Upwork Senior Technical Recruiter: Lisbon, Portugal

About the Role

We’re looking for a Senior Technical Recruiter based in Lisbon, Portugal who will help scale our AI, engineering, and product organizations by identifying, engaging, and hiring exceptional talent across complex technical domains. As a senior level talent expert, you’ll lead recruitment initiatives end to end, deepen our hiring team’s understanding of the evolving technical landscape, and champion inclusive, data-driven hiring practices. As the founding recruiter within the new Lisbon hub, you will have an opportunity to be an Upwork brand champion. This is an opportunity to shape how Upwork attracts world-class innovators while supporting teams building the future of our marketplace and AI-powered products.

Responsibilities

• Lead full-cycle recruiting for AI, engineering, and product roles, delivering high-quality, timely hiring outcomes across multiple concurrent job openings.
  
  
• Build and maintain strong partnerships with hiring managers by providing insights, market intelligence, and recommendations that influence hiring decisions and forecast talent needs.
  
  
• Develop sourcing strategies that reach diverse and specialized talent communities, using data to identify trends, optimize channels, and improve efficiency.
  
  
• Assess candidate skills and experience through structured recruiting practices and ensure a consistent, equitable evaluation process.
  
  
• Manage pipelines proactively by tracking progress, escalating risks, and enabling visibility across stakeholders through clear documentation and updates.
  
  
• Represent Upwork’s mission and values while delivering an exceptional candidate experience that strengthens our employer brand.
  
  
• Coach peers and support cross-functional recruiting initiatives that enhance team processes, quality standards, and long-term scalability.
  
  

What it takes to catch our eye

• Demonstrated success recruiting for engineering, AI/ML, or product roles, with experience navigating evolving technical landscapes and emerging skill sets.
  
  
• Ability to build inclusive, thoughtfully structured hiring processes that support equitable evaluation and improve decision quality.
  
  
• Skilled relationship builder who can influence, communicate clearly, and collaborate effectively with stakeholders across multiple teams.
  
  
• Ability to use market data, trends, and pipeline analytics to guide strategy, improve hiring outcomes, and remove blockers.
  
  
• A learning mindset with the curiosity to understand new technologies, talent markets, and best practices in technical recruiting.
  
  
• Written and spoken communication in English and Portuguese

Upwork is establishing its first international operational hub in Lisbon, Portugal. The new office is expected to be fully operational by Q4 2026 and this role will be based in the office 3 days per week.

This position will initially be employed through a partner to ensure a seamless hiring process while we establish the hub. Once the hub is established, there may be opportunities to transition to employment with Upwork depending on business needs and other requirements. While employed by the partner, you’ll work as part of Upwork’s team, with access to our resources, culture, and growth opportunities.

Our partner will offer competitive benefits and when Upwork’s hub is established, we will be excited to offer employment and benefits directly as business needs require. 

Upwork is committed to building a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workforce. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law.

Upwork Inc.’s (Nasdaq: UPWK) family of companies connects businesses with global, AI-enabled talent across every contingent work type including freelance, fractional, and payrolled. This portfolio includes the Upwork Marketplace, which connects businesses with on-demand access to highly skilled talent across the globe, and Lifted, which provides a purpose-built solution for enterprise organizations to source, contract, manage, and pay talent across the full spectrum of contingent work. From Fortune 100 enterprises to entrepreneurs, businesses rely on Upwork Inc. to find and hire expert talent, leverage AI-powered work solutions, and drive business transformation. With access to professionals spanning more than 10,000 skills across AI and machine learning, software development, sales and marketing, customer support, finance and accounting, and more, the Upwork family of companies enables businesses of all sizes to scale, innovate, and transform their workforces for the age of AI and beyond.

Since its founding, Upwork Inc. has facilitated more than $30 billion in total transactions and services as it fulfills its purpose to create opportunity in every era of work. Learn more about the Upwork Marketplace at Upwork.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X; and learn more about Lifted at Go-Lifted.com and follow on LinkedIn.

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