Talent Specialist (Fixed-Term)

About Buildkite

At Buildkite, our mission is to unblock every developer on the planet. We’ve rethought how software delivery should work and have built a platform that is fast, reliable, secure, and able to scale to the needs of the most demanding high-growth tech companies globally including Airbnb, Shopify, Lyft, Canva, and PagerDuty.

Job Overview

We’re looking for a West Coast–based Talent Specialist to join our People team on a 6-month fixed-term contract. In this role, you’ll help drive our global recruitment efforts by building diverse talent pipelines, shaping hiring strategies, and ensuring a seamless experience for candidates and hiring teams throughout the entire process.

This is a highly collaborative role, working closely with hiring managers, recruiters, and cross-functional teams to ensure smooth and efficient hiring operations while supporting our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. You’ll also lead recruitment projects that align with Buildkite’s growth, such as creating interview kits, piloting new sourcing tools, and introducing improvements to how we hire. A proactive mindset is key, as you’ll be expected to identify opportunities to strengthen our recruitment capability and make changes that positively impact the business.

🚀 What You’ll Do

• Proactively source and engage candidates through various channels, focusing on building diverse and inclusive pipelines
• Conduct initial screenings and assessments to identify top candidates and present them with confidence to hiring teams
• Manage end-to-end interview scheduling and coordination, ensuring a seamless candidate experience
• Partner with hiring managers to deeply understand role requirements and create tailored recruitment strategies
• Own and manage the internal candidate referral program, engaging employees and following up with referred candidates
• Cultivate long-term relationships with candidates and maintain regular updates to support engagement
• Analyse recruitment data and pipeline metrics to inform strategies and drive improvements in efficiency and quality of hire
• Lead project work within recruitment, such as building structured interview kits, creating sourcing playbooks, or testing new recruitment tools
• Proactively identify and deliver process improvements that align recruitment to broader business goals
• Simplify and scale recruitment processes by creating playbooks and tools that strengthen consistency and efficiency
• Mentor peers and hiring managers to build recruitment capability across the business
• Foster inclusion and psychological safety throughout the hiring process, ensuring every candidate feels respected and supported
  
  

🗓️ A Typical Day Might Look Like

• Reviewing open requisitions and advising managers on sourcing approaches
• Running structured phone screens and preparing shortlists for interviews
• Documenting interview resources and assessments in centralised hubs for hiring teams
• Collaborating with People and Finance teams to align recruitment with workforce planning and salary frameworks
• Delivering project workstreams, such as piloting a new sourcing platform or refining an interview process for a team
• Meeting with hiring managers to share pipeline progress and recruitment insights
• Representing Buildkite at industry events, online forums, and meetups to strengthen our employer brand
  
  

🎨 What You Bring

• Recruitment Expertise – Proven experience in technical recruitment
• Candidate Experience – Ability to deliver an outstanding candidate journey through clear communication and support
• Process Knowledge – Familiarity with ATS platforms such as Greenhouse and scheduling tools like GoodTime
• Sourcing Capability – Skilled in using LinkedIn, Slack groups, job boards, and other channels to build pipelines
• Business Alignment – Strong understanding of how recruitment supports broader company goals and growth
• Project Skills – Experience leading recruitment-related projects that improve tools, processes, or outcomes
• Proactive Mindset – Confidence to identify opportunities for improvement and implement changes that make an impact
• Collaboration – Strong communication and partnership skills to work effectively with hiring managers and peers
• Growth Mindset – Curious, open to feedback, and motivated to continually improve skills and share learnings with others
  
  

✨ Why Join Buildkite

At Buildkite, we value kindness, autonomy, and collaboration. You’ll be part of a remote-first company where your work can make a meaningful impact – empowering engineers worldwide to build and deliver better software faster.

• Competitive compensation, including salary, equity, and benefits package
• Flexible, remote-first culture
• Opportunities for professional growth and development
• Collaborate with a talented, supportive, and high-performing People team
• An inclusive and innovative culture where your ideas make a real impact