Contrario (YC W25) is building a network of AI-powered recruiters for critical startup roles. We place top talent at companies like Eight Sleep (YC S15) and Slash (YC S21) through a managed network of 100+ high-performing recruiters and boutique agencies. We’re profitable, growing quickly, and need help in scaling to $1M+ ARR.
We’re hiring our first Founding Ops hire to work directly with the CEO on critical company-building work—growth, recruiting, product, and systems. This is a full-contact role: you’ll touch every part of the business and be responsible for moving core metrics forward weekly. You’ll solve problems with speed, own ambiguous projects end-to-end, and work directly to build the operating backbone of Contrario.
What you’ll own:
- Review candidate submissions across active roles on Contrario for quality control (e.g. founding engineers, designers, AEs, etc).
- Manage + grow a network of recruiters: match them with roles, cross-list strong candidates, balance job assignments, resolve blockers
- Jump on company Slack threads + candidate issues that come up in daily operations
- Support and run new GTM experiments (e.g. in-person outreach in SF/Palo Alto, targeted recruiter outreach)
- Run company intake calls and ensure key info is collected before posting to our network
About you:
- Strong communicator, comfortable talking to customers, recruiters, and founders daily
- You’ve co-founded a startup or worked at a high-growth startup and shipped real work before
- Have a technical background (CS or adjacent major) to understand nuanced job requirements
- Can keep a high volume of threads organized and moving without dropping details
- Familiarity with recruiting or previous exposure to startup hiring
- Bias toward execution—can pick up a vague problem and make real progress without micromanagement
Preferred Qualifications:
- Scrappy and ready to work in-person South Bay (5-6x days/week, 60 hrs/week)
- Hungry + low-ego and take on real ownership from day one
- 1-3+ yrs experience in early-stage environments or with small GTM/recruiting teams before
- You're a recent grad from a top-tier university (Stanford, MIT, Harvard, etc.) or willing to drop out
- Have a deep familiarity in startup hiring ecosystem and processes in place
Contrario
