Talent Acquisition Specialist

About FirstPrinciples FirstPrinciples is a research company building AI for scientific discovery. It began with Theo, the AI Physicist, and has since grown into a product-focused company with two additional systems including Theo Conjecture, built for automated conjecturing, and Theo Collaborator, an adaptive environment for doing complex research with AI.

We're a fast-growing, remote-first team of builders, researchers, engineers, and thinkers working across Canada, the US, the UK, and expanding globally. What brings us together is a shared curiosity about how the universe works, and a belief that we can build systems that help us explore it more effectively.

We spend our time working on questions that don't have clear answers, like how to design AI that can reason through scientific problems, and how the scientific process as a whole might evolve. This is work that sits somewhere between creativity and rigorous thinking, and often requires comfort with ambiguity and iteration. If you're someone who enjoys tackling big, abstract problems and exploring ideas that don't yet have a defined path forward, you'll likely find the work here interesting.

Why This Role Exists We're building something ambitious, and we're growing quickly. Today, we're a team of just over 35 people. By the end of the year, we'll surpass 50, and our plan is to double in size year over year as we scale our impact.

Every hire we make shapes the future of FirstPrinciples. That's why we're looking for someone who sees recruiting as more than filling roles; someone who is passionate about identifying exceptional people, building meaningful relationships, and helping assemble a team capable of solving some of the world's hardest scientific and engineering problems.

In this role, you'll work closely with the Director of Talent and have a direct hand in building the company. You'll partner closely with leaders across the organization, influence hiring strategy, and help attract the engineers, researchers, and operators who will define our next chapter of growth. If you're energized by high standards, meaningful ownership, and the opportunity to build an extraordinary team, we'd love to meet you.

What You'll Do As our Talent Acquisition Specialist, you'll play a pivotal role in shaping the FirstPrinciples by identifying, engaging, and hiring exceptional people. You'll partner closely with leaders across the business, influencing hiring strategy while delivering an outstanding candidate experience from first conversation to offer.

In This Role, You Will

• Own full-cycle recruiting across technical functions, from sourcing through offer acceptance.
• Find and engage exceptional talent that others can't, using creative sourcing strategies, referrals, and relationship building.
• Partner with hiring managers to define hiring strategies, calibrate talent, and raise the hiring bar with every search.
• Conduct thoughtful interviews that uncover not only technical capability but curiosity, ambition, and enthusiasm for FirstPrinciples mission.
• Build meaningful relationships with candidates, acting as both an advisor and an ambassador for our mission.
• Continuously build talent communities so we're always connected with tomorrow's exceptional hires.
• Leverage recruiting data and market insights to improve processes, influence hiring decisions, and identify new opportunities.
• Champion an exceptional candidate experience that reflects the caliber of our team and our culture.
• Help shape and evolve our hiring practices, employer brand, and recruiting programs as we continue to grow.

Who You Are You're someone who genuinely loves finding exceptional people. You thrive on uncovering hidden talent, building relationships, and convincing world-class candidates to take on ambitious challenges.

You Likely Have

• 2–5 years of full-cycle recruiting experience in a high-growth technology company or startup.
• A proven track record of sourcing and hiring exceptional technical talent, particularly AI engineers,researchers, or other highly specialized roles.
• Exceptional communication skills and the ability to build trust quickly with candidates and hiring managers alike.
• A naturally curious mindset; you enjoy learning about new technologies and can confidently engage with technical candidates.
• Strong organization and the ability to manage multiple searches without sacrificing quality or candidate experience.
• Experience with modern recruiting tools such as Ashby, Juicebox, and LinkedIn Recruiter.
• A data-driven approach, using recruiting metrics to continually improve outcomes.
• Comfort with ambiguity and the pace of a fast-growing company where priorities evolve quickly.
• A relentless drive to raise the hiring bar and build teams that outperform expectations.
• Bonus if you have a B.Sc. in physics and have a genuine interest in AI

Most importantly, you're excited by the idea that every hire matters. You understand that building a successful company starts with bringing together extraordinary people, and you want to be at the center of making that happen.