About this role.
This is a remote-first Talent Scientist role at Canonical, focused on advancing graduate hiring strategy and building university partnerships. The role blends talent analytics, behavioral interviewing, and process improvement to help the business select exceptional junior talent. It is not a recruiter position but rather a scientific, data-driven approach to talent assessment. The ideal candidate has a psychology or people-related background, experience in tech hiring, and strong SQL/data skills. This role is based in the EMEA region and offers the opportunity to shape hiring on a global scale.
Role DNA
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Job Complexity
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Core skills
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Cover letter sample
Dear Hiring Team,
I am writing to express my strong interest in the Talent Scientist - Graduate Lead position at Canonical. With a Master's degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology and over 8 years of experience in talent assessment and graduate hiring at global tech companies, I am excited by the opportunity to bring scientific rigor to your hiring process. I have built successful partnerships with top universities and implemented data-driven strategies that increased graduate offer acceptance rates by 30%.
My proficiency in SQL, predictive analytics, and psychometric assessment interpretation aligns perfectly with your requirements. I am passionate about removing bias from hiring and ensuring that exceptional talent is identified based on objective, measurable outcomes. I look forward to the possibility of contributing to Canonical's mission of selecting world-class colleagues from any background.
Sincerely, [Your Name]
Sample interview questions
I would start by defining the competencies and success metrics for junior roles, then align with hiring managers to create a structured process. This includes sourcing from diverse university channels, using a blend of cognitive and behavioral assessments, and collecting data at each stage. I'd build dashboards in Superset to track funnel metrics and predict outcomes, continuously refining the process based on data insights.
In my previous role, I extracted data from Greenhouse using SQL to analyze drop-off rates in the graduate pipeline. I discovered that candidates from certain universities had a 20% higher pass rate but were underrepresented in final offers. I presented this to leadership, leading us to adjust our sourcing strategy and interviewer calibration, which ultimately increased diversity and quality of hires.
I use a structured scoring rubric based on key competencies, and train interviewers to use behaviorally anchored rating scales. I also implement standardized questions and encourage the use of panel interviews to reduce individual bias. After interviews, I conduct calibration sessions to align scoring across stakeholders.
For junior talent, I'd combine a cognitive ability test with a personality assessment like the Thomas International DISC or the Hogan Assessment Suite. Cognitive tests predict trainability, while personality evaluations help assess cultural fit and potential for growth. It's crucial to validate these tools for relevance and to ensure they do not introduce adverse impact.
I focus on creating mutually beneficial relationships, not just transactional recruitment. I engage with career services, faculty, and student clubs by offering workshops, mentorship, and insight into our hiring science. I also gather feedback from students to refine our proposition and ensure we stand out as an employer of choice.
As a pioneer remote-first tech company with a product that inspires people globally, we attract a huge number of applicants to our organisation. We have created a hiring process that is totally unique empowering our business based Hiring Leadership team to lead talent selection. Our Talent Science team ensures that our processes are effective and that the business is able to make the best decisions to select exceptional talent. This is an exceptional opportunity to join a team that is changing the way an organisation hires.
We have a mission to ensure that we follow objective, scientifically rigorous and efficient processes to select the very best new colleagues regardless of location, culture or background. We work closely with a carefully selected hiring cohort to ensure we have exceptional judgement with a hiring model that supports the selection of world class talent, regardless of location, culture or background. We drive initiatives, build automations and offer an expert viewpoint on assessing talent.
We are looking to advance our graduate hiring strategy to ensure we can reach and assess world class junior talent. The role will focus on building strong partnerships with top ranked universities across the globe. The suitable individual will bring experience of leading graduate hiring on a regional or global scale within the technology industry. You will possess a strong academic track record with the ability to analyse data, assess performance outcomes and build dashboard to monitor your outcomes. This is not a recruiter position; it’s about the science of talent and performance, raising awareness and insights across the business so that they are able to select the best talent available from our global talent pool.
Location: This is a remote position based in the EMEA region
What your day will look like
- Build effective partnerships with leading academic institutions to raise awareness of our graduate opportunities.
- Create a highly effective proposition to inspire top talent to apply to Canonical.
- Drive talent analytics to provide our business with real-time insight, partnering with the business to help them move through their hiring processes efficiently.
- Conduct in-depth behavioural talent interviews providing considerable insights into motivations and behaviours.
- Build key relationships with global stakeholders to ensure we deliver against our hiring agenda, closely monitoring hiring activities, driving results and ensuring that there is consistency in our operational processes.
- Drive data driven insights, making sure our decision making process is robust and supportive to inform our decisions.
- Consider our employer brand and how our interactions with a candidate impacts their experience.
- Review and streamline hiring processes and tools to drive continuous improvement.
- Work with external third parties and platforms to ensure we maximise our return on investment.
- Bring a passion for diversity and inclusion, ensuring we remove unconscious bias from our hiring process and ensuring our sourcing strategy underpins this.
What we are looking for in you
- An exceptional academic background from both high school and university, with a Bachelors or Masters degree in a Psychology or People based subject.
- Experience of hiring talent in the technology industry, with an informed view point on graduate hiring essential.
- A highly data drive mindset with the ability to create measurable outcomes, using SQL.
- Passionate about how an organisation selects talent using scientific approaches with viewpoint on how to predict and measure hiring outcomes.
- Exposure/appreciation of psychometric assessments preferable, including interpretation.
- Experience of conducting behavioural, competency based interviews with the ability to train stakeholders and advise on how to get the best out of an interview.
- Experience of the following tools advantageous: Greenhouse, LinkedIn, Superset, Thomas International/DISC assessments.
- A high level of personal organisation and self drive to work remotely and be effective.
- Willingness to travel to company events 2-4 times a year, for up to two weeks each.
What we offer you
We consider geographical location, experience, and performance in shaping compensation worldwide. We revisit compensation annually (and more often for graduates and associates) to ensure we recognise outstanding performance. In addition to base pay, we offer a performance-driven annual bonus. We provide all team members with additional benefits, which reflect our values and ideals. We balance our programs to meet local needs and ensure fairness globally.
- Distributed work environment with twice-yearly team sprints in person
- Personal learning and development budget of USD 2,000 per year
- Annual compensation review
- Recognition rewards
- Annual holiday leave
- Maternity and paternity leave
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Opportunity to travel to new locations to meet colleagues
- Priority Pass, including lounge access, for company travel
About Canonical
Canonical is a pioneering tech firm at the forefront of the global move to open source. As the company that publishes Ubuntu, one of the most important open source projects and the platform for AI, IoT and the cloud, we are changing the world on a daily basis. We recruit on a global basis and set a very high standard for people joining the company. We expect excellence – in order to succeed, we need to be the best at what we do. Canonical has been a remote-first company since its inception in 2004. Working here is a step into the future, and will challenge you to think differently, work smarter, learn new skills, and raise your game.
Canonical is an equal opportunity employer
We are proud to foster a workplace free from discrimination. Diversity of experience, perspectives, and background create a better work environment and better products. Whatever your identity, we will give your application fair consideration.
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Annual salary information is not provided for this position. Explore salary ranges for similar roles in our Salary Directory ›
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