Lead Technical Recruiter

Build a Safer World.

TRM Labs provides AI-powered intelligence solutions that help public and private sector agencies investigate and disrupt crime. TRM's platforms enable investigators to trace illicit activity, build cases, and construct operating pictures of threat networks. Leading agencies and businesses worldwide rely on TRM to make the world safer and more secure.

At TRM, we believe the people we hire will determine how far and how fast we can go in our mission to build a safer world for billions of people. That’s why we’re building a Talent team that sees recruiting as a craft and a competitive advantage, people who challenge assumptions, move with urgency, and are energized by building exceptional teams to solve incredibly hard problems. If that sounds like you, we’d love to meet you.

– Alicia Strait (opens in a new tab), VP of Talent, TRM Labs

Our ability to identify, hire, and retain exceptional talent is foundational to our mission. The Talent team at TRM is made up of seasoned professionals who have experience hiring world-class Engineering, Data Science, GTM, and People teams for the most notable startups in Silicon Valley. As a Lead Technical Recruiter, you are the senior individual-contributor backbone of the team: owning our most complex and highest-stakes technical searches, setting the bar for craft across the function, and mentoring recruiters without needing a direct reporting line to do it. Your success will be measured by the quality and velocity of the searches you personally run, and by how much better the rest of the team gets because you're in the room.

The impact you'll have here

• Own end-to-end delivery on TRM's most complex, ambiguous, or highest-priority technical searches (e.g., executive-adjacent, novel function build-outs, or roles with thin talent markets), often running several ambitious searches in parallel with clear hypotheses, datapoints, and next actions.

• Set the sourcing, evaluation, and closing standard for the function, modeling a bar that would be considered top-tier by industry peers, and stepping in on peers' searches when quality or timelines are at risk.

• Act as a thought partner to hiring managers and executives on hiring strategy, market realities, and calibration, proactively flagging when a plan, level, or approach isn't working and proposing alternatives before being asked.

• Mentor and coach recruiters across the team on sourcing craft, structured search design, and stakeholder management, through pairing, feedback, and modeling rather than formal authority.

• Identify and close gaps in our recruiting systems, tools, and processes (dashboards, funnel hygiene, market maps, playbooks) so the whole team moves faster and with better data.

• Build and share market intelligence, including compensation benchmarks, talent pool maps, and competitor movement, that shapes how TRM plans and prioritizes hiring across functions.

• Create spaces for honest feedback and productive disagreement about what's working in our recruiting motion, and help the team let go of approaches that no longer serve results.

What we're looking for

• 7+ years of technical recruiting experience in high-growth, US-headquartered tech startups, with a track record of independently closing hard-to-fill and senior technical roles.

• Demonstrated ability to run multiple high-complexity searches simultaneously, each with a clear strategy, market read, and measurable outcomes.

• A history of raising the bar for others, through mentorship, pairing, or informal coaching, even without formal management responsibility.

• Sharp first-principles thinker who questions not just execution but the underlying hiring strategy, and is comfortable pushing back on hiring managers or leadership with data and alternatives in hand.

• Fluent in translating messy, cross-functional hiring problems (competing priorities, unclear specs, multiple stakeholders) into a clear plan and next steps.

• Strong operational instincts, comfortable owning improvements to sourcing tools, dashboards, and process design, not just working within them.

• Exceptional, concise communicator who builds trust quickly with executives, hiring managers, and candidates alike.

• A bias toward ownership: thinks like they run the function, not just their own req load.

Learn about TRM Speed in this position:

• Within 72 hours of receiving a position, you schedule the intake meeting, open the position in the ATS, post the description, design the interview process, configure the interview plan.

• Within week of opening a position, you have conducted 5-10 Recruiter Screens and have conducted the first sync with the Hiring Team for calibration.

• Two weeks after the initial interviews, you analyze the data to identify what is and isn’t driving pass rates and conversions. You share your insights and recommendations with the hiring team to refine and optimize the search, and you continue to monitor and adjust the approach until the position is filled.

Our Onboarding Process:

• Within your first 30 days, you’ll be fully onboarded, calibrated, and operating as the DRI for your positions.

• Within your first 60 days, you’ll have your first sourced candidates reaching final rounds.

• Within your first 90 days, you’ll have made 2–3 hires.

The following represents the expected range of compensation for this role:

• Individual pay is determined by skills, qualifications, experience, and location. The compensation details listed in this posting reflect the US base salary only.

• The estimated base salary range for this role is $172,500 - $196,000.

• Additionally, this role may be eligible to participate in TRM’s equity plan.

• Please note – we factor in the different costs for geographies outside the United States.

Application Instructions

If you’re interested in joining TRM, we encourage you to apply directly. Every application is reviewed by our Talent team.

Before applying, review the job description carefully and highlight the experience and impact that best demonstrate the required qualifications. Please also provide thoughtful and accurate answers to the application questions, as these will be used to evaluate your skills and qualifications for the role.

If you send your resume directly to someone at TRM, we can’t guarantee it will reach the appropriate hiring team. Applying directly is the best way to ensure your application will be considered.

