Founding Talent Recruiter

About the Role

This is a rare founding People hire at a fast-moving, Y Combinator-backed AI SaaS startup building automation tools for distributors and manufacturers. You will build the hiring engine and People & Culture foundations from day one — partnering directly with the founders to shape how the company attracts, onboards, and retains exceptional people across every function.

If you thrive in high-ownership environments, love the challenge of early-stage company building, and are equally at home sourcing engineers as you are designing onboarding rituals, this role is for you.

What You'll Do

• Build the recruiting function from scratch — own the full hiring lifecycle from sourcing through signed offer across engineering, GTM, and operations.
• Design and execute active sourcing pipelines to attract top-tier candidates in competitive European markets.
• Develop and run structured interview processes that evaluate both skills and culture fit.
• Manage candidate communications end-to-end, ensuring an outstanding hiring experience.
• Build and scale employer brand presence to establish the company as an exciting place to work in Europe.
• Design and implement a best-in-class onboarding experience so every new hire hits the ground running.
• Define company culture and drive initiatives around employee engagement, feedback loops, and team rituals.
• Introduce data-driven recruiting metrics and reporting to continuously optimise the hiring process.

What We're Looking For

Must-haves:

• 2–5 years of full-cycle recruiting experience in high-growth environments (VC-backed startups or fast-scaling tech companies).
• Demonstrated experience hiring across engineering, GTM, and operations — not just one function.
• Proven track record of building or scaling recruiting processes and shaping team culture at different growth stages.
• Resourceful, energetic, and relationship-driven — someone who can identify and convince exceptional early hires.
• Fluent in both English and German (written and spoken).
• Comfortable with the pace and intensity of an early-stage startup environment; enthusiastic about working on-site in Munich.

Nice-to-haves:

• Experience with employer branding and candidate experience marketing in European markets.
• Background in tech or AI domains that aids in evaluating technical candidates.
• Familiarity with data-driven recruitment metrics and reporting tools.

Location

This role is based on-site in Munich, Germany . Candidates must be willing to work in-person; remote or fully remote arrangements are not available for this position. Visa sponsorship is not offered.

Compensation & Benefits

Compensation details will be discussed during the interview process. As a founding team member, you can expect meaningful equity participation and the opportunity to shape the company's trajectory from a very early stage.