Talent Specialist (15-month Contract)

We are open to candidates based in Canada.

Metalab’s output relies not only on our full-time team but also on an incredible network of freelance talent who help us scale with agility and excellence. As the Freelance Talent Specialist, you’ll sit at the intersection of recruitment, vendor management, and community-building ensuring our freelance ecosystem runs smoothly from first hello to final deliverable.

You’ll own the end-to-end lifecycle for our freelancers and vendor partners: sourcing, onboarding, feedback gathering, and relationship management. You’ll also help us evolve our systems and frameworks for evaluating and nurturing top freelance talent - keeping our bench warm, our pipelines strong, and our freelancers feeling like an integral part of Metalab.

• Partner with Resource Management to understand upcoming capacity needs and identify freelance roles that best support the delivery teams and our project requirements.
• Own the full freelance recruitment cycle - sourcing, screening, coordinating interviews, and managing offers/contracts.
• Negotiate competitive rates that allow us to secure top talent while also achieving our margin targets.
• Develop innovative sourcing strategies and maintain an always-on pipeline of top freelance talent in design, engineering, research, and product management.
• Deliver a thoughtful, human candidate experience that reflects Metalab’s standards and values.
• Collaborate closely with Talent Acquisition teammates  to align freelance hiring strategies with full-time hiring plans, workforce planning, and evolving business priorities.

• Manage onboarding and offboarding workflows for freelancers and external partners.
• Collect performance feedback to ensure quality, alignment, consistency, and culture fit.
• Maintain a preferred network of high-performing vendors to ensure consistent access to top-tier freelance talent when capacity needs arise.
• Build a sense of community and loyalty among our most trusted freelancers, ensuring they feel valued and connected to Metalab’s mission and standards.
• Organize touchpoints like surveys, availability calendars, or newsletters that keep freelancers connected to our mission and culture.
• Track and optimize vendor utilization, performance trends, and satisfaction metrics.
• Partner with People Ops, IT and Finance to ensure freelancer data, contracts, cost forecasts and payments are accurate and compliant.
• Identify opportunities to streamline systems and improve the freelance lifecycle experience.
• Gather and share insights from freelancers to help shape operational improvements and talent strategy.

Intern Programs

• Develop and maintain relationships with schools and universities to build awareness of Metalab as a top destination for aspiring designers and engineers.
• Partner with Resource Management and Department Leadership to coordinate intern recruitment cycles - sourcing, screening, and onboarding emerging talent in design, engineering, research and product management.
• Support interns throughout their journey, from onboarding to performance feedback, ensuring they have a meaningful, growth-oriented experience.
• Identify high-performing interns for future freelance or full-time opportunities, helping to strengthen our long-term talent pipeline.

• 3+ years of experience in recruitment, vendor management, or operations, ideally within an agency environment.
• Proven success hiring or managing freelance talent in Design, Engineering, or related fields.
• A self-starter mindset - you thrive in ambiguity and take initiative to make things better.
• Exceptional communication and relationship-building skills; you genuinely enjoy connecting with people.
• Understanding of the design and development process - you can speak the language of our teams and candidates alike.
• Operational rigor - you can manage multiple moving parts while keeping the experience personal and high-quality.
• A good eye for design and talent quality; you know what “great” looks like.
• Experience working cross-functionally with Talent Acquisition, Resource Management, and delivery teams to support hiring and capacity planning.
• Strong judgment balancing speed, quality, cost, and long-term relationship impact.
• Comfort owning and evolving processes, tools, and frameworks versus executing existing ones.
• Familiarity with freelance contracts, rate cards, and vendor agreements, or a willingness to learn quickly.