Talent Acquisition Manager - India
About Cogniify
Cogniify is a multinational technology firm with offices across the USA and India, dedicated to building seamless, data-driven solutions for our clients. As we continue to scale rapidly, we are investing in building the talent function from the ground up and that starts with the right recruiter.
The Role
We are looking for a hands-on, resourceful Talent Acquisition Manager / HR Manager to build and lead our talent function from scratch. This is a true 0-to-1 opportunity : you will design our hiring strategy, stand up scalable recruiting processes, and build a high-performing team, all while partnering directly with founders and senior leadership across India and the USA.
You will manage a growing team (including a Talent Sourcing Recruiter who supports pipelining across both markets) and own the end-to-end talent agenda, from workforce planning and bulk hiring to vendor management and employer branding. This role is for someone who thrives in ambiguity, takes ownership without waiting to be told, and is excited to build something from the ground up rather than maintain something already built.
Key Responsibilities
Team Building & Leadership
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Hire, build, and lead a talent acquisition/HR team (having previously managed a team of 6 to 10 people), setting goals, coaching performance, and developing future leaders within the function.
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Act as a mentor and manager to direct reports, including recruiters and sourcing specialists, ensuring they have clear priorities and support.
Process & Systems Design
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Design and implement scalable recruiting processes, workflows, and playbooks that can grow with the company across both India and the USA.
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Build and own the hiring pipeline strategy, from sourcing channels to interview loops to offer management, ensuring consistency and quality at scale.
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Own the ATS and other HR tech tools, ensuring data hygiene, reporting accuracy, and process adoption across the team.
Bulk & Strategic Hiring
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Lead high-volume/bulk hiring efforts across engineering, operations, and corporate functions, without compromising candidate experience or quality of hire.
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Partner with department heads to translate business goals into hiring plans, headcount forecasts, and role prioritization in real time.
Vendor & Stakeholder Management
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Manage relationships with recruiting vendors, staffing agencies, job boards, and background verification partners across both markets, negotiating terms and holding them accountable to SLAs.
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Serve as the primary point of contact for cross-functional stakeholders on all things hiring and people operations.
Employer Branding & Candidate Experience
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Shape Cogniify 's employer brand, including job descriptions, sourcing campaigns, and social presence, to attract top talent in both markets.
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Set the bar for candidate experience, guiding candidates clearly through each stage of the process, setting expectations, and ensuring every interaction reflects Cogniify 's culture and values.
HR Operations
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Support broader HR functions including onboarding, compliance, and policy-building as the people function matures.
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Bring structure to ambiguous, undefined problems; this role will regularly require building something where nothing currently exists.
Qualifications
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Team Leadership: Proven experience managing a team of 6 to 10 people, including hiring, building, and scaling that team from the ground up.
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Process Builder: Track record of designing recruiting processes and systems that scale with company growth, not just executing on an existing playbook.
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Pipeline & Bulk Hiring: Demonstrated experience building talent pipelines and managing high-volume/bulk hiring across multiple functions.
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Vendor Management: Experience managing external recruiting vendors, staffing agencies, and other third-party partners, including contract negotiation and performance management.
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0-to-1 Experience: Comfort operating in amb