Leadership Recruiter

TRM Labs; United States; On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

TRM Labs is seeking a founding Leadership Recruiter to define and own senior and executive search end-to-end across GTM, R&D, and G&A. You will work directly with the founders and executive team to identify, engage, and close exceptional leaders, building the leadership function from the ground up and shaping who leads TRM for years to come.

You’ll establish trusted partnerships with the executive team, map the market for top talent, and create scalable processes that deliver high-impact hires

Qualifications

• 7+ years in recruiting or executive search, with a track record of closing VP and/or C-level hires.
• Deep experience in high-growth startup environments with leadership impact during rapid scale.
• Established network of senior leaders and executives with credibility to open doors.
• Experience owning retained-style leadership searches end-to-end, from definition to close.
• Executive presence to partner with founders and senior leaders and navigate high-stakes decisions.
• Fluency using AI throughout the search process (market research, sourcing, candidate synthesis).
• Exceptional ability to build leadership pipelines from scratch, beyond inbound interest.

Responsibilities

• Shape and close leadership searches across GTM, R&D, and G&A to define TRM's leadership team.
• Partner with founders and executives to define roles, map the market, and guide high-stakes hiring decisions.
• Build and scale leadership recruiting with robust processes, interview structures, scorecards, and operating rhythms.

Skills

Executive search

Leadership recruiting

AI in recruiting

Sourcing network

Cross-functional partnering

High-stakes decision making

Job description

Build a Safer World.

TRM Labs provides AI-powered intelligence solutions that help public and private sector agencies investigate and disrupt crime. TRM's platforms enable investigators to trace illicit activity, build cases, and construct operating pictures of threat networks. Leading agencies and businesses worldwide rely on TRM to make the world safer and more secure.

Hire the leaders who will define TRM’s next chapter.

The caliber of TRM’s leaders defines how far and how fast we can go. As TRM’s founding Leadership Recruiter, you’ll have the rare opportunity to shape the leadership team behind our next chapter, owning senior and executive search end-to-end across GTM, R&D, and G&A.

You’ll partner directly with our founders and executive team to identify, engage, and close exceptional leaders who raise the bar and multiply the impact of the teams around them. You’ll also build our leadership recruiting function from the ground up, defining how we find, assess, and win the very best leaders in the market. Your impact will extend far beyond individual hires. You’ll shape who leads TRM for years to come.

The impact you will have:

• You will shape who leads TRM, owning and closing VP, Head of, and executive searches across GTM, R&D, and G&A that set the trajectory of entire organizations.

• You will be a trusted search partner to our founders and executives, helping define each role and guiding high-stakes hiring decisions with sound judgment.

• You will turn hard-to-reach leadership markets into exceptional pipelines through deep market mapping, an established executive network, original sourcing, and AI-assisted research.

• You will represent TRM at the highest level, delivering an executive-level candidate experience that builds trust and excitement at every interaction.

• You will build leadership recruiting at TRM from the ground up, establishing the processes, interview structures, scorecards, and operating rhythms that make exceptional senior hiring repeatable and scalable.

What we’re looking for:

• 7+ years in recruiting or executive search, with a track record of personally closing VP and/or C-level hires.

• Deep experience in high-growth startup environments, with an understanding of what exceptional leadership looks like as organizations scale quickly, roles evolve, and the business operates with speed and ambiguity.

• An established network of senior leaders and executives, with the relationships and credibility to open doors, generate warm introductions, and engage exceptional talent who may not be actively looking.

• Experience owning retained-style leadership searches end-to-end, from defining the search and mapping the market through assessment, references, and close.

• The executive presence and credibility to partner directly with founders and senior leaders, challenge their thinking when needed, and navigate high-stakes decisions with conviction.

• Fluency using AI throughout the search process, including market research, sourcing, candidate synthesis, and highly personalized executive outreach.

• Exceptional sourcing instincts and the discipline to build leadership pipelines from scratch, rather than relying on inbound interest or agencies.

• Exceptional written communication and the operational rigor to keep multiple complex searches moving with speed and precision.

• Experience hiring leaders across multiple functions, including GTM, R&D, and G&A, or within mission-driven, highly sensitive environments.

• This position is only open to candidates located in the United States.

About the Team:

• We move fast and own the outcome. Recruiters are expected to drive their searches forward, surface risks early, and proactively bring solutions rather than wait for direction.

• We operate as true partners to the business. We work closely with hiring managers and leaders to challenge assumptions, use data to inform decisions, and hold a high bar for the talent we bring into TRM.

• We’re serious about our craft and always looking to get better. We experiment with new approaches, use AI deeply in our work, and continuously improve how we source, assess, close, and create an exceptional candidate experience.

• We stay closely connected, even while working remotely. Weekly hiring and sourcing syncs, team meetings, Slack, and strong documentation help us share context quickly, solve problems together, and learn from one another.

• We’re a globally distributed team with meaningful overlap. Most collaboration happens between 7am–12pm PT, and everyone maintains at least four hours of overlap with PT business hours so we have the flexibility of remote work without sacrificing speed or collaboration.

