Founder Associate Intern

About the Role

Join the founding team of a fast-growing, pre-seed AI startup that is rethinking how top talent connects with career-defining opportunities at leading VC-backed companies — many in AI. This is a rare chance to work shoulder-to-shoulder with founders in a high-intensity, high-ownership environment, contributing directly to the growth of a platform that is disrupting the $600B global recruiting industry.

The company operates a talent-first model: using AI to match exceptional candidates with startups and making warm, direct introductions to founders and hiring managers — no cold applications. As a Founder Associate Intern, you will be at the center of this mission, helping hundreds of incoming candidates navigate their job search and connect with elite startups worldwide.

What You'll Do

• Work directly with the founding team on day-to-day operations, candidate experience, and growth initiatives.

• Own end-to-end workflows: sourcing, screening, and managing relationships with exceptional candidates.

• Coordinate introductions and meetings between candidates and hiring teams at top VC-backed startups.

• Identify opportunities to improve and automate recruiting workflows and candidate-facing processes.

• Collaborate cross-functionally with founders, candidates, and client companies via written and verbal communication.

• Take on high-ownership projects with real, measurable outcomes from day one.

What We're Looking For

Required:

• Willingness and enthusiasm to live and work from a founder hacker-house in San Francisco (on-site, no commute).

• Strong written and verbal communication skills; comfortable engaging with founders, candidates, and clients.

• At least one prior internship of 3+ months in a fast-paced environment (e.g. consulting, sales, startups, VC).

• Demonstrated ability to deliver results with ownership in entrepreneurial or high-velocity settings.

• An outstanding profile — e.g. strong academic record, notable projects, active GitHub, or equivalent signal of excellence.

• Ready to commit fully, including working 6 full days per week.

• Thrives in ambiguity and can operate with minimal hand-holding.

Nice to Have:

• Prior experience in a founder-led, zero-to-one startup environment.

• Exposure to recruiting, HR tech, or talent operations.

• Familiarity with AI tooling or workflow automation.

Location & Work Arrangement

This role is fully on-site in San Francisco, CA. The team currently lives and works together from a shared hacker-house — zero commute, tight feedback loops, and strong team bonding are core to the culture. This is an intensely in-person, immersive experience. Visa sponsorship is available.

Compensation & Benefits

Compensation details were not specified for this role. The primary value is direct, hands-on experience working alongside an early-stage founding team, with outsized learning velocity and ownership in a high-growth AI startup environment.