What we do:
The biggest factor in whether a startup becomes the next Shopify, Uber, or OpenAI isn't the product, the funding, or the timing. It's who they hire first.
We help the highest-potential AI startups; backed by Sequoia, a16z, and YC, get those hires right. Beluga embeds inside founding teams as their talent partner, advising on who to hire, how, and why. We've helped build some of the fastest-growing AI companies in the world. The founders keep coming back because we don't just fill roles - we help them figure out what the right role even is.
Today we're a team of 10. As we grow, we're bringing on experienced recruiters and ambitious people ready to break into this space. This role is built for both.
The role
Top recruiters are strategic partners brokering career- and company-defining outcomes; think top sports or entertainment agents. They shape how the best talent sees a company and act as trusted advisors at pivotal moments in founders' and candidates' careers. That's the bar. This role is where you start building toward it.
We work with startups in three ways:
- Embedded: we own hiring strategy and execution from inside the company
- Executive search: retained searches for leadership hires
- Contingency: lighter-touch, high-impact searches
As an Associate, you'll work across these models; supporting and eventually leading searches for both technical and non-technical roles. You'll partner directly with founders and work alongside experienced Talent Partners who'll pull you into the work progressively as you ramp.
Internally, we're building an AI-native recruiting stack: custom tooling that compresses the search cycle, paired with the white-glove process humans still do best. Dedicated Sourcers and Coordinators support the team so you're focused on the high-judgment work; evaluating talent, building relationships, and advising founders - not buried in admin.
Who we're looking for
As a recruiting business, we're acutely aware of the catch-22 that exists in hiring. We believe our next great hire could come with no former recruiting experience at all.
The essentials:
- You're a strong communicator who builds trust quickly
- You're genuinely curious about people, technology, and how businesses work
- You're competitive enough to thrive in a role where your results are visible
- You're somewhere on the tech spectrum between "I live in Notion, Slack, and Claude" and "I've built my own AI agents to automate tasks" - we don't need you to be an engineer, but you need to be fluent enough to learn fast and talk credibly with founders building at the frontier
In terms of background, you could be:
- An SDR or AE selling SaaS who knows the ecosystem and wants a pivot into something with more depth
- Someone interested in venture capital who wants to build the network, startup fluency, and founder relationships that make that path possible
- A CS grad who's drawn to the business and people side of startups - especially if you think you might want to become a founder one day and want to see how top startups actually run
- A realtor who's tech-savvy and ready to apply your advisory and deal management skills somewhere they compound intellectually
- An events or community manager who's open to a targets-based role and keen on working remotely
- A strong copywriter who's ready to step into a client-facing, commercial role
- A bootstrapped founder who's exited and wants to advise other founders and early-stage teams on their most important decisions
- A freelance recruiter who's been successful independently but wants team leverage, consistent deal flow, and to stop worrying about business development
The list of transferable backgrounds is longer than this. If you can make a compelling enough case to persuade us you'd be a great fit; you'd probably be great at recruiting.
Why consider
- You learn how companies get built. Dozens of startups in your first year; how they hire, structure teams, what works, what kills them. People pay for MBAs to get a fraction of this.
- You think like a consultant. Founders bring you their hardest problem; who to hire and why - and you learn to advise them from every angle.
- You stay on the edge of tech. Your clients build AI products. Internally, we build our own recruiting stack. You stop learning here when you decide to.
- Your network compounds. Every founder, candidate, and conversation is yours. VC, starting a company, going in-house at a high-growth start-up; this is the on-ramp.
How you'll get there
- Beluga Camp first. Structured training - our methodology, tools, and how we think about search. You show up ready to learn. We handle the rest.
- From there: source candidates and develop creative outreach. Have real conversations about careers. Keep searches moving. Work alongside experienced recruiters who show you how they think. Learn a new market every week.
- Within 12–18 months, you're running searches and advising founders independently.
What success looks like
- In your first year, you'll be expected to support and make 5–7 hires, backweighted as you ramp. Our experienced team members make 16–20 hires a year — that's the trajectory you're building toward.
- We're constantly tinkering with systems, tools, and process to make more placements and improve efficiency across the board. If you find a better way to do something - a better tool, a different approach, a smarter workflow - you'll have room to run with it. Good ideas come from anywhere here, and when experiments work, we roll them out to the whole team.
This role might not be for you if
- You want quiet, heads-down solo work. You'll be on calls and in meetings 70–80% of your week - with candidates, founders, and your team.
- You need someone to tell you exactly what to do every day. This is a targets-based role, and the ambiguity isn't usually what to work on - it's how to get there. You'll need to problem-solve your way through that.
What you get
- Base salary ($50-55K CAD), not a draw. Uncapped commission (expected OTE in Yr 1: $70-75K CAD)
- Remote-first, ET or PT
- Beluga Camp + ongoing mentorship
- Custom AI tools and full modern recruiting stack
Pay: $70,000.00-$75,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Casual dress
- Dental care
- Extended health care
- Paid time off
Application question(s):
- LinkedIn URL:
- Have you ever been in a targets-based role? If so, tell us about it. If not, what makes you think you'd thrive in one?*
- Why are you interested in this role?
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Toronto, ON M5J 2P1
