Talent Lead/Head of

We care far more about output, judgment and ownership than titles or hierarchy. The title for this role is flexible and will evolve with the person. What matters is building something exceptional.

Job Title: Founding Talent Lead

Location: London, UK

Job Type: Full-time

Salary: Competitive

Equity: Benchmarked

Isembard is building a new kind of manufacturing company for critical industries. We are looking for a founding talent lead to help assemble the team that builds it.

This is not traditional recruiting. This is about finding exceptional people and convincing them to join a mission with high ambition and high standards.

You will work directly with the founder and leadership team across engineering, software, operations, manufacturing, quality, franchise growth, country expansion and leadership hiring.

The goal is simple: build one of the strongest industrial teams in the world.

Role Overview

We are looking for someone who can own talent from first principles.

You will identify, engage and close exceptional people across machining, manufacturing, software, robotics, operations, design, commercial and leadership functions.

This is a rare opportunity to help shape a company at the earliest stage while it scales internationally.

You will spend time:

• Finding exceptional people before anyone else does
• Building relationships with engineers, operators and builders
• Convincing high-agency people to join
• Helping define the culture and talent bar of the company
• Building systems and processes that scale with growth

This is for someone who understands that great companies are ultimately built by great people.

Key Responsibilities

Build the team end to end

• Source and engage exceptional candidates across technical and operational functions
• Run outreach, screening and interview processes
• Work closely with hiring managers and leadership on role definition
• Drive candidates from first contact through to close
• Maintain a high hiring bar while moving quickly

Build the Isembard talent network

• Develop relationships across manufacturing, defence, software and engineering communities
• Build pipelines of machinists, engineers, operators and leaders
• Attend events, factories, universities and industry gatherings
• Help position Isembard as a destination for ambitious builders
• Continuously improve recruiting messaging and strategy

Help shape the organisation

• Work with leadership on org design and hiring priorities
• Help define interview systems, assessments and onboarding
• Identify talent gaps and hiring bottlenecks early
• Over time, help build and lead the broader recruiting function

Required Experience

• Strong recruiting or talent sourcing ability
• Strong judgment on people and potential
• Ability to move quickly and operate independently
• Strong written and verbal communication
• High ownership and persistence
• Ability to build trust with candidates and teams

Preferred Experience

• Experience recruiting in startups, engineering or industrial businesses
• Experience recruiting technical or operational roles
• Strong network across manufacturing, software or defence
• Interest in engineering, manufacturing or industrial systems
• Comfortable operating in fast-moving environments with ambiguity

What We Offer

• Founding scope — you will help assemble the company from the ground up
• Access — work directly with leadership on the highest leverage problem in the business: people
• Mission — help rebuild industrial capability through exceptional teams
• Equity — benchmarked to reflect the founding nature of the role
• Autonomy — freedom to move quickly and build the function your way

If not now, when.

About Isembard

Isembard is building a distributed network of high-performance factories for critical industries. We combine advanced machine tools, robotics and proprietary software, MasonOS, to manufacture precision components for aerospace, defence, energy and frontier technology companies.

Our ambition is to scale a global owner-operator franchise network capable of delivering speed, resilience and industrial capacity where it matters most.

Our values:

• If not now, when
• Follow the five maxims
• Humour and humility