Talent Associate

Valkai is building a world-class team and we’re looking for a Talent Associate to help us scale. In this role, you’ll be a key partner in helping the Talent team meet ambitious hiring goals by delivering exceptional candidate experiences and supporting high-impact recruiting operations.

This is a great opportunity for early-career recruiting professionals or individuals looking to pivot into a career in recruiting. You’ll gain hands-on experience across the full recruiting lifecycle and work alongside a fast-moving, high-caliber team.

• Thoughtful problem solvers: You start with a clear and accurate understanding of the context. You break down messy logistics into concrete plans and think about what the candidate experiences, not just what the calendar says.

• Organized and self-sufficient: You are comfortable managing yourself, navigating ambiguity, and finding ways to create measurable impact. You turn loose goals into concrete execution plans, and nothing falls through the cracks on your watch.

• Owner of your mission: You own the outcomes you drive. You take pride in how candidates experience Valkai and in how fast the process runs. You're accountable for results, not just tasks completed.

• Sharp eye for people: You notice what exceptional looks like and can tell the difference between a good resume and a great one.

• Coordinate interviews, onsites, and paid work trials end to end, owning every logistical detail from first scheduling email to debrief

• Own candidate experience from first touch to signed offer, so every candidate leaves the process wanting to work here, including the ones we pass on

• Run recruiting operations in Ashby: pipelines, scheduling, scorecards, and the data that tells us what's working

• Contribute to top of funnel through sourcing, application review, and first-touch outreach

• Take ownership of talent projects and process improvements, from referral programs to onboarding logistics, and make each one measurably faster

• Use AI tools across the entire workflow; we expect the talent function to be as AI-native as the company it's building

• 2+ years in recruiting, coordination, or another people-focused operations role

• Experience at an early-stage startup or on a competitive, high-performing team

• Hands-on time with an ATS (we use Ashby)

• You do not need Life Sciences experience

• Competitive compensation, including meaningful equity

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance for employee and dependents

• Generous PTO policy

• Paid parental leave

At Valkai, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status.