Senior Director, Talent Acquisition

Description

Join Axon and be a Force for Good.

At Axon, we’re on a mission to Protect Life. We’re explorers, pursuing society’s most critical safety and justice issues with our ecosystem of devices and cloud software. Like our products, we work better together. We connect with candor and care, seeking out diverse perspectives from our customers, communities and each other.

Life at Axon is fast-paced, challenging and meaningful. Here, you’ll take ownership and drive real change. Constantly grow as you work hard for a mission that matters at a company where you matter.

About the Role

At Axon, the people we hire directly shape the technology we build and the impact we can have on our mission to Protect Life. We are looking for a Senior Director of Talent Acquisition (can be packaged as a Head of Recruiting for R&D) to lead our global R&D recruiting organization and build the talent strategy required for Axon’s next stage of growth.

This leader will own recruiting strategy and delivery across Axon’s global R&D organization, spanning Software Engineering, Hardware Engineering, AI and Data, Product, Security, IT, and other highly specialized technical disciplines.

This is a senior operating leadership role. You will partner directly with R&D executives to understand where the business is going, anticipate the talent required to get there, and translate that strategy into clear workforce plans, talent priorities, capacity models, and hiring outcomes. You will bring a point of view on where we hire, how we compete, what talent exists in the market, where our processes are breaking down, and what needs to change.

You will lead leaders and build a high performing global recruiting organization that combines exceptional delivery with strong business partnership, technical recruiting expertise, data fluency, and operational rigor. You should be as comfortable challenging an executive on an unrealistic hiring strategy as you are diagnosing funnel conversion, reviewing talent markets, coaching a recruiting leader, or going deep on a critical search.

Success means building an R&D recruiting organization that the business trusts because it sees around corners, tells the truth, brings solutions, raises the talent bar, and consistently delivers.

As one of Axon’s senior Talent Acquisition leaders, you will also help shape how recruiting operates across the company, building systems, standards, technology, and practices that make the entire global TA organization stronger.

Location: This role is based in our Seattle office and follows a hybrid schedule. Team members work onsite Tuesday through Friday, with flexibility to work remotely on Mondays, unless there is an approved workplace accommodation. We believe meaningful in person collaboration accelerates decision making, strengthens leadership, and helps teams solve difficult problems together.

Conditions

Reports To: Senior Vice President, Talent Acquisition

Direct Reports: 30

Own the R&D Talent Strategy

Own global Talent Acquisition strategy, execution, and outcomes for Axon R&D

Translate R&D strategy and workforce plans into clear talent strategies, hiring priorities, capacity models, market plans, and execution roadmaps

Anticipate future talent needs instead of waiting for requisitions to arrive, building proactive strategies around critical and emerging technical capabilities

Develop a deep understanding of Axon’s technical roadmap and use it to influence where, when, and how we build talent

Create clear prioritization and tradeoff frameworks when hiring demand exceeds capacity

Advise and Influence R&D Leadership

Operate as a trusted talent advisor to senior R&D executives, bringing data, external market intelligence, judgment, and a clear point of view

Challenge assumptions and help leaders distinguish between a recruiting problem, talent market problem, assessment problem, compensation problem, or organizational problem

Establish an executive operating rhythm that provides clear visibility into hiring delivery, pipeline health, forecast accuracy, capacity, market conditions, risks, and decisions required

Hold leaders accountable for role clarity, assessment quality, interviewer discipline, candidate experience, and timely decision making

Translate complex recruiting data into concise executive insights, recommendations, and action

Build a High Performing Global Recruiting Organization

Lead and develop recruiting managers and senior recruiting talent across a global organization

Build leaders who can independently run their businesses, diagnose problems, influence executives, and coach high performing teams

Set a high bar for recruiter performance, business partnership, technical depth, problem solving, sourcing capability, and execution

Establish clear expectations, inspect outcomes, recognize exceptional performance, and address performance gaps quickly

Create an organization with the right structure, capabilities, and capacity to support Axon’s growth without simply adding headcount to solve every problem

Build a Predictable Hiring Engine

Own R&D recruiting performance across hiring delivery, funnel health, recruiter productivity, candidate conversion, aging, offer outcomes, and quality

Use funnel analytics and capacity modeling to identify constraints early and improve hiring predictability

Build durable sourcing strategies and proactive talent pipelines for difficult technical populations

Develop talent intelligence capabilities that give R&D leaders visibility into talent availability, competitive markets, compensation, locations, and emerging skill sets

Partner with R&D leadership to continuously raise the technical hiring bar through structured, job relevant assessments and strong interviewer calibration

Ensure hiring processes move with urgency without sacrificing assessment rigor or candidate experience

Modernize How We Recruit

Build an AI forward recruiting organization that continuously evaluates how technology can improve sourcing, assessment, productivity, decision quality, and candidate experience

