Founding Recruiter / Head of Talent

A YC-backed AI native startup in New York is hiring its first recruiter / recruiting leader. The company recently completed Y Combinator’s program with the highest revenue in its batch and has since made a successful pivot, leading to rapid traction and strong early revenue ($600K ARR and growing). The team is currently ~10 people and plans to scale to 25–30 over the next year, with a particular focus on engineering.

This is a hands-on, high-impact role for a recruiter who wants to own talent acquisition end-to-end—sourcing, process design, candidate experience, closing, and more. The ideal candidate is based in NYC and comfortable with a hybrid schedule, joining the team in their SoHo office a few days to 5 days a week.

What You’ll Do

• Build and execute a recruiting strategy from scratch to support rapid team growth
• Source and engage top-tier technical talent (AI, ML, backend infrastructure, agents, etc.)
• Collaborate directly with the founding team on role scoping, compensation, and hiring plans
• Own coordination, candidate management, and communication across the funnel
• Establish foundational systems and tools (ATS, scorecards, feedback loops, etc.)
• Run backchannel references and structure working trials for final-round candidates
• Help define the startup’s long-term bar for talent and scale recruiting thoughtfully

Who You Are

• Experienced in recruiting for early-stage startups and big tech, especially in technical domains. AI and/or Machine learning hiring is a must have for this role.
• Proven ability to identify, engage, and close high-caliber engineering candidates
• Confident working without a playbook—and excited to create one
• Comfortable collaborating with early stage founders and hiring managers
• Based in New York City and interested in hybrid, in-person collaboration. Willing to put in the hours when needed
• Energized by building a high-performance team in a fast-moving, high-context environment

Why This Role Is Unique

• Elite team already in place – Engineers from Google, Meta, and top-tier academic backgrounds
• Clear product-market fit – Revenue-positive with a highly engaged B2B customer base
• Backed by YC and growing fast – Positioning for a breakout Series A within the next 12–18 months
• Opportunity to lead and shape talent strategy – A chance to build something meaningful from zero

If you're an experienced recruiter looking to take ownership of talent at a breakout AI startup—without layers of process or bureaucracy—this is an opportunity to make a big impact early.