Founding Recruiter for Confidential AI Insurtech Startup in San Francisco

<p><strong>The Opportunity</strong></p><p>My client is an early-stage AI startup in San Francisco that has raised $5M+ to bring AI-powered automation to one of the largest, most under-digitized industries in the world: insurance brokerage. They are growing quickly and are looking for their first in-house recruiter to help build the engineering and product teams that will define the next phase of the company. This is a true founding hire. You will partner directly with the founders, own the recruiting function end to end, and have the freedom to design the playbooks, tools, and culture that future hires will inherit.</p><p></p><p><strong>What You Will Do</strong></p><ul><li>Building the recruiting function from scratch, including ATS setup, interview loops, scorecards, and outbound sourcing playbooks</li><li>Owning full-cycle recruiting for engineering and product roles, from sourcing through close</li><li>Partnering directly with the founders on org design, hiring priorities, and pitch</li><li>Sourcing passive candidates at scale through LinkedIn, Gem, Ashby, and other modern recruiting tools</li><li>Running first-round screens and acting as the candidate's primary point of contact through offer</li><li>Designing and continuously improving the candidate experience, from first touch to onboarding</li><li>Tracking pipeline metrics and using data to inform sourcing and conversion decisions</li><li>Helping shape the early team culture as one of the company's first ten or fifteen employees</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>What You Bring</strong></p><ul><li>4+ years of full-cycle recruiting experience, with a meaningful portion as an in-house recruiter</li><li>Demonstrated experience building or rebuilding a recruiting function from 0 to 1 at a venture-backed startup</li><li>A track record of personally sourcing and closing technical hires (engineering, product, or both) as an individual contributor</li><li>Comfort operating without a manager, a team, or established process. You will be the recruiting function on day one.</li><li>Strong instincts for evaluating engineering and product talent at the early stage</li><li>Excellent written and verbal communication, with the judgment to represent a company well to senior candidates</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Bonus Points</strong></p><ul><li>Experience hiring at an AI, developer tools, or enterprise SaaS startup between Series A and Series C</li><li>Familiarity with modern recruiting tools like Ashby, Gem, Juicebox, or HireEZ</li><li>Experience in a regulated or traditionally non-technical industry (insurance, legal, healthcare, financial services)</li><li>A network of strong engineering and product candidates in the San Francisco Bay Area</li><li>Prior experience as the first or second recruiter at a startup that scaled meaningfully during your tenure</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Why Join</strong></p><ul><li>Genuine 0 to 1 ownership of the recruiting function, with direct partnership with the founders</li><li>Equity at a stage where it can be meaningful</li><li>Working on a problem that matters: applying AI to an industry that has been waiting decades for it</li><li>A small, senior team with strong technical and operational pedigree</li><li>The chance to build the playbook, not inherit one</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Logistics</strong></p><ul><li>Location: San Francisco, in-office</li><li>Full-time, salaried role</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Equal Opportunity Statement</strong></p><p>My client is an equal opportunity employer. They celebrate diversity and are committed to building an inclusive team. Candidates of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply, and they do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, national origin, or any other protected characteristic.</p><p><br></p>

Back to blog

Common Interview Questions And Answers

1. HOW DO YOU PLAN YOUR DAY?

This is what this question poses: When do you focus and start working seriously? What are the hours you work optimally? Are you a night owl? A morning bird? Remote teams can be made up of people working on different shifts and around the world, so you won't necessarily be stuck in the 9-5 schedule if it's not for you...

2. HOW DO YOU USE THE DIFFERENT COMMUNICATION TOOLS IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS?

When you're working on a remote team, there's no way to chat in the hallway between meetings or catch up on the latest project during an office carpool. Therefore, virtual communication will be absolutely essential to get your work done...

3. WHAT IS "WORKING REMOTE" REALLY FOR YOU?

Many people want to work remotely because of the flexibility it allows. You can work anywhere and at any time of the day...

4. WHAT DO YOU NEED IN YOUR PHYSICAL WORKSPACE TO SUCCEED IN YOUR WORK?

With this question, companies are looking to see what equipment they may need to provide you with and to verify how aware you are of what remote working could mean for you physically and logistically...

5. HOW DO YOU PROCESS INFORMATION?

Several years ago, I was working in a team to plan a big event. My supervisor made us all work as a team before the big day. One of our activities has been to find out how each of us processes information...

6. HOW DO YOU MANAGE THE CALENDAR AND THE PROGRAM? WHICH APPLICATIONS / SYSTEM DO YOU USE?

Or you may receive even more specific questions, such as: What's on your calendar? Do you plan blocks of time to do certain types of work? Do you have an open calendar that everyone can see?...

7. HOW DO YOU ORGANIZE FILES, LINKS, AND TABS ON YOUR COMPUTER?

Just like your schedule, how you track files and other information is very important. After all, everything is digital!...

8. HOW TO PRIORITIZE WORK?

The day I watched Marie Forleo's film separating the important from the urgent, my life changed. Not all remote jobs start fast, but most of them are...

9. HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR A MEETING AND PREPARE A MEETING? WHAT DO YOU SEE HAPPENING DURING THE MEETING?

Just as communication is essential when working remotely, so is organization. Because you won't have those opportunities in the elevator or a casual conversation in the lunchroom, you should take advantage of the little time you have in a video or phone conference...

10. HOW DO YOU USE TECHNOLOGY ON A DAILY BASIS, IN YOUR WORK AND FOR YOUR PLEASURE?

This is a great question because it shows your comfort level with technology, which is very important for a remote worker because you will be working with technology over time...