Recruiting Lead

About the role

This position is the first dedicated recruiting hire at Harper, an AI-native commercial insurance company based in San Francisco that is rebuilding the entire business as software. The hire will personally source, sell, and close exceptional candidates in the immediate term while architecting the recruiting function that enables the company to scale from roughly thirty people to one hundred plus without degrading the high performance bar. You will operate at founder speed, making direct offers this week and designing repeatable systems that remove your involvement from every subsequent hiring loop. The role exists because a large rebuild is fundamentally a talent problem, and with no recruiting function yet in place, you will be the function itself before you build the team around it. You must combine execution and strategy in a single person who can both close critical hires today and plan the organization for the next two years. In six to twelve months, you will have filled critical roles yourself and established a durable recruiting machine capable of supporting the next tenfold expansion of the company.

Key facts

What you'll do

Close candidates yourself by sourcing, screening, selling, and completing offers across engineering, sales, and GTM roles while owning the entire funnel end to end.

Understand technical recruiting deeply by mapping the talent landscape, identifying specific competitors to target, and evaluating whether engineers meet the high bar rather than merely passing resumes through.

Build infrastructure capable of supporting ten times current headcount through repeatable sourcing strategies, structured interviews, and calibrated scorecards that remain effective during rapid scaling.

Expand into GTM and operations by establishing pipelines for sales, marketing, and operations once technical recruiting operates reliably and predictably.

Partner directly with founders on hiring strategy, working without committees or lengthy approval chains and pushing back when job specifications do not align with reality.

Think two years ahead by evaluating team needs not just for today's open roles but for the composition and capabilities required at full maturity.

Hire and manage recruiters as the organization grows, setting performance and velocity standards for a growing recruiting team.

Own outcomes end to end, moving at founder speed to close exceptional candidates within the current week instead of deferring decisions to future months.

Sell the demanding reality of the role honestly, presenting an intense, loud, collaborative, on-site environment to candidates who are seeking exactly that kind of challenge.

Transition from an individual contributor role to a leadership position by building the function and then leading the team responsible for ongoing recruitment.

Be based in San Francisco and willing to work long, intense days on an accelerated learning curve where the stakes are high and the pace mirrors the company's growth.

Requirements

Bring 6 to 10 years of recruiting experience, including scaling efforts through rapid growth phases from Series A through C, with a clear record of handling increasing complexity.

Have 2 or more years of experience directly managing recruiting teams of 3 or more people, demonstrating the ability to lead and develop multiple recruiters.

Possess a technical recruiting background that is strongly preferred, with hands-on experience evaluating engineers and understanding technical skill sets.

Show a demonstrated ability to source, sell, and close candidates directly rather than exclusively managing processes delegated to others.

Have built recruiting processes that survived 10x growth, including designing systems for technical roles and understanding the nuances of the broader talent landscape.

Be physically based in San Francisco or explicitly willing to relocate to the city to support on-site collaboration.

Commit to an on-site schedule Monday through Friday in San Francisco, embracing the long hours and steep learning curve inherent in the role.

Be prepared to sell the intense, collaborative, high-pressure reality of the company culture to candidates, ensuring alignment between candidate expectations and actual working conditions.

Embrace the responsibility of owning the full recruiting function and building the team and systems that will allow Harper to scale efficiently.

Maintain a founder-speed mindset, closing great candidates within the current week and avoiding delays that could compromise critical hiring timelines.

Nice to have

Experience at companies that scaled from 30 to 200+ employees without relying on repeated Series A cycles, indicating familiarity with sustained growth phases.

Background recruiting for AI-native organizations, technical sales teams, or other fast-moving, high-bar environments.

Experience with employer branding and creating recruiting content that communicates the intensity and opportunity of the role.

Prior experience building recruiting teams from scratch, including designing structures, processes, and performance metrics independently.

Practical notes

The role requires on-site presence in San Francisco from Monday through Friday with long hours expected as the company moves at an accelerated pace. Travel is not required for this position, and no remote work arrangements are provided. Visa sponsorship is not mentioned in the current description, and interested candidates should verify eligibility under applicable immigration rules if applicable. The application process begins with a people screen for initial fit and alignment, followed by a founder screen focused on skills and culture fit, and then a super day designed to observe real-time decision making and execution.