Founder Associate Intern

About the Role This is a hands-on internship working directly alongside a small founding team at a pre-seed AI recruitment startup, helping connect exceptional candidates with career-defining opportunities at top VC-backed companies. You'll be embedded in every part of the talent pipeline — from candidate experience to workflow optimization — and your impact will be felt immediately in a team this size. What You'll Do Manage relationships with incoming candidates, ensuring a high-quality, talent-first experience throughout the process. Coordinate introductions between vetted candidates and hiring teams at VC-backed startups. Own end-to-end initiatives with minimal oversight, taking projects from problem to solution. Support and improve internal recruiting workflows and processes, identifying opportunities for automation and optimization. Collaborate directly with founders on cross-functional projects spanning operations, growth, and candidate success. What We're Looking For At least 3 months of prior internship experience in a fast-paced environment such as consulting, sales, startups, or venture capital. Demonstrated ability to deliver results with full ownership of initiatives from start to finish. Strong written and verbal communication skills, with evidence from professional or project work. Comfortable operating in informal, entrepreneurial team environments with high ambiguity. Evidence of high academic performance or meaningful project/technical contributions (e.g. selective university, strong GPA, or active open-source work). Willing to relocate to San Francisco and participate in a shared live/work hacker-house environment for the duration of the internship. Willing to commit to a 6-day work week. Prior experience in recruiting or talent acquisition is a plus, but not required. Familiarity with the VC-backed startup ecosystem and hiring practices is a bonus. Location On-site in San Francisco, California . The team currently lives and works together in a shared hacker-house — relocation and full participation in this arrangement is expected. Visa sponsorship is available.