Talent Acquisition Lead

EGIDE's ambition is to build the future of European defence capability - and everything depends on hiring the best team for that mission. As Talent Acquisition Lead, you will own this: basics exist today, but a lot remains to be built to support hypergrowth in the next years.
This is a hands-on builder role, not an administration role. Roughly 80% recruitment, 20% HR.
You will report directly to the founders and work side by side with them on every hire.

What You'll Do

1. Recruitment (80%)

• Scale the function: build on existing foundations - processes, pipelines, assessment criteria, employer brand, tools - and design what's missing to grow headcount fast across sites, without breaking quality or culture.

• Own end-to-end hiring: sourcing to offer, for roles ranging from production operators to senior engineers and leadership profiles.

• Find scarce profiles: engineers in defence and dual-use are among the hardest to hire in Europe. Passive candidates, small talent pools, confidentiality constraints - you know how to source where others don't (communities, events, referral engines, direct approach...).

• Leverage AI: you use AI tools thoughtfully across sourcing, screening, outreach and scheduling, and stay on top of the tooling landscape to keep the team productive.

• Partner with hiring managers: sharp, structured intake sessions; help them define what they actually need and challenge them when they don't.

2. HR (20%)

• Support performance and development frameworks as the team grows.

• Act as a trusted, low-ego point of contact for employees, and a culture guardian in a fast-moving environment.

You Are a Fit If You Have

• Proven recruitment experience in a scale-up: you have built or deeply shaped a recruitment function in a high-growth environment - agency or in-house, ideally both.

• Track record on scarce profiles: engineering, industrial or technical talent; you can show creative sourcing wins on hard-to-fill roles.

• AI fluency: you already use AI tools in your daily recruitment workflow.

• Operational excellence: you are hands-on, fast, and comfortable with ambiguity and competing priorities.

• Communication excellence: fluent English and French; you can represent the company to candidates and convince the best of them.

• Cultural fit: low ego, high energy, builder mentality, comfort with an early-stage environment.

Nice to Have

• Exposure to industrial / manufacturing / multi-site environments

• Defence or dual-use sector familiarity

• Experience hiring across borders (EU)

• Additional HR experience (paie, CSE-related topics)

Why Join EGIDE?

• Build the future of European defence capability — work on real systems that fly, fast

• A unique scale-up mandate: solid basics in place, a lot to design and build

• Competitive salary + meaningful equity (BSPCE)

• 100% health coverage

• A high-autonomy, high-impact environment

• A chance to shape a category-defining company from the ground up

Ready to Join?

If you want to build a recruitment engine for one of Europe's most ambitious defence companies, we'd love to talk. Recruitment process:

1. Screening call

2. Deep-dive interview

3. Case study

4. On-site final meeting