Drive strong adoption of recruiting systems, automation, analytics, and talent intelligence rather than allowing technology to become shelfware

Maintain rigorous ATS discipline, data quality, and operating standards so leaders can trust the information used to make decisions

Apply a product mindset to recruiting by identifying problems, testing solutions, measuring outcomes, and continuously improving how the system operates

Simplify processes and remove unnecessary friction wherever it slows teams or candidates down

Lead Beyond R&D

Serve as a senior leader across Global Talent Acquisition, helping shape recruiting strategy, standards, technology, operating mechanisms, and talent practices across Axon

Partner across Talent Acquisition, HR, Finance, Compensation, People Operations, and business leadership to solve enterprise talent problems

Scale what works beyond R&D and actively contribute to building one strong global recruiting organization

What You Bring

12+ years of progressive Talent Acquisition experience with deep expertise in technical recruiting

Significant experience leading recruiting organizations in high growth technology environments

Proven experience leading managers and leaders , not only individual contributors

Demonstrated success building and scaling Engineering, Product, AI, Data, Hardware, Security, or similarly complex technical organizations

Experience partnering directly with VP, SVP, CTO, CPO, or equivalent technical executives on talent strategy and workforce decisions

A track record of turning aggressive workforce plans into predictable hiring outcomes

Deep understanding of technical recruiting mechanics including talent mapping, sourcing strategy, funnel conversion, assessment, capacity planning, closing, recruiter productivity, and offer strategy

Strong business and financial acumen with the ability to understand headcount plans, capacity constraints, investment decisions, and organizational tradeoffs

Exceptional data fluency. You do not simply report metrics. You use data to diagnose problems, determine root causes, forecast outcomes, and change decisions

Deep knowledge of global technical talent markets and the ability to advise leaders on talent availability, competitive dynamics, location strategy, and emerging capabilities

Demonstrated experience building proactive talent pipelines for highly competitive and difficult to hire technical talent

Experience leading recruiting across multiple countries, cultures, and time zones

Experience designing or significantly evolving recruiting operating models, systems, processes, or organizations at scale

Demonstrated ability to use AI, automation, talent intelligence, and recruiting technology to materially improve how recruiting operates

Strong executive presence and the judgment to challenge senior leaders constructively while maintaining trusted relationships

High agency and comfort operating in ambiguity. You create clarity, make decisions, and move the organization forward without waiting for perfect information

A reputation for candor, accountability, curiosity, humility, and getting difficult things done

The ability to move fluidly between strategy and execution. You can operate at 30,000 feet and know when the business requires you to get into the details

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience

Axon is a total compensation company, meaning compensation is made up of base pay, bonus, and stock awards. The actual base pay is dependent upon many factors, such as: level, function, training, transferable skills, work experience, business needs, geographic market, and often a combination of all these factors. Our benefits offer an array of options to help support you physically, financially and emotionally through the big milestones and in your everyday life. To see more details on our benefits offerings please visit https://www.axon.com/careers .

Base Pay Range

$163,702 - $261,924 USD

Don’t meet every single requirement? That's ok. At Axon, we Aim Far. We think big with a long-term view because we want to reinvent the world to be a safer, better place. We are also committed to building diverse teams that reflect the communities we serve.

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they check every box in the job description. If you’re excited about this role and our mission to Protect Life but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification listed here, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Important Notes

The above job description is not intended as, nor should it be construed as, exhaustive of all duties, responsibilities, skills, efforts, or working conditions associated with this job. The job description may change or be supplemented at any time in accordance with business needs and conditions.

Some roles may also require legal eligibility to work in a firearms environment.

Axon’s mission is to Protect Life and is committed to the well-being and safety of its employees as well as Axon’s impact on the environment. All Axon employees must be aware of and committed to the appropriate environmental, health, and safety regulations, policies, and procedures. Axon employees are empowered to report safety concerns as they arise and activities potentially impacting the environment.

We are an equal opportunity employer that promotes justice, advances equity, values diversity and fosters inclusion. We’re committed to hiring the best talent — regardless of race, creed, color, ancestry, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship status, marital status, disability, gender identity, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances — and empowering all of our employees so they can do their best work. If you have a disability or special need that requires assistance or accommodation during the application or the recruiting process, please email recruitingops@axon.com. Please note that this email address is for accommodation purposes only. Axon will not respond to inquiries for other purposes.

Phishing alert: Axon will never ask you to pay for any part of the hiring process, including training, equipment, or background checks. We do not make job offers via text message, WhatsApp, or instant messaging platforms without a formal interview process. All legitimate job openings are listed on our official careers page at https://www.axon.com/careers . If you receive a suspicious offer or outreach from an email address that is not @axon.com , or if you are asked for sensitive personal information (bank details, Social Security Number) prematurely, please ignore the message and report it to recruitingops@axon.com .