Interviewing with TRM

Our process is designed to understand how you think, solve problems, and deliver impact, while allowing you to evaluate TRM. Most interview processes include a case study, an AI skills assessment, and a Leadership Principles interview.

• Recruiter Intro: Qualifications, motivations, and alignment with the role.

• Hiring Manager: Deep dive into your relevant experience, skills, and impact.

• First Round: 1–2 interviews focused on the skills most critical to the role.

• Final Round: Hands-on case study. This is usually a panel-style session where we go deeper into your craft, problem-solving, and alignment with TRM.

• References: Former colleagues who can provide insight into your work and impact.

• Offer: Congrats! Your recruiter will present the offer and compensation details.

• Welcome to TRM: We're excited to build a safer world with you!

Your recruiter will share your specific interview plan and preparation guidance along the way.

AI Fluency at TRM

AI fluency is a baseline expectation at TRM.

We believe AI meaningfully changes how top performers operate. We expect every team member to use AI to accelerate and reimagine their craft, not just automate surface tasks.

At TRM, AI fluency means you are among the top 10 percent of operators in your function in how you apply AI to:

• Accelerate repeatable workflows

• Structure and solve problems

• Improve output quality

• Increase speed and leverage

You will be evaluated on applied AI fluency during the interview process.

Life at TRM

We are building a safer world. That promise shows up in how we work every day.

TRM moves FAST. We are a high-velocity, high-ownership team that expects clarity, follow-through, and impact. People who thrive here are energized by hard problems, experimentation, and continuous feedback. If something takes months elsewhere, it will ship here in days.

Our work sits at the intersection of AI, national security, and fighting crime. The problems are complex, the stakes are real, and the environment evolves quickly. The pace and intensity of the work reflect the importance of the mission. As a result, the way we operate requires a high level of ownership, adaptability, collaboration, and creative problem-solving.

At TRM, you should expect:

• Priorities and targets to change quickly

• Operating with a high degree of ambiguity

• A high level of personal ownership and accountability

• Close collaboration across teams and functions

• Frequent, high-touch communication

• Creative problem-solving and out-of-the-box thinking

• A pace that rewards urgency, adaptability, and outcomes

This environment is energizing for people who enjoy building, solving hard problems, and making progress in situations that are not always fully defined. It also requires thriving in ambiguity, adjusting course as new information emerges, and maintaining focus and positivity in a fast-moving and intense environment.

We also recognize that this style of operating is not for everyone. If you are primarily optimizing for predictability or a consistently balanced workload, we encourage you to use the interview process to pressure-test whether this environment is truly the right fit. We want teammates who thrive here, not just survive here.

If you are excited by meaningful problems, motivated by ambitious goals, and energized by working alongside mission-driven colleagues, there is a good chance you will find TRM to be an exceptional place to grow and contribute.

Leadership Principles

We hire and grow against three leadership principles. They’re the standards for how we operate, treat each other, and make decisions.

• Impact-Oriented Trailblazer: We put customers first and move with speed, focus, and adaptability. We treat every plan like an experiment – test, ship, measure, and iterate quickly.

• Master Craftsperson: We care deeply about our craft. We balance speed with high standards, own outcomes end‑to‑end, and invest in getting better everyday.

• Inspiring Colleague: We add clarity and energy, not noise. We bring humility, candor, and a one‑team mindset — giving and receiving feedback to make the team stronger.

Join our Mission

At TRM, we care deeply about our craft. We are looking for individuals who want their work to matter, who experiment with speed and rigor, and who take pride in building a safer world for billions of people. If you’re excited by TRM’s mission but don’t check every box, we encourage you to apply — we hire for slope, judgment, and the will to learn fast.

TRM is a Series C company with $220M in total funding, backed by Goldman Sachs, Bessemer, Y Combinator, Thoma Bravo, and others. Headquartered in San Francisco, TRM operates as a distributed-first company with hubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C., London, and Singapore.

Privacy Policy and Additional Information

By submitting your application, you agree to allow TRM Labs to process your personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

We collect the information you provide (such as your resume, work history, and contact details) solely for the purpose of evaluating your candidacy for current and future roles at TRM.

Because our hiring cycles for certain positions may span 24 to 36 months, we retain your personal information for up to 36 months from the date of your application. After that period, your data is deleted unless a different retention period is required or permitted by law.

If you are located in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or another jurisdiction with applicable data protection laws, you have the right to access, correct, or request deletion of your personal data at any time before that period ends. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at [email protected].

To notify TRM Labs that you believe this job posting is non-compliant, please submit a report through this form (opens in a new tab). No response will be provided to inquiries unrelated to job posting compliance.

The use of AI tools of any kind (including but not limited to notetakers, interview assistants, and real-time coaching tools such as Otter.ai, Fireflies, Fathom, Cluey, or similar) during TRM interviews is not permitted without prior approval from TRM. TRM uses its own internal tools for note-taking to ensure a consistent and confidential experience for all candidates.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this form (opens in a new tab).

Recruitment agencies

TRM Labs does not accept unsolicited agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to TRM employees. TRM Labs is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes and will not pay fees to any third-party agency or company without a signed agreement.