Founding AI & Engineering Recruiter - SF Onsite

Optimal; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 112,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Optimal is seeking a Technical Recruiter in San Francisco (onsite) to lead founding talent hire for engineering and applied AI. You will help shape the hiring function from the ground up and partner with founders on strategy and execution.

You will own end-to-end recruiting for software, infrastructure, AI, and product engineering, build outbound pipelines, and create a fast-moving candidate experience that meets a high talent bar.

Qualifications

• 2+ years as a technical recruiter hiring engineering talent with a startup
• Proven track record sourcing, engaging, and closing engineers in competitive markets
• Hands-on experience building outbound sourcing pipelines from scratch
• Strong understanding of technical roles across software engineering, infrastructure, full-stack, and applied AI
• Startup / scale-up experience (fast-paced, early-stage)

Responsibilities

• Own full-cycle recruiting for software engineering, infrastructure, applied AI, and product engineering roles
• Build high-quality outbound sourcing pipelines targeting elite technical talent
• Partner directly with founders on hiring strategy, role calibration, interview design, and closing
• Create a high-touch, fast-moving candidate experience that reflects the company's talent bar
• Build the foundation of the function - systems, workflows, templates, and talent market maps

Skills

Technical recruiting

Full-cycle recruiting

Sourcing at scale

Outbound pipelines

Hiring for AI/ML roles

Hiring for software/infra

Stakeholder management

Job description

Optimal is seeking a Technical Recruiter in San Francisco (onsite) to lead founding talent hire for engineering and applied AI. You will help shape the hiring function from the ground up and partner with founders on strategy and execution.

You will own end-to-end recruiting for software, infrastructure, AI, and product engineering, build outbound pipelines, and create a fast-moving candidate experience that meets a high talent bar.