Talent Acquisition Sourcer (Contract)

Thank you for considering Tailscale. If this job description resonates with you, please apply. Frequently cited statistics show that people who identify with historically marginalized groups are likely to apply to jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. We encourage you to help us break that statistic!

About Tailscale

Tailscale is making safe connection effortless by delivering software that makes it easy to securely interconnect people and their devices, no matter where they are. From hobbyists to multinational corporations, teams of every size use Tailscale each day to protect their networks, share access to internal tools, and more. We're building a future for the Internet that's easy, sensible, and safe, like it used to be. Founded in 2019 and fully distributed, we're backed by Accel, CRV, Insight, Heavybit, and Uncork Capital.

About the Role We’re looking for an experienced Talent Acquisition Sourcer to help identify and engage exceptional talent as Tailscale continues to scale. This is initially a 6-month contract position with the potential to extend and/or convert to a full-time role based on business needs and performance.

You’ll operate as a fully integrated member of our Talent Acquisition team, partnering with Talent Acquisition Partners and hiring teams to build high-quality pipelines across Engineering, Product, Design, GTM, G&A, and other business-critical searches.

We’re looking for someone who is curious, resourceful, and creative; can quickly understand new roles and talent markets; and is comfortable going beyond traditional sourcing methods to find and engage exceptional people.

Key Responsibilities Build & Execute Sourcing Strategies

• Partner with Talent Acquisition Partners to understand candidate profiles, hiring priorities, and sourcing needs across the company.

• Develop and execute targeted sourcing strategies across Engineering, Product, Design, GTM, G&A, and other functions.

• Identify and engage passive talent using a range of sourcing channels, research methods, communities, networks, and creative approaches.

• Manage multiple searches and adjust sourcing strategies based on pipeline performance, candidate feedback, and evolving priorities.

Source Technical & Specialized Talent

• Develop a strong understanding of Tailscale’s product, technology, business, and culture to effectively identify candidates who may thrive here.

• Translate technical and specialized role requirements into effective searches in partnership with Talent Acquisition Partners and hiring teams.

• Research relevant companies, technologies, communities, and talent pools to identify candidates beyond traditional sources.

• Build knowledge of talent markets relevant to Tailscale, including infrastructure, networking, security, developer tools, cloud technologies, and other functional areas.

Use Data & Market Intelligence

• Bring comfort with sourcing data and market insights to evaluate pipeline health, identify search challenges, and improve sourcing outcomes.

• Conduct talent research and market mapping across relevant companies, locations, candidate profiles, and competitive talent pools.

• Surface actionable insights on candidate availability, market trends, and search constraints to Talent Acquisition Partners.

• Build reusable talent maps and research that can support current and future hiring needs.

Build Inclusive Talent Pipelines

• Incorporate inclusive sourcing practices into search strategies from the outset.

• Identify talent across a broad range of backgrounds, experiences, communities, and career paths.

• Explore new networks, communities, and sourcing channels that expand access to qualified talent.

• Partner with Talent Acquisition Partners to broaden search approaches and improve candidate representation where appropriate.

Engage Exceptional Talent

• Create thoughtful, personalized outreach that communicates why Tailscale and the specific oppo...