advanced manufacturing, or similarly complex technical industries
  • Experience supporting rapid scale in a startup or hypergrowth environment
  • Familiarity with global recruiting operations and international hiring
  • Experience building employer brand in competitive talent markets
  • Expertise in recruiting technologies and systems implementation (e.g., ATS, CRM, talent intelligence tools)
  • Strong background in diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies within talent acquisition
  • Familiarity with iCIMS and Gem

What the JD emphasized

  • defining and executing Joby’s global talent acquisition strategy
  • attracts, assesses, and hires exceptional talent
  • building a best-in-class, data driven recruiting function
  • continuous improvement in systems, processes, and outcomes
  • scaling efficiently
  • OFCCP requirements
  • ITAR/export control considerations