Founder Associate Intern

Posted:
8/31/2026, 3:50:21 AM

Location(s):
California, United States ⋅ San Francisco, California, United States

Experience Level(s):
Internship

Field(s):
People & HR

Workplace Type:
On-site

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.

Clera

Website: https://www.getclera.com/

Headquarter Location: San Francisco, California, United States

Employee Count: 1-10

Year Founded: 2025

IPO Status: Private

Last Funding Type: Pre-Seed

Industries: Artificial Intelligence (AI) ⋅ Career Planning ⋅ Information Technology ⋅ Recruiting