Founding Recruiter

Sela; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

$150-200k base + generous equity

Top-tier medical, dental, and vision

401(k) with employer match

Unlimited PTO

Dinner on company premises

Hybrid in-office schedule: four days +

Job summary

Sela is looking for its first in-house recruiter in San Francisco. You’ll own the full recruiting lifecycle across operations, engineering, product, and GTM, set up our ATS, and build sourcing from scratch to fill critical roles fast at a high bar.

This is not a coordination job—you’ll source, close, and create scalable processes. Expect a SF-based hybrid schedule (four in-office days, remote Wednesday) and the chance to shape how the company hires forever.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of full-cycle recruiting in fast-growth startups.
• Strong background hiring for Ops, Product and GTM roles.
• Experience sourcing and closing passive candidates beyond inbound
• Proficient with ATS platforms (Ashby, Lever, Greenhouse) and sourcing tools
• Judgment to evaluate candidates beyond titles and credentials

Responsibilities

• Run full-cycle recruiting across technical and non-technical roles from outreach to close.
• Own sourcing strategy using JuiceBox, LinkedIn Recruiter, outbound sequences, referrals, marketing, employer branding.
• Set up and manage ATS and recruiting tech stack from scratch.
• Partner with CEO Nate and hiring managers to define roles and move candidates fast.
• Create candidate experience aligned with Sela’s values.
• Track pipeline health and report on effective practices.

Skills

Full-cycle recruiting

Ops hiring

Sourcing passive candidates

ATS platforms (Ashby/Lever/Greenhouse)

Talent evaluation beyond resumes

Tools

LinkedIn Recruiter

JuiceBox

Job description

ABOUT SELA

Sela is the market leading AI voice agent for mortgage lenders. Since we started in mid 2024, we have since signed 5 of the 10 largest independent mortgage banks in the US as enterprise customers. We went from ~$0 to $8.6M annualized revenue over the past 16 months, and we currently make around 500k calls a day. Product-market fit is a crazy feeling, and the next 12 months will be even crazier.

We’re far and away the market leader in our space. In the very near future, most mortgages will be originated by AI; we are in the best position of anyone in the market to do it. If we’re successful, we will eventually make everyone’s mortgage 1% cheaper, and we will make an enduring and valuable company along the way.

We’re a team of 15 and planning to hire ~40 people over the next 12 months across all functions including engineering, product, and sales. We’ve raised $21M across our Seed and Series A from top investors.

THE ROLE

You’ll be Sela’s first in-house recruiter. That means you’re not inheriting a process, you’re building it from the ground up. You’ll own the full recruiting lifecycle across all functions: operations, engineering, product, and GTM. You’ll set up our ATS, build our sourcing muscle, establish the candidate experience, and be the person our CEO, Nate and the team trust to fill critical roles fast and at a high bar.

This is not a coordination role. We need someone who can source, close, and build processes simultaneously. Ideally you’ve done this before at an early-stage company.

WHAT YOU’LL OWN

• Run full-cycle recruiting across technical and non-technical roles – from first outreach to offer close
• Build and own our sourcing strategy: JuiceBox, LinkedIn Recruiter, outbound sequences, referral programs, marketing, employer branding etc.
• Set up and manage our ATS and recruiting stack from scratch
• Partner directly with Nate and hiring managers to define role requirements, calibrate candidate profiles, and move fast
• Create a candidate experience that reflects Sela’s values and ethos
• Track pipeline health and report on what’s working

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

• 5+ years of full-cycle recruiting experience with a heavy focus on scaling early stage teams in fast paced, high growth environments
• Strong background hiring for Ops, Product and GTM roles
• Experience sourcing and closing passive candidates using LinkedIn Recruiter or similar tools without relying solely on inbound applicants
• Proficient in ATS platforms (e.g., Ashby, Lever, Greenhouse) and sourcing platforms
• Excellent judgment on talent beyond resumes. Strong instinct for evaluating candidates beyond titles and credentials

Must-haves:

• You’ve been the first or one of the first recruiters at an early stage company – you know what it means to build with no playbook
• You source. You know LinkedIn Recruiter, you run your own outbound campaigns – you don’t wait for inbound
• You’re SF-based and excited about 4 days in office
• You operate well without structure and don’t need a coordinator to stay organized

Nice-to-haves:

• Experience at a fintech, AI, or voice technology company
• You’ve set up an ATS or recruiting tool stack from scratch
• You’ve hired GTM roles at a company in revenue-scaling mode (AEs, SEs, CSMs)
• Familiarity with modern recruiting tools like Ashby, Gem, or Juicebox. Proven experience using AI in recruiting processes

BENEFITS

• $150-200k base + generous equity
• Top-of-market medical, dental, and vision coverage for you and your dependents
• 401(k) with a top-of-market employer match
• Unlimited PTO
• Dinner on the company any night you’re still in the office
• Hybrid in-office schedule: four days a week together in SF, with a flexible remote day on Wednesdays

WHY JOIN

Real scope, early.

You’ll own recruiting at a company that’s winning a huge market.

Hiring is the #1 annual goal right now.

We’re growing from 15 to 55+ in 12 months. You’ll have Nate’s full attention, a real tools budget, and the authority to build this function the right way from the start.

You’ll shape how Sela hires forever.

The processes, culture, and bar you set in the next 12 months will define how this company scales. That’s a rare thing to own.

The office.

We’re near Montgomery BART in SF, in office Monday–Tuesday–Thursday–Friday, remote Wednesdays.

The vibe.

We are a really great, genuine fun team where everyone is high-powered and works hard, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously. Our product is inherently funny. (Our bot talks to a lot of America; hilarity often ensues.)