Technical Recruiter (Fixed-Term Contract)

OpenRouter; New York (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

OpenRouter is seeking an experienced technical recruiter to join as an early team member in New York. You will lead full-cycle hiring, partnering with engineering and product leaders to forecast needs, build pipelines, and execute offer processes.

You will influence hiring strategies with market data, mentor junior team members, and own the candidate experience from outreach to close. This role offers the chance to shape OpenRouter's growth trajectory.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of full-cycle technical recruiting experience in a fast-paced environment.
• Proven track record building strong technical teams in a high-growth company.
• Ability to develop relationships with hiring partners and become a trusted advisor.
• Effective communication with candidates and systematic management of their processes.
• Low ego and willingness to roll up sleeves to achieve goals.
• Mentor teammates by leading by example and guiding others.
• Understand and use data/metrics to influence recruiting strategies.
• Stay up-to-date with trends in tech, startups, and talent magnets.

Responsibilities

• Partner with technical leadership to understand hiring needs and provide strategic guidance on recruiting best practices.
• Build and nurture a strong pipeline of technical talent for current hiring and future growth.
• Advise hiring managers on market dynamics, compensation insights, and effective talent acquisition strategies.
• Identify opportunities to streamline recruiting workflows and improve operational efficiency across the hiring process.
• Ensure data integrity and accuracy within the Applicant Tracking System (Ashby).
• Mentor and support team members to elevate recruiting performance and execution.
• Lead strategic sourcing initiatives to engage top-tier, passive candidates across various technical disciplines.
• Collaborate cross-functionally within the company to align recruiting with broader organizational goals.

Skills

Full-cycle recruiting

Tech hiring

Relationship building

Candidate communication

Team mentoring

Data-driven recruiting

Market trends analysis

Sourcing strategies

Tools

Ashby

Job description

About OpenRouter

OpenRouter is the AI routing and infrastructure layer that AI builders, AI-native startups, and enterprises use to access, manage, and optimize their AI usage through a unified API, billing interface, and analytics platform. We route billions of tokens every month and sit at the center of how organizations operationalize LLMs across research, product, and production workloads.

We are a small team that punches above its weight. Every person here has direct impact on the product and our users.

The Role

As an early team member, you will work with cross-functional partners to help lay the foundational groundwork for technical hiring in this location. This is a full-cycle recruiting role, where you'll manage the entire recruitment process; from building pipelines to closing offers.

What You'll Do

• Partner closely with technical leadership to deeply understand hiring needs while providing strategic guidance on recruiting best practices

• Build and nurture a strong pipeline of technical talent to support both current hiring and future growth

• Advise hiring managers on market dynamics, compensation insights, and effective talent acquisition strategies

• Identify opportunities to streamline recruiting workflows and enhance operational efficiency across the hiring process

• Ensure data integrity and accuracy within our Applicant Tracking System (Ashby), maintaining a high standard of system hygiene

• Mentor and support other team members to elevate overall recruiting performance and execution

• Lead strategic sourcing initiatives to engage top-tier, passive candidates across various technical disciplines

• Collaborate cross-functionally within the company to align recruiting efforts with broader organizational goals

What We're Looking For

• 7+ years of full-cycle technical recruiting experience at a fast-paced environment

• Proven track record building strong technical teams in a high growth company

• Can develop relationships with hiring partners and become a trusted advisor

• Knows how to effectively communicate with candidates and be able to efficiently and systematically manage their individual processes

• You possess low ego and are willing to roll up your sleeves to accomplish our collective goals

• Help mentor other teammates by leading by example and providing guidance

• Understand the importance of data and metrics to influence recruiting strategies

• The type of person that keeps up with trends in technology, startups and which companies are the current magnets for top tier talent

If you don't think you meet all of the criteria below but still are interested in the job, please apply. Nobody checks every box, and we're looking for someone who is excited to join the team.