Founder Associate Intern

CleraSan Francisco, CaliforniaOn-siteInternshipListed 4 days ago

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About this role

About the Role

This internship places you directly alongside the founding team of a pre-seed AI recruiting startup, helping connect exceptional candidates with career-defining roles at top VC-backed companies. You will own real workflows from day one, with a direct impact on candidate experience and placement outcomes. The role is intense, hands-on, and designed for someone who thrives in a small, fast-moving team.

What You'll Do

- Manage and nurture relationships with a high volume of incoming candidates, ensuring a best-in-class experience throughout the process.
- Match and introduce candidates to relevant startup opportunities based on fit, goals, and company needs.
- Own end-to-end workflows across talent sourcing, outreach, and candidate coordination.
- Identify and drive process improvements to scale recruiting operations more efficiently.
- Collaborate closely with founders on cross-functional initiatives spanning operations, growth, and product feedback.
- Support automation and optimization of internal workflows to increase throughput and quality.

What We're Looking For

- At least 3 months of prior internship experience, ideally in consulting, sales, startups, or venture capital.
- Completed Bachelor's degree.
- Demonstrated ability to take end-to-end ownership of projects and deliver measurable results.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with evidence from professional or project work.
- Academic high-achiever: strong GPA, selective university, substantial projects, or active open-source contributions.
- Comfortable working in informal, fast-moving, entrepreneurial environments.
- Willing to relocate to San Francisco and live and work in a shared hacker-house setup with the founding team.
- Willing to commit to a 6-day work week for the duration of the internship.
- Prior experience in recruiting, talent acquisition, or candidate relationship management is a plus.
- Familiarity with the VC-backed startup ecosystem and hiring practices is a plus.
- Experience with workflow automation or process optimization tools is a plus.
- Social media or content background alongside general operations or founder experience is a plus.

Location

On-site in San Francisco, California. The team currently lives and works together in a shared hacker-house, with zero commute and tight daily feedback loops. Visa sponsorship is available.