Founding Recruiter
Job Description
About Rec
Think about the last time you tried to book a tennis court. Or sign your kid up for a swim lesson. Or find an open rec league that actually fits your schedule. You probably ended up on a website that looked like it was built in 2003 — or god forbid, filled out a piece of paper.
$3T is spent on recreation globally, and it's built on a completely fragmented system that's largely untouched by technology.
At Rec (recreation.ai), we're using AI to change that — reimagining how the world plays, participates in community, and gets active. Our vision is simple: more recreation for everyone. We sit at a rare intersection — a consumer product loved by everyday players and an enterprise platform trusted by the organizations that power recreation.
We're a small team with firepower. Our founders were among the first few hundred at Uber, then led teams at The Athletic and MasterClass. The rest of the team combines builders from Google, Microsoft, Strava, Hipcamp, and Airbnb.
People join Rec for two reasons: you want to build AI that gets people back in the real world, and you want to work with really smart people.
About the Role
Rec is at an inflection point. Every hire we make right now compounds — the right people set the culture, raise the bar, and build the things that matter. We need someone energized by that weight, not intimidated by it.
As our Founding Recruiter, you'll report directly to Rachel, one of our co-founders & President, and own talent acquisition across the company. You will be building a function from scratch. From sourcing pipelines to ATS configuration to closing offers, this role touches everything. You'll be the connective tissue between our growth ambitions and the people who make them real.
This is a role for someone who thrives in the zero-to-one. Someone who loves the hunt, cares deeply about candidate experience, and brings enough operational discipline to build something that actually scales.
What You'll Own
Full-cycle recruiting across all functions: Own end-to-end searches across both Technical & GTM roles. You know how to find exceptional people, pitch them on an early-stage mission, and close them in a competitive market.
Sourcing engine: There's no inherited pipeline here. You'll build repeatable outbound sourcing strategies from scratch — across channels, referral networks, and community — and iterate fast based on what's actually working.
Process & ATS — Own Ashby end-to-end: stage configuration, scorecards, communication templates, scheduling, automations. The right amount of structure for a lean startup — not over-engineered, but tight enough that no great candidate ever falls through the cracks.
Candidate experience — Run a crisp, high-velocity process that respects candidates' time from first outreach through offer. Every interaction — hired or not — is a Rec brand moment.
Hiring manager partnership — Run structured intakes across functions, lead team kickoffs, calibrate throughout the search, push back constructively when the profile drifts, and surface pipeline insights so leadership always knows where things stand.
Employer brand — Help craft and carry the narrative that makes top talent choose Rec. You're one of our loudest, most credible advocates.
Who You Are
4–6 years of full-cycle recruiting experience, with meaningful time in-house at a startup (Seed -- Series A/B preferred)
A proven sourcer with a track record of building pipelines for hard-to-fill roles — you can tell the story of how you found someone everyone else missed
A builder by nature — you've stood up or overhauled recruiting systems in ambiguous, low-infrastructure environments and thrived in it
Strong instincts on talent: you evaluate people on trajectory, potential, and culture add — not just what their last title was
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 — you want to help build something real, not just fill seats
Our Values
Be Relentless. Move fast. Own it. Ship real value early and often.
Win Together. Speak up, go beyond the boundaries of your role. That's how we win.
Take Pride. Treat this like it's yours — because it is.
Pay & Benefits
Compensation: $130,000 - $170,000 base + meaningful equity (final offer will be based on your background, experience and skillset)
Benefits: Flexible PTO, top-tier health/dental/vision, and a 401(k) plan to support your future.
Work location: San Francisco — in-office most days at our FiDi SF office.