Learn about TRM Speed in this position:

• Within 72 hours of a new leadership search, you’ve aligned deeply with the hiring executive on the mandate, mapped the market, and identified 5–10 high-conviction leaders who sharpen our view of exceptional.

• Within the first 2 weeks, you’re actively engaging exceptional leadership talent and bringing real-time market intelligence on candidate motivations, compensation, and competitive dynamics back to the hiring team.

• Within your first 90 days, you’ve closed your first leadership hire and are already raising the bar on how TRM identifies, assesses, and wins exceptional leaders as we scale.

Life at TRM

We are building a safer world. That promise shows up in how we work every day.

TRM moves quickly. We are a high velocity, high ownership team that expects clarity, follow-through, and impact. People who thrive here are energized by hard problems, experimentation, and continuous feedback. If something takes months elsewhere, it will ship here in days.

Our work sits at the intersection of AI, national security, and fighting crime. The problems are complex, the stakes are real, and the environment evolves quickly. The pace and intensity of the work reflect the importance of the mission. As a result, the way we operate requires a high level of ownership, adaptability, collaboration, and creative problem-solving.

At TRM, you should expect:

• Priorities and targets to change quickly as we experiment and iterate

• Work that often requires operating with a high degree of ambiguity

• A high level of personal ownership and accountability

• Close collaboration across teams and functions

• Frequent, high-touch communication

• Creative problem solving and out-of-the-box thinking

• A pace that rewards urgency, adaptability, and outcomes

This environment is energizing for people who enjoy building, solving hard problems, and making progress in situations that are not always fully defined. It also requires comfort navigating ambiguity, adjusting course as new information emerges, and maintaining focus and positivity in a fast-moving and intense environment.

We also recognize that this style of operating is not for everyone. If you are primarily optimizing for predictability or a consistently balanced workload, we encourage you to use the interview process to pressure test whether this environment is truly the right fit. We want teammates who thrive here, not just survive here.

At the same time, many people find this work deeply rewarding. If you are excited by meaningful problems, motivated by ambitious goals, and energized by working alongside mission-driven colleagues, there is a good chance you will find TRM to be an exceptional place to grow and contribute. Learn more: Interviewing at TRM: How We Hire and What Success Looks Like

AI Fluency at TRM

AI fluency is a baseline expectation at TRM.

We believe AI meaningfully changes how top performers operate. We expect every team member to use AI to accelerate and reimagine their craft, not just automate surface tasks.

At TRM, AI fluency means you are among the top 10 percent of operators in your function in how you apply AI to:

• Accelerate repeatable workflows

• Structure and solve problems

• Improve output quality

• Increase speed and leverage

You will be evaluated on applied AI fluency during the interview process.

Leadership Principles

We hire and grow against three leadership principles. They’re the standards for how we operate, treat each other, and make decisions.

• Impact-Oriented Trailblazer: We put customers first and move with speed, focus, and adaptability. We treat every plan like an experiment – test, ship, measure, and iterate quickly.

• Master Craftsperson: We care deeply about our craft. We balance speed with high standards, own outcomes end‑to‑end, and invest in getting better everyday.

• Inspiring Colleague: We add clarity and energy, not noise. We bring humility, candor, and a one‑team mindset — giving and receiving feedback to make the team stronger.

Join our Mission

At TRM we care deeply about our craft. We are looking for individuals who want their work to matter, who experiment with speed and rigor, and who take pride in building a safer world for billions of people. If you’re excited by TRM’s mission but don’t check every box, we encourage you to apply — we hire for slope, judgment, and the will to learn fast.

TRM is a Series C company with $220M in total funding, backed by Goldman Sachs, Bessemer, Y Combinator, Thoma Bravo, and others. Headquartered in San Francisco, TRM operates as a distributed-first company with hubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C., London, and Singapore.

Privacy Policy and Additional Information

By submitting your application, you agree to allow TRM Labs to process your personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

We collect the information you provide (such as your resume, work history, and contact details) solely for the purpose of evaluating your candidacy for current and future roles at TRM.

Because our hiring cycles for certain positions may span 24 to 36 months, we retain your personal information from up to 36 months from the date of your application. After that period, your data is deleted unless a different retention period is required or permitted by law.

If you are located in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or another jurisdiction with applicable data protection laws, you have the right to access, correct, or request deletion of your personal data at any time before that period ends. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at [e-mail].

To notify TRM Labs that you believe this job posting is non-compliant, please submit a report through this form. No response will be provided to inquiries unrelated to job posting compliance.

The use of AI tools of any kind (including but not limited to notetakers, interview assistants, and real-time coaching tools such as Otter.ai, Fireflies, Fathom, Cluey, or similar) during TRM interviews is not permitted without prior approval from TRM. TRM uses its own internal tools for note-taking to ensure a consistent and confidential experience for all candidates.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this form.

Recruitment agencies

TRM Labs does not accept unsolicited agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to TRM employees. TRM Labs is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes and will not pay fees to any third-party agency or company without a signed agreement.

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