Founding Talent Recruiter

About the role

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.