Talent Acquisition Specialist

Hiring is broken at both ends. Candidates get assessed against generic checklists, and hiring managers never fully communicate what they actually need. Profound exists because the quality of signal on both sides of a hire determines whether the right person gets the right role.

The product is a matchmaking platform that runs AI-powered intake calls with hiring managers to extract the full picture of a role, then assesses candidates against that picture through their own AI rep. The result is a candidate who gets represented accurately, and a hiring manager who gets matched to someone who actually fits.

Profound is Seed-funded, backed by a founding team with serious execution pedigree. The CEO scaled a leading food-delivery platform from its earliest days to a senior vice president role. The CTO has led engineering at some of India's most recognized consumer internet companies.

As the Talent Acquisition Specialist at Profound, you will own end-to-end sourcing and screening across four to five active mandates from high-growth startups at any given time.

You will map talent against each mandate, run outbound sourcing using Boolean search and AI tools, screen candidates, and bring them into the Profound assessment call. The role asks for deep Bengaluru startup ecosystem knowledge, strong tech stack literacy, and the ability to pitch both the hiring company and Profound credibly to every candidate you speak with.

You will work directly with the founding team and report to the CEO.

You will run product and tech hiring across all active mandates simultaneously.

• End-to-end sourcing on four to five roles. Own the full funnel from outbound search to screened candidate, across concurrent mandates at any time.
• Outbound sourcing motion. Run Boolean search and AI sourcing tools to find candidates who fit each mandate, without relying on inbound or agencies.
• Candidate pitch and conversion. Sell each hiring company and Profound to every candidate you reach, and convert them into a Profound assessment call.
• Tech stack evaluation. Read a JD and a profile side by side and make a fit call at a technical level, not just on keyword match.
• Mandate context switching. Build a working understanding of each company's product, funding, team, and role fast enough to pitch it credibly on a live call.
• Pipeline reporting. Keep the founding team informed on funnel health, blockers, and candidate status across all active roles.

• Sourced for product and tech roles hands-on. You have owned the full sourcing funnel for engineering and product mandates, without leaning on agencies to fill the gap.
• Operated at a seed or Series A startup. You have recruited in an environment where inbound was thin and every hire required outbound hustle and a strong pitch.
• Fluent in Boolean search and AI sourcing tools. You have used tools like Juicebox or equivalent, and you stay current on what is new in the sourcing stack.
• Literate in tech stacks. You can read a JD calling for specific technologies, look at a candidate profile, and make a credible fit assessment.
• Mapped the Bengaluru startup ecosystem. You know which companies are building what, who the strong operators are, and where to find good PMs and engineers without starting from scratch.
• Pitched companies and platforms on live calls. You have sold a role and a company to a passive candidate in real time, filling gaps in your knowledge on the fly.
• Operated independently with high follow-through. You have managed your own workload, flagged blockers early, and delivered without needing to be chased.

• Own your funnel completely. Pick up a mandate, map the talent, source, screen, and convert. The expectation is that you move without being asked.
• Flag blockers the moment they appear. If something is slowing you down, surface it immediately. Sitting on a problem for days is the one thing that breaks trust here.
• Use every tool available. Boolean, AI sourcing platforms, generative AI on a live call. Sharp recruiters use what works and stay current on what is new.
• Pitch from understanding, not a script. Know the company, the role, and the Profound story well enough to answer hard questions in real time.
• Keep the founding team informed. Decisions about your schedule, availability, or capacity get communicated early and proactively, not after the fact.
• Match the energy of the work. The pace here is real. The people who thrive bring the same level of agency to their work that they expect from the candidates they source.

Cash compensation of ₹10L to ₹12L a year. You will work directly with the founding team and own product and tech hiring across Profound's active mandate book. The role puts you at the center of building a platform that changes how professionals get hired.