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Founding Recruiter Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Console Systems, Inc

Sr. GTM Recruiter

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$160K - $200K/yr

Working alongside our founding recruiter and directly with GTM leaders, you'll own the full lifecycle from sourcing through close across sales, marketing, growth, partnerships, and operations. Hands ...

Ambrook

Talent Engineer

Manhattan, NY · On-site

$80 - $100/hr

You'll work directly with our founding recruiter to own sourcing and coordination across both technical and commercial roles - and build the systems that automate the toilsome parts of this work. You ...

Monograph

Talent Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$80 - $100/hr

You'll work directly with our founding recruiter to own sourcing and coordination across both technical and commercial roles - and build the systems that automate the toilsome parts of this work. You ...

Vitalize

Founding Technical Recruiter

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$200 - $250/hr

As one of our founding recruiters, you'll help build our talent function from the ground up and shape how Vitalize hires for years to come. The Role We're looking a founding Technical Recruiter to ...

New Lantern

Recruiter

San Francisco, CA · On-site

San Francisco, CA Employment Type: Full-time, Mid-Level About Us The Role We're looking for our first Founding Recruiter to lead all things talent acquisition at New Lantern. You'll own the full ...

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Founding Recruiter information

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How much do founding recruiter jobs pay per year?

As of Sep 9, 2026, the average yearly pay for founding recruiter in the United States is $53,004.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $42,000.00 and $60,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a founding recruiter?

Founding recruiters are talent acquisition professionals who join a startup at its earliest stages to build the initial team and establish hiring processes. They play a critical role in shaping the company’s culture by sourcing, interviewing, and onboarding the first key hires. Founding recruiters often work closely with company founders, contributing to strategic decisions about team structure, employer branding, and recruitment strategies. Their impact is significant because the early team members they bring in can set the tone for the company’s long-term success.

What are some unique challenges a founding recruiter faces when building the initial team at a startup?

As a Founding Recruiter, you'll encounter the challenge of attracting top talent to a company that may not yet have significant brand recognition or a fully established culture. You'll often need to wear multiple hats, from sourcing candidates to shaping the employer value proposition and optimizing the hiring process. Close collaboration with founders and early team members is essential, as you'll influence not only who joins the team but also help define the startup’s long-term hiring practices. This role provides a unique opportunity to make a lasting impact, though it often requires adaptability, resilience, and creative problem-solving.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a founding recruiter, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Founding Recruiter, you need a deep understanding of talent acquisition, sourcing strategies, and full-cycle recruiting, often backed by experience in fast-paced startup environments. Familiarity with applicant tracking systems (ATS), sourcing platforms like LinkedIn Recruiter, and data-driven recruitment tools is typically required. Exceptional relationship-building, adaptability, and persuasive communication are crucial soft skills for engaging candidates and collaborating with founding teams. These skills and qualities are vital for building a high-impact team quickly and setting the foundation for company culture and growth.

What is the difference between Founding Recruiter vs Recruiter?

AspectFounding RecruiterRecruiter
CredentialsExperience in startup hiring, recruiting strategies, and talent acquisitionGeneral recruiting experience, certifications like AIRS or HR certifications
Work EnvironmentFast-paced startup or early-stage companyVaries from corporate to agency settings
Industry UsageCommon in startups, tech, and entrepreneurial venturesWidely used across industries and company sizes
Search IntentUnderstanding roles in startup hiring, early-stage talent acquisitionGeneral recruiting roles and responsibilities

In summary, a Founding Recruiter specializes in early-stage startup hiring, often handling all aspects of talent acquisition in a fast-paced environment. A Recruiter typically works in established companies or agencies, focusing on ongoing hiring needs across various industries.

What cities are hiring for Founding Recruiter jobs?

Cities with the most Founding Recruiter job openings:

What states have the most Founding Recruiter jobs?

States with the most job openings for Founding Recruiter jobs include:

What are popular job titles related to Founding Recruiter jobs?

For Founding Recruiter jobs, the most frequently searched job titles are:

Infographic showing various Founding Recruiter job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% Locum Tenens, 1% As Needed, 75% Full Time, 5% Part Time, and 18% Contract. Highlights an 96% Physical, 1% Hybrid, and 3% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $53,004 per year, or $25.5 per hour.

