What You'll Do- Own Freehand's talent strategy in the US end-to-end as the first dedicated US hire on the team - working directly with the CEO and Co-Founder(s) as a strategic partner, not just executing reqs
- Bring market intelligence to every search: research what talent realistically exists, and sharpen JDs and role definitions with hiring managers before sourcing begins
- Lead hiring across three priorities: building Freehand's first SF-based engineering/product team, GTM roles (marketing, sales and pre-sales), and upgrading Professional Services/Deployment Strategists to serve Fortune 100 clients
- Build the US talent function from scratch - interview process, scorecards, tooling, and a clear definition of "what good looks like" for each role
- Own employer branding and Freehand's EVP for a not-yet-known, technical brand, through audience-tailored storytelling, public presence, and community/event engagement
- Source creatively beyond LinkedIn - niche communities, events, alternative platforms, AI-assisted sourcing, and referral programs - to reach top 1-2% talent who aren't actively looking
- Partner on retention and culture, feeding market intel back into Freehand's people policies so the company stays a place top talent wants to join and stay
- Flex hiring pace to the business - senior/leadership searches are the core mandate, with the ability to scale to higher-velocity hiring pushes without lowering the bar
Who You Are- Based in the SF Bay Area, comfortable with a hybrid setup
- 5+ years recruiting for new-age tech companies/startups, ideally including at least one 0-to-1 experience building a recruiting function from scratch; also open to ex-Sales candidates now running TA/recruiting for AI startups
- A recruiting background spanning both GTM and technical/engineering hiring - comfortable enough with technical detail to earn credibility with engineering hiring managers
- A demonstrated track record - not just a stated interest - in independently building employer brand, running or attending events, and finding creative ways to reach talent that isn't easily found. Hunger and willingness to build matter more than polish here.
- Experience hiring for mid-to-senior and leadership-level roles as the core focus, not a junior or volume-recruiting background
- Thrives as a lean, senior IC: builds systems and process from scratch, and leverages AI tools and partners proactively in their work
- A true thought partner to leadership - comfortable having a seat at the table, not just executing what's asked
Working at FreehandSeries C, ~100 people across the US and India. Big enough to have infrastructure, small enough that your work is visible. We run on five core operating principles; these are not values-on-a-wall, this is the exact philosophy we built our AI agents on :
- Context Before Confidence. We get in, ask (a ton of) questions, connect the dots ourselves and move fast. No passengers, no hand-holding. The amount of confidence you'll have in Week 1 is directly proportional to the context strive to gain.
- Decisions, not Recommendations. Freehand folks decide, they don't present options. You'll have real autonomy, and real accountability to match.
- High Agency, High Trust. We won't manage you closely or ask you to escalate every call. Act, share your reasoning, and course-correct when needed. That's the contract.
- Accountability is the Product. When something goes wrong - and it will - we name it, learn from it, and move on. No politics, no cover. Just fix it.
- The Work That Remains is the Work That Matters. We actively cut low-value work. What lands on your plate is there because it matters - and can only be done by you.
It's a small world. Freehand employees
Work Anywhere across the globe (we're remote & travel-first). We also cover your monthly home-internet costs. Every quarter, we arrange for a fully-paid trip to one of our Office Hubs to meet & interact with cross-functional teams.
In addition, we proudly offer the following
Benefits to all our full-time employees:
- Take what you need Vacation Policy
- Full health coverage (with multiple gold-standard carriers across medical, dental & vision)
- Life Insurance and Disability benefits
- HSA/FSA Access
- 401(k) with a 4% Employer Match
- Fully-paid Parental Leave
