Founding Technical Recruiter

Navigate AI; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Meaningful equity

Immediate visible impact

Job summary

Navigate AI is seeking a Senior Technical Recruiter to help build its engineering and operations teams. This role involves partnering with hiring managers to define roles, build talent pipelines, and lead full-cycle recruiting efforts.

The ideal candidate has at least 6 years of technical recruiting experience and thrives in early-stage environments. Navigate offers competitive compensation and the chance to make a significant impact in shaping the company.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience in full-cycle technical recruiting, ideally in fast-moving companies.
• Proven ability to hire strong engineers in competitive markets.
• Ability to build trust and operate as a true advisor to candidates.

Responsibilities

• Partner closely with hiring managers to understand hiring needs.
• Build and manage pipelines of high-quality technical talent.
• Lead full-cycle recruiting efforts from sourcing through closing.
• Craft compelling narratives for candidates, especially passive talent.
• Advise on market trends and compensation strategies.

Skills

Full-cycle technical recruiting

Building trust with candidates

Proactive problem solving

Strong judgment on talent

Communication with senior candidates

Detail-oriented operational rigor

Tools

Ashby

Job description

Senior Technical Recruiter — Navigate AI

Why Navigate

At Navigate, we’re building the AI copilot for the physical world—bringing AI, AR, and computer vision to the frontline workforce. We’re starting with construction, a ~$2T industry that still runs on fragmented, outdated workflows.

We’ve partnered with some of the largest construction companies in the U.S. and have access to cutting‑edge AI platforms—but the real challenge (and opportunity) is turning that into products people actually use every day in the field.

This is a chance to help build a generational company from the ground up. We’re early, moving quickly, and making foundational decisions about the product, the team, and the company itself. The problems are real, the feedback loops are tight, and the impact is immediate.

Our team is small, highly driven, and deeply product‑oriented. We work closely with users, move fast, and take ownership across everything we do. If you’re excited about building teams from first principles, partnering closely with our exec team, and helping shape how AI shows up in the real world—we’d love to work with you.

Role Overview

As the founding recruiter, you’ll play a foundational role in building Navigate’s engineering and operations teams. This is a full‑cycle role with high ownership—you’ll partner directly with hiring managers to define roles, build pipelines, and close exceptional talent.

This isn’t a plug‑and‑play recruiting role. You’ll help shape how we hire, what great looks like, and how we attract builders who want to work at the edge of AI and real‑world applications.

What You’ll Do

• Partner closely with hiring managers and technical leaders to deeply understand hiring needs and shape role definitions

• Build and manage pipelines of high‑quality technical talent across engineering, AI/ML, and product‑facing roles

• Lead full‑cycle recruiting efforts—from sourcing and outreach through closing and offer negotiation

• Craft compelling narratives that resonate with top‑tier candidates, especially passive talent

• Act as a strategic partner to hiring managers, advising on market trends, compensation, and hiring strategy

• Continuously improve recruiting processes, tooling, and candidate experience as we scale

• Maintain strong data hygiene and leverage tools like Ashby to track and optimize funnel performance

• Help define and raise the bar for talent across the company

• Contribute to building Navigate’s brand as a place where top engineers and operators want to work

What You Bring

We’re looking for someone who thrives in early‑stage environments and enjoys building from scratch.

You might be a strong fit if you:

• Have 6+ years of experience in full‑cycle technical recruiting, ideally in fast‑moving or early‑stage companies

• Have a track record of hiring strong engineers or technical talent in competitive markets

• Build trust quickly with both candidates and hiring partners, and operate as a true advisor

• Are highly proactive and comfortable owning ambiguous problems end‑to‑end

• Have strong judgment on talent and know how to identify high‑signal candidates

• Communicate clearly and thoughtfully, especially with senior or hard‑to‑reach candidates

• Are detail‑oriented and care about both candidate experience and operational rigor

• Stay close to the market—understanding where top talent is and what motivates them

Nice to Have

• Experience recruiting for AI/ML, AR/VR, or product‑focused engineering roles

• Experience working closely with founders or executive teams

• Familiarity with Ashby or similar ATS tools

• Experience helping define recruiting strategy at an early‑stage company

Why Join Us

• Be a foundational part of building the team and culture from the ground up

• Work directly with leadership on some of the most important decisions in the company

• Help shape a product that brings cutting‑edge AI into real‑world workflows

• Join a small, high‑ownership team where your impact is immediate and visible

• Competitive compensation and meaningful equity