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Early Stage Startup Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Lightfield

Founding Recruiter

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$170K - $210K/yr

We're an early-stage startup where every hire directly shapes our trajectory, and we need someone who is energized by that pressure, not intimidated by it. Reporting directly to the CEO, you'll own ...

Graphiant

At Graphiant, we're leading the charge in this revolution and we're looking for an Executive Assistant to support our leadership team in a fast-paced, early-stage startup environment. As an Executive ...

Oscar Technology

Senior Software Engineer

San Jose, CA · On-site

$250K - $300K/yr

... startup is hiring a Senior Software Engineer to join its early engineering team and help build the next generation of AI-powered products. Backed by early-stage funding and experiencing strong ...

Clera

Founding Product Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

About the Role We are seeking an experienced fullstack product engineer to join our small, senior team at an early-stage fintech startup. You'll work in a fast-paced environment where you can ...

Factor.io

Developer

Portland, OR · On-site

We are an early stage startup with modest funding, and very eager customers. We need your help to take Factor.io into General Availability.

HIKINEX

Founding Design Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

HIKINEX is an early-stage, venture-backed AI startup seeking a Founding Design Engineer to become its first design-focused engineering hire. The role involves owning the end-to-end user experience ...

Clera

Founding Product Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

About the Role We are seeking an experienced fullstack product engineer to join our small, senior team at an early-stage fintech startup. You'll work in a fast-paced environment where you can ...

Factor.io

Developer

Portland, OR · On-site

We are an early stage startup with modest funding, and very eager customers. We need your help to take Factor.io into General Availability.

Clera

Founding Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$130K - $200K/yr

Demonstrated experience building products 0→1, either at an early-stage startup or through serious side projects. * Strong proficiency in TypeScript and React for frontend, and Node.js for backend.

Clera

Founding Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$130K - $200K/yr

Demonstrated experience building products 0→1, either at an early-stage startup or through serious side projects. * Strong proficiency in TypeScript and React for frontend, and Node.js for backend.

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Early Stage Startup information

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How much do early stage startup jobs pay per hour?

As of Jul 15, 2026, the average hourly pay for early stage startup in the United States is $57.64, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $49.04 and $62.02 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the typical challenges faced when working at an early stage startup?

Working at an early stage startup often means dealing with ambiguity, shifting priorities, and limited resources, which can be both exciting and demanding. Employees are usually expected to take on diverse responsibilities and quickly adapt to changing business needs as the company evolves. The work environment is usually fast-paced and highly collaborative, requiring strong initiative and a willingness to learn new skills on the fly. While this can be challenging, it also offers tremendous opportunities for hands-on experience, rapid professional growth, and direct impact on the company's success.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in the Early Stage Startup position, and why are they important?

To thrive in an early stage startup, you need a versatile skill set that includes entrepreneurship, adaptability, and problem-solving, often supported by experience in product development or business operations. Familiarity with tools like project management platforms (e.g., Trello, Asana), basic accounting software, and data analytics solutions is valuable. Excellent communication, resilience, and a collaborative spirit help individuals navigate the dynamic and uncertain environment. These skills are crucial in early stage startups because success depends on agility, wearing multiple hats, and quickly iterating on ideas to seize new opportunities.

What is an Early Stage Startup job?

An Early Stage Startup job typically involves working at a newly founded company that is still developing its product, market fit, and business model. Employees in these roles often wear multiple hats, taking on various responsibilities across product development, marketing, sales, and operations. The environment is fast-paced, resource-constrained, and requires adaptability, creativity, and problem-solving skills. Unlike established companies, early startups may offer more autonomy and the opportunity to make a significant impact. However, they also come with higher risks, including job instability and evolving role definitions.