Founding Recruiter & People Operations

San Francisco, CA • On-site

Orchard Robotics
See more jobs at Orchard Roboticsexternal

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision

Posted 17 days ago

Job description

At Orchard, we're securing America's food supply by building the AI Farmer that automates our nation's farms. We are the industry leader, growing rapidly, and backed by more than $25 million from leading investors, including Quiet Capital, Shine Capital, and General Catalyst.
Every year, hundreds of billions of dollars in crop value are lost because critical farming decisions are made using incomplete and imprecise data. We're building the technology to change that.
Our AI-powered camera systems mount to tractors and scan millions of trees, vines, and plants, capturing precise data on yield estimates, fruit size, crop health, disease, and more. We train edge vision AI models that analyze every plant and determine exactly what interventions and treatments it needs. That intelligence flows into FruitScope OS, our farm-management platform, where growers can understand their crops, make better decisions, and direct operations in the field.
Today, Orchard's technology is trusted by some of our nation's largest farms. They use our products to grow higher-quality crops while reducing chemical use and operating costs, helping them farm more profitably and sustainably than ever before.
Our Culture:
  • Unshakeable Resilience - Our customers feed millions of people, and our customers depend on us. We are ultra-hardworking, never give up, and we do whatever it takes.
  • Always Keep Moving - We move fast, waste no time, and have an extreme bias towards action. Progress compounds every day, and our impact is measured in decades.
  • Improve Everything - At 1% success, we save millions of pounds of food from going to waste. If we are 100% successful we will impact the lives of billions of people across the world.
  • Farmers First - Every team member spends at least a few days in the fields with our farmers each month.
  • No Job Beneath Us - We're low ego, own every outcome, and are all working towards the same goal.

The Role:
Orchard is entering its most ambitious period of growth yet. The quality and pace of our hiring will determine how quickly we can serve more farmers, and the systems we build now will shape the company for years.
You will be Orchard's first dedicated recruiting and people hire. Reporting directly to our CEO, you will personally recruit critical hires while building a durable talent engine: sourcing, interview design, closing, onboarding, HR systems, benefits, compliance, and culture.
This is a builder role. You will spend roughly 2/3-rds of your time recruiting and 1/3-rd building and running our internal people operations. You should be equally comfortable sourcing an exceptional engineer, improving an onboarding process, handling a benefits question in our HRIS, and preparing Orchard for our next stage of growth.
What You'll Own
  • Lead full-cycle recruiting for critical technical and operations roles.
  • Build repeatable sourcing channels and an exceptional recruiting brand.
  • Create and own an exceptional candidate experience.
  • Partner with leaders to define roles precisely, calibrate talent bars, move candidates quickly, and close exceptional hires.
  • Own the employee lifecycle, including new hire onboarding, HRIS, benefits, leave administration, and day-to-day people operations.
  • Maintain practical, compliant employment policies.
  • Protect and strengthen Orchard's culture as the company scales.

What We Look For
  • 3-7+ years of experience recruiting, with real ownership in a fast-growing startup or high-performance environment.
  • A track record of personally recruiting and closing exceptional technical talent.
  • Experience helping an organization scale from 10's of employees to 100+.
  • Strong sourcing instincts and the creativity to reach candidates who are not actively applying.
  • Strong operating rigor across recruiting funnels, headcount plans, and people systems.
  • Comfort owning all processes around creating a stellar work environment for our team.
  • Hands-on experience with HRIS, benefits, onboarding, and other core people operations.

About the Opportunity
  • Full-time role, five days a week at our San Francisco office.
  • Medical, dental, and vision coverage with 100% of employee premiums covered.
  • The opportunity to build Orchard's Recruiting and People function from the ground up.
  • Our team is close-knit and highly driven. You'll work directly with our CEO and every functional leader.
  • We move fast, and sometimes this means staying late or working weekends.
  • We're deeply motivated by the impact we're making - every system we build and deploy means less food that goes to waste, and more people who are fed.

Apply