Independent Talent Sourcer (Contract, Contingent)

About Builders

Builders is a talent agency for people building ambitious careers in AI startups. We get to know what someone has done and what they want next, then introduce them directly to founders and hiring managers, instead of leaving them in an application pile.

In the AI era the definition of a builder is expanding, so we do not only place engineers. Design, product, growth and go-to-market, and non-technical roles like chief of staff, marketing and operations, all come through us.

We work with companies like Ramp, Greptile, Blockit and Circleback, from sourcing through close. We are a team of ex-founders, engineers, designers and PMs from fast-growing startups ourselves.

The role

This is for people who know how to find strong candidates for early-stage (seed through Series B) AI startups. Most of the roles are engineering, though product, design, growth and go-to-market, and operations come up too.

This is a fully remote contract role, open anywhere you can work legally. Put in as much or as little time as you want. There are no minimum hours, no quotas and no exclusivity in either direction, so this can run alongside whatever else you do, and you can keep working with other agencies and placing people directly. There is no non-solicit in the agreement either: nobody in your network becomes off limits because you signed with us.

Responsibilities

Find people who are open to a move, in any of the roles we brief you on. You can choose what roles, companies and archetypes to source for

Get them to sign up to Builders through your referral link

We screen them, introduce them to companies, and run the process through to the offer

Compensation

A flat fee for every person who signs up through your link and meets with a company. Paid monthly.

A share of our placement fee when someone you referred is hired. This is the largest placement share of any track we run, because you carry all of the risk. Paid once the guarantee period has passed and the company has paid us. Nothing is clawed back after that.

There is a path onto our hourly track. If the candidates you send are consistently strong, we can offer you our Independent Talent Sourcer (Contract, Hourly) role, where we pay for your time on an hourly basis plus performance bonuses. It is decided on the quality of what you have sourced, not on volume and not on how long you have been with us.

How attribution works. Through a tracked referral link that is specific to you. Attribution is decided based on first sign-up from a referral link. The meeting that makes a signup qualified can happen any time in the twelve months after they sign up, so you still earn on someone who takes a while to move.

Platform visibility. You see your own candidates, the stage each one has reached, and the status of every payout. You do not see other sourcers' candidates and they do not see yours. If you ever stop working with us, you keep access to payout status and candidate stages, so you can follow anything still in flight to the end.

How you work

Source however works for you. Whatever tools or automation you already use are fine by us.

No one else can see your candidates. You can check whether a specific person is already in the system by looking up their LinkedIn or email, so you know before you spend time on someone.

You see the companies and roles by name, with a brief on each: what they do, what they pay and who they want. Where a company shares it, the brief also covers who they have already passed on.

General guidelines

One-to-one outreach needs no sign-off. Sequenced, bulk or automated outreach needs approval, both that you are running it and the copy. Usually approved once per campaign or template.

Nothing about a role or company in a public post, job board, newsletter or group message without asking first.

Some companies are marked restricted. One-to-one only, never in a sequence. A few of them would drop us the same day their name showed up in mass outreach.

Do not source candidates out of our own client companies. You can see the full client list in the platform, so check it before you build a target list.

On work authorization, ask two things only: are you authorized to work in the US, and will you need sponsorship now or in the future. Nothing about which visa.

Please do not forward a brief to a candidate. Use what is in it to write your own outreach and to answer their questions.

Who would be a good fit

Operators with a network in AI. People already doing outbound who want more companies to send their candidates to.

It is a harder fit if you need guaranteed income in month one, or if you would rather be handed a list than build one.

If you already know you want to be paid for the time rather than the outcome, apply to our Independent Talent Sourcer (Contract, Hourly) role instead. It pays whether or not anyone signs up, and the bar for output per hour is higher.