More about Early Stage Startup jobs
What cities are hiring for Early Stage Startup jobs? Cities with the most Early Stage Startup job openings:
What are the most commonly searched types of Early Stage Startup jobs? The most popular types of Early Stage Startup jobs are:
What states have the most Early Stage Startup jobs? States with the most job openings for Early Stage Startup jobs include:
What job categories do people searching Early Stage Startup jobs look for? The top searched job categories for Early Stage Startup jobs are:
Early Stage Startup jobs near you
Infographic showing various Early Stage Startup job openings in the United States as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 33% Full Time, and 67% Contract. Highlights an 33% In-person, 34% Hybrid, and 33% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $119,893 per year, or $57.6 per hour.

Founding Recruiter

Lightfield

San Francisco, CA • On-site

$170K - $210K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Retirement, PTO

Posted 24 days ago

Job description

About Lightfield
Lightfield is an AI-native CRM that assembles itself from your email, calendar, and meetings. It captures every interaction and turns it into organized context: accounts, tasks, follow-ups, and insights, so nothing slips through the cracks.
We're rethinking CRM from first principles. Instead of forcing teams to maintain rigid systems, Lightfield learns from how companies actually work, adapting, automating, and surfacing the insight that drives growth. We're building the CRM platform we always wished existed: fast, intelligent, and genuinely helpful.
We are backed by Greylock, Lightspeed, and Coatue, and our founders previously built Tome, a generative AI presentation product used by over 25 million people. Before Lightfield, our team worked on Llama, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, Pinterest, Google, and Salesforce.
About The Role
Lightfield is reinventing CRM from the ground up - and we're doing it fast. We're an early-stage startup where every hire directly shapes our trajectory, and we need someone who is energized by that pressure, not intimidated by it. Reporting directly to the CEO, you'll own talent across Engineering and GTM in one of the most critical phases of company building: the zero-to-one sprint where the right hires compound and the wrong ones cost months. Your north star is scaling a world-class engineering team without losing the bar.
What You'll Own
  • Full-spectrum recruiting - end-to-end ownership across Engineering and GTM, with a heavy center of gravity on scaling early-stage engineering teams fast. Senior engineers, ML specialists, infrastructure leads - you know how to find them, pitch them, and close them in competitive markets.
  • Talent strategy & employer brand - define what "great" looks like at an early-stage company moving at our speed, craft the narrative that makes elite engineers and operators choose us over the big names, and build the employer brand from scratch.
  • Sourcing engine, zero → one - there's no inherited playbook here. You'll build repeatable, data-driven pipelines from the ground up across outbound, referrals, events, and community - and iterate on them constantly.
  • Process & tooling - implement the right amount of ATS structure and communication discipline for a lean, fast-moving startup so no great candidate ever falls through the cracks - without over-engineering for a company our size.
  • Candidate experience - run a crisp, high-velocity process that respects candidates' time and turns skeptics into advocates, hired or not.
  • Hiring manager partnership - coach managers across functions on calibration, interview technique, and closing; surface weekly funnel insights so leadership always knows where things stand.

Who You Are
  • 5+ years of full-cycle recruiting, with a heavy focus on scaling early-stage engineering teams in fast-paced, high-growth environments
  • A proven closer who has landed senior and staff-level engineers in competitive markets - and can tell the story of how
  • A builder by nature - you've stood up or overhauled recruiting systems from scratch in ambiguous, low-infrastructure startup environments and thrived in it
  • Comfortable with speed and ambiguity - at an early-stage startup, the priorities shift, the roles evolve, and the bar keeps moving; you adjust without losing momentum
  • Autonomous and decisive - you operate well as a team of one, make trade-offs without hand-holding, and iterate fast
  • Genuinely motivated by the mission, not just the process - you want to help build something from the ground up, not just fill seats

Benefits & Perks
  • Competitive salary
  • Meaningful early equity
  • Health insurance (medical, dental, vision)
  • 3 weeks of PTO
  • 11 paid company holidays + we enjoy a winter holiday break
  • 3 months of paid family leave
  • Wednesdays work from home
  • Regular team dinners, events, offsites, and retreats
  • 401k plan
  • Other perks include: commuter and lunch stipend

Apply