Talent Acquisition Manager

About us

Spore.Bio is a deeptech startup born in 2023, building a new paradigm in quality control systems for Food & Beverage, Cosmetics, and Pharmaceutical factories. After spending a lot of time in factory environments, we saw the pain it was to make sure products were safe. Traditional quality control has heavy constraints and long waiting times. To change that, we decided to build Spore.Bio, a new generation of microbiological testing. Our team is dedicated to developing a cutting-edge solution, based on advanced photonic and deep-learning technologies, to detect bacterial contamination within minutes.

About the role

At Spore.Bio, we believe talent is our most precious asset. With an objective to hire 50+ people in the coming years, we need someone exceptional to own and scale how we attract, identify, and close top talent across hardware, microbiology, software, and AI.

As our Talent Acquisition Manager, you will be instrumental in our growth, helping us build a world-class team globally. You will manage and own the entire hiring process from sourcing to onboarding, reporting directly to the COO & Chief of Staff. This is a high-impact, high-autonomy role where you will shape recruiting as a strategic function, not just an operational one.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Recruiting

• Lead end-to-end recruiting across complex domains: hardware engineering, microbiology, AI/ML, software, and operations.

• Develop the ability to assess what sets the bar for elite talent and maintain Spore.Bio's high standard of hiring.

• Attract and engage top-tier technical talent in France and internationally.

• Deliver a world-class candidate experience at every stage.

Strategy & Talent Attraction

• Design and implement innovative recruitment strategies to build a strong, diverse talent pipeline.

• Leverage diverse sourcing techniques (LinkedIn Recruiter, events, direct outreach, referrals) to proactively identify candidates.

• Manage and optimize our Applicant Tracking System (Team Tailor) to ensure process efficiency and data quality.

• Build and nurture relationships with recruitment agencies, universities, engineering schools, and scientific associations.

Candidate Experience

• Create a dynamic, transparent, and engaging hiring process that reflects Spore.Bio's culture and values.

• Implement a system for tracking and measuring candidate feedback to continuously improve the recruitment journey.

Internal Partnership & Process

• Partner with hiring managers to deeply understand staffing needs and co-create effective job descriptions and scorecards.

• Collaborate with the Marketing team to strengthen employer branding and highlight what makes Spore.Bio unique.

• Develop robust evaluation tools (scorecards, interview grids) and standardized interviewer training.

• Train team members on hiring best practices and build a culture of recruiting excellence.

About you

• 5+ years of experience in Talent Acquisition, ideally in a fast-growing startup, deeptech, or tech environment.

• In-house recruiting experience: you've built processes from scratch, not just executed them.

• Technical recruiting exposure: a demonstrable track record hiring complex profiles (engineers, scientists, technical specialists).

• Data-driven mindset: you interpret and leverage key hiring metrics (time-to-hire, pipeline conversion, source effectiveness) to improve outcomes.

• Business partner posture: you know how to advise, challenge, and train hiring managers, not just take orders.

• Bilingual French & English: fluent in both, written and spoken, to operate across our international team.

• Excellent communication: you simplify complex topics, write compelling job ads, and convey genuine enthusiasm.

Soft Skills & Mindset

• Proactive and execution-oriented: you take ownership and make things happen without waiting for permission.

• Clear communicator across disciplines: you can talk to a microbiologist, a machine learning engineer, and a founder in the same afternoon.

• Curious and adaptable: you're eager to learn new technical domains and evolve your approach.

We don't expect you to know everything from day one. What matters most is your drive, intellectual curiosity, and willingness to dive into challenges.

Why join us?

• Work at the frontier of deeptech, photonics, and AI applied to real-world industrial problems.

• Shape the recruiting function of a fast-scaling company from the ground up.

• Collaborate with exceptional scientists and engineers.

• Evolve in a collaborative, ambitious, and stimulating work environment.

• Opportunities for professional development and continuous growth.

What we offer

We believe that flexibility and trust are important parts of a company. Our work environment reflects this:

• Flexible remote: if you live in Paris, you can work from our office or from home with no constraints.

• Remote work equipment: a dedicated budget to set up your workspace.

• Gymlib subscription to stay in shape wherever you are.

• Premium health insurance (Alan) for comprehensive coverage.

• Swile card for your meals, if you are based in France.

Recruitment process

1. Discovery call (30 min): A conversation with Luca to get to know each other. We'll discuss your background, motivations, and what you're looking for. It's also your chance to ask anything about Spore.Bio and the role.

2. Case study (take-home + 1h debrief): A practical scenario reflecting the kind of challenges you'd face: sourcing strategy, process design, or candidate assessment. We care about your reasoning, not textbook answers.

3. Founders interview (1 hour) + Lab Visit: A conversation with our founders about vision, culture, and how we work together. This is as much for you as it is for us.

4. Reference calls: A quick chat with one or two people you've worked with before.