Head of Talent / Founding Recruiter

Join Prior Labs!

Who We Are: Prior Labs is building breakthrough foundation models that understand spreadsheets and databases - the backbone of science and business. Foundation models have transformed text and images, but structured data has remained largely untouched. We're tackling this $100B+ opportunity to revolutionize how we approach scientific discovery, medical research, financial modeling, and business intelligence.

Our Momentum: We're the world-leading organization working on structured data, and we're accelerating fast. Our TabPFN v2 model, recently published in Nature, sets the new state-of-the-art for structured data. We've hit 2.2M+ downloads, 5,000+ GitHub stars, and growth is accelerating. We're now building the next generation of models that combine AI advancements with specialized architectures for structured data.

What's Next: With €9M in pre-seed funding from top-tier investors and backing from leaders at Hugging Face, DeepMind, and Silo AI, we're scaling fast and building our team. This is the moment to join: help us shape the future of structured data AI. Read our manifesto.

About the role

We’re hiring our first People leader — a hands-on builder who can lay the foundations of a world-class People function while operating as a strategic thought partner to the founders. You’ll own the full people agenda across recruiting, people operations, culture, and talent development, balancing scrappy execution with longer-term strategic thinking. If you love moving between hiring your next engineer in the morning and designing the company’s first performance framework in the afternoon, this is your kind of challenge.

Recruiting

• Build and execute a top-tier hiring engine across technical, product, GTM, and operations roles

• Own end-to-end hiring: sourcing, screening, candidate experience, closing, and onboarding

• Partner with founders and hiring managers to define role scopes, scorecards, and interview processes

• Develop and manage talent pipelines, including proactive talent mapping and outreach

• Drive employer branding and high-leverage recruiting programs

People Operations

• Design scalable HR processes across onboarding, performance management, comp and leveling, career development, and employee engagement

• Implement systems for payroll, benefits, compliance, and HRIS as we expand across markets

• Develop clear policies and frameworks that support autonomy, accountability, and rapid iteration

Culture & Leadership

• Be a cultural steward and enable a performance-oriented, mission-aligned environment

• Coach managers and support team development as the company grows

• Build rituals, communication rhythms, and recognition programs that support clarity, trust, and momentum

• Support founders in scaling organizational structure and communication as the team expands

What we are looking for

• Experience building and scaling People functions in high-growth startups or fast-moving tech companies. Experience with AI companies is preferred.

• Focus on technical hiring for AI & ML talent

• Strong intuition for talent, culture, and organizational design

• Experience building HR systems, policies, and processes from early-stage to scale

• Excellent communication, empathy, and judgment

• Bias for ownership, urgency, and execution

Location

• Offices in Freiburg, Germany - a university city at the edge of the Black Forest, Switzerland and France, and Berlin—a global tech hub and one of Europe’s most dynamic cities

Benefits

• Competitive compensation package with meaningful equity

• 30 days of paid vacation + public holidays

• Comprehensive benefits including healthcare, transportation, and fitness

• Work with a world-class team and build the entire People Org

Our Commitments

• We believe the best products and teams come from a wide range of perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds. That’s why we welcome applications from people of all identities and walks of life, especially anyone who’s ever felt discouraged by "not checking every box."

• We’re committed to creating a safe, inclusive environment and providing equal opportunities regardless of gender, sexual orientation, origin, disabilities, or any other traits that make you who you are.