Senior Manager, Talent Acquisition

Who We Are

Second Dinner is an award-winning independent game development studio that is here to make the most fun games in the world. Not super fun games. Not SUPER DUPER fun games. We mean the MOST fun games. In fact, our game MARVEL SNAP has earned multiple Mobile Game of the Year Awards (Game Awards, DICE), Best Strategy Game (IGN), and the Apple Design Award for Innovation!

Second Dinner is a remote-first studio, so while we are headquartered in Irvine, California, most of our team is fully remote across the United States. We want the most talented teammates wherever they call home. A diverse team with varied perspectives makes us a better company and will help us make better games. If you can bring something new to the table and expand our point of view, that's a huge upside. 

Your Role

We are seeking a dynamic Senior Manager to lead our Talent Acquisition efforts. You will report to the Chief People Officer and will partner closely with the People team to drive TA strategies in a startup environment. As the Senior Manager, your zone of genius is both as a strategic and tactical leader. You will play a critical role in attracting, evaluating, and hiring top talent to drive efforts to support our company’s growth and success. You will have a passion for finding key talent across the US that will expand our pipeline with a range of backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. You are a critical thinker who anticipates the needs of the organization, asks thoughtful questions, ensures efficient operations, and acts as a trusted advisor to department leaders and executives.  

What You’ll Do:

• Develop best-in-class talent acquisition strategies to attract top talent.

• Ensure streamlined, efficient, and positive experiences for candidates and hiring managers.

• Lead the Talent Acquisition team, setting goals, providing coaching and mentorship.

• Implement companywide best practices in interviewing, assessment tools, and candidate evaluation.

• Collaborate with leadership to understand talent needs and provide innovative solutions.

• Manage external agencies, job boards, and other vendors.

• Ensure recruitment practices stay compliant.

• Provide hands-on support for sourcing candidates, posting roles, scheduling interviews, and screening candidates. 

• Build and maintain relationships with a large network of potential candidates

• Drive employment branding initiatives.

• Partner with leadership and People Ops to champion talent acquisition DEIB strategies and initiatives.

• Oversee talent programs such as university recruiting and employee referrals.

• Analyze workforce trends, provide insights, and recommended actions.

• Provide guidance and facilitate the offer negotiation process through completion.

• Collaborate with People Operations and relevant departments to ensure a smooth onboarding process for new hires.

What You’ll Need:

• Strong experience leading a talent acquisition function.

• Extensive experience as a full-cycle recruiter in the tech or game dev space.

• Hands-on experience developing and executing recruitment strategy from job postings to onboarding. 

• Experience with diversity recruitment, including developing and executing scalable recruiting strategies to attract and hire a diverse slate of candidates. 

• Passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion, with a commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace.

• Project Management skills/practical experience bringing projects to completion. 

• Experience working with 3rd party vendor agencies. 

• Experience in creating a sourcing framework for mitigating bias in assessment. 

• Proven experience in an applicant tracking system. 

• Experience in mentoring and building a TA team

Nice to Have, But Not Necessary: 

• Experience with interview training and education

• Experience working with internal employee resource/network groups. 

• Experience leading employment branding strategies

• Familiarity with advanced HR technology, such as AI-driven applicant tracking systems or recruitment marketing platforms

The total compensation for this position includes a new hire offer base salary range of $140,000 - $190,000 USD + equity + comprehensive benefits + potential for discretionary performance bonuses.

Individual pay within this salary range may span multiple levels within the discipline and is determined by assessed job-related skills, experience, relevant education or training. It also factors in market demands and business needs. The disclosed range is not adjusted based on location and may be subject to change or modification based on business needs in the future. Your recruiter can answer any questions about new hire total compensation during the hiring process.

An overview of the benefits and perks at Second Dinner:

• Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance plans with Second Dinner paying 100% of premiums for employees and 75% for dependents for many plans

• 401(k) contribution with no waiting period

• 16 weeks paid parental leave with no waiting period

• Home office improvement bonus

• Paid Vacation & Sick time

• Remote-first with core overlap hours between 10AM and 4PM PT

• Company Winter Holiday shutdown (Dec 25-Jan 1)

• Company Summer Holiday shutdown (week of July 4)

• Company Events - In-person Summer all-hands gathering, in-person holiday party, annual camping event, and virtual events throughout the year

We are an equal opportunity employer that places high value on diversity and inclusion. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, age, disability status, sex (including pregnancy), gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, military status, or veteran status.

You must be eligible to work in the United States to be considered for this position.

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