Shawn Paulson

About Shawn Paulson

I build the talent engine and the people-ops foundation that lets teams scale without breaking.I’m a second-generation headhunter who made the jump from agency/retained search into in-house leadership — and I’ve spent the last 20 years building technical and enterprise-facing teams in environments where the bar is high and the timelines are real. My style is simple: clear scorecards, structured interviews, workforce planning, and clean metrics — without turning it into bureaucracy.A few outcomes I’m proud of:• ButterflyMX: scaled TA 1→7, reduced agency reliance by 98%, built comp/equity benchmarks that lifted offer acceptance to 95%, and partnered with leadership on workforce planning and headcount forecasting.• SiteRx: drove a 368-person hiring plan, strengthened hiring operations, and helped put People & Talent OKRs, org structure, and compensation bands in place.• Audible Magic: built global TA (and foundational People Ops) from scratch, scaled the company ~5x, managed a $21M recruiting budget, and established immigration protocols with a 100% USCIS approval rate.Now at CoolIT Systems, I’m supporting global talent & people operations tied to liquid cooling, AI computing, and high-performance computing — hands-on recruiting/sourcing plus the operating system that helps teams scale cleanly.Bottom line: I help good teams hire well, scale responsibly, and keep pace with real business and technical demand.Optional (for search + clarity): People Operations • Workforce Planning • Org Design • Compensation Bands • HRIS/ATS • Talent Operations • Executive Hiring • Hyperscale & Edge • Data Center Infrastructure

Experience

1. Global Talent & People Operations

   CoolIT Systems

   Dec 2025 — Present · Calgary, AB, CA

   I’m supporting CoolIT Systems’ growth by helping strengthen and scale global hiring across technical and enterprise-facing teams tied to liquid cooling, AI computing, and high-performance computing — in hyperscale and edge data-center environments.I work alongside the team and hiring leaders to bring structure where roles are ambiguous, raise signal-to-noise in evaluation, and help the business move faster without lowering the bar. I’m also hands-on in execution, running search, direct outreach, screening, and closing for priority roles.• Support annual workforce planning / headcount forecasting with leadership and translate plans into executable hiring• Translate business needs into clear role definitions, scorecards, and interview plans• Build and execute targeted search strategy in niche markets (liquid cooling, coldplate/thermal, data center hardware)• Hands-on recruiting: outbound sourcing, assessment, stakeholder calibration, and offer close• Strengthen hiring operations: intake discipline, pipeline visibility, and clean handoffs from sourcing → offer• Align hiring managers and leaders on what “great” looks like and drive faster, higher-quality decisionsBottom line: I’m here to help good teams hire well, scale responsibly, and keep pace with real technical and business demand. And yes—we’re hiring.

Education

• University of Hawaii at Manoa

  International Business

Skills

• Mobile Devices
• Seed Capital
• Big Data
• Staffing Services
• Start-Up Ventures
• Budgets
• Marketing
• Applicant Tracking Systems
• Lead Generation
• College Recruiting
• Product Marketing
• Social Networking
• Social Media Marketing
• Contract Recruitment
• Training
• Surfing
• Cois
• Marketing Strategy
• Networking
• Strategy
• Leadership
• Quantitative Research
• Cloud Computing
• Permanent Placement
• Digital Media
• Sales
• Screening Resumes
• Business Development
• Digital Marketing
• Executive Search
• Talent Acquisition
• Social Media
• Strategic Planning
• Interviews
• Relocation
• Automation
• Hiring
• Cold Calling
• Search
• Wearables