Founding Recruiter

Workstream is a mission-driven company building the all-in-one HR, payroll, and hiring platform for managing the hourly workforce. There are 2.7 billion hourly workers, making up 80% of the global workforce, but this market has been heavily underserved by technology and deserves better. Workstream has been purpose-built for the hourly workforce from day one so that these businesses and their employees can thrive.

Our customers include leading brands from multiple sectors, including Burger King, Carl's Jr./Hardee's, IHOP, KFC, and Culvers. We are a high growth series B company and quickly expanding our product portfolio to deliver on our vision. We are backed by legendary VCs and industry experts like Founders Fund, BOND, and Coatue.

Grow With Us

We are looking for a highly driven, entrepreneurial, and results-oriented Founding Recruiter to join the AI Agency startup we're building and become the very first recruiting hire dedicated to scaling the organization.

This is a unique opportunity to build the recruiting function from the ground up within a fast-growing AI startup environment. As the first recruiter on the team, you will play a critical role in shaping how we attract, engage, and hire exceptional talent. You'll partner directly with founders and business leaders, helping define recruiting strategies, processes, and best practices that will support the company's growth for years to come.

This role is ideal for someone with a staffing or agency recruiting background who thrives in fast-paced, high-growth environments and enjoys building from zero to one. You will own the full recruiting lifecycle—from sourcing and outreach through offer acceptance—while serving as a strategic partner to hiring managers and leadership.

Unlike traditional corporate recruiting roles, this position requires a strong hunter mentality. You should be energized by ambitious hiring goals, proactive sourcing, candidate engagement, and building talent pipelines from scratch. You'll have the opportunity to influence hiring strategy, establish recruiting operations, and help shape the culture of a company at an exciting stage of growth.

Success in this role requires urgency, creativity, resilience, and accountability. You'll work closely with founders and key stakeholders to build scalable recruiting processes, accelerate hiring velocity, and ensure we attract the talent needed to bring our vision to life.

If you're excited by the idea of being the first recruiter at an AI startup, wearing multiple hats, and helping build something from the ground up, we'd love to meet you.

Travel and Location

This role will be 4 to 5 days in our Menlo Park office, and will be a rapidly growing role that works closely with the co-founders.

Day In The Life

Own full-cycle recruiting across a variety of functions and hiring levels

Proactively source, engage, and nurture candidates through outbound recruiting efforts

Build and manage strong talent pipelines using LinkedIn, job boards, referrals, networking, and creative sourcing strategies

Develop compelling outreach campaigns that drive candidate engagement and conversion

Screen, interview, and assess candidates against role requirements and company culture

Partner closely with hiring managers to understand hiring needs, align on candidate profiles, and drive hiring decisions

Manage recruiting pipelines, hiring metrics, and candidate funnel performance

Operate with a strong sense of urgency to meet aggressive hiring goals and timelines

Track and report recruiting performance metrics, pipeline health, and hiring forecasts

Deliver an exceptional candidate experience throughout the recruiting process

Help refine recruiting processes, sourcing strategies, and operational workflows as the team scales

Help manage other US role requisitions and support sourcing and other recruitment initiatives, where needed

Who You Are

Competitive, proactive, and highly motivated by results

A natural hunter who enjoys finding talent others cannot

Resourceful and persistent when faced with recruiting challenges

Comfortable operating with metrics, goals, and accountability

Entrepreneurial in your approach and excited by building new processes

Energized by high-growth environments and ambitious hiring targets

Collaborative team player who can partner effectively across functions

5+ years of experience in agency recruiting, staffing, executive search, or high-volume recruiting environments

Proven track record of consistently meeting or exceeding recruiting goals and performance targets

Strong sourcing capabilities with experience building pipelines from scratch

Demonstrated ability to operate independently and drive results with minimal oversight

Exceptional communication, relationship-building, and influencing skills

Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple searches simultaneously

Experience using ATS platforms, recruiting tools, and sourcing technologies

Comfort…