About Cerrion
At Cerrion, we’re building the future of AI-enabled manufacturing. Headquartered in Zurich and backed by Y Combinator and top Silicon Valley investors, we’re building a platform to deploy video AI Agents that can see what’s happening on the production floor, automatically spot problems, and instantly intervene to keep lines running smoothly, at scale. Our technology is live in factories across 15 countries, helping leading manufacturers in glass, beverage, food, CPG, building materials and wood cut downtime by up to 50%. We’ve reached an exciting inflection point — and we’re accelerating fast.
The Role
We’re hiring our first Talent and People Lead to own everything that makes Cerrion a place where exceptional people join, grow, and do their best work. Today, hiring is driven by founders and hiring managers with external support — but we’ve reached the stage where we need a dedicated owner who can turn talent and people operations into a strategic advantage. You’ll run recruiting end-to-end across engineering, business, and operations roles — and beyond hiring, you’ll build the foundations of our people function: onboarding, engagement, performance, levelling, and compensation.
This is a foundational role. You won’t inherit a playbook — you’ll write it. If you thrive on building structure where there is none, love the craft of finding and closing exceptional people, and want to shape the team of a company at an inflection point, this is the role for you.
What You’ll Do
Own and Run
Own full-cycle recruiting: Run every search from intake to signed offer. Source, screen, coordinate interviews, and close candidates across technical and non-technical roles — with the same precision and care whether it’s an AI engineer or a field technician.
Partner with hiring managers: Work closely with team leads and founders to understand what great looks like for each role. Challenge vague briefs, sharpen role definitions, and help calibrate on candidate profiles early.
Deliver a world-class candidate experience: Every candidate — whether they get an offer or not — should walk away impressed by how Cerrion runs its process. You’ll own speed, communication, and quality at every touchpoint.
Source proactively: Don’t wait for applications. Build pipelines for critical roles through direct outreach, referral networks, events, and creative channels. We’re hiring in a competitive market — you’ll need to go where the talent is.
Build for Scale
Design the recruiting infrastructure: Select and implement an ATS, define interview frameworks, build scorecards, and create structured hiring workflows that scale as we grow. You’re building the system, not just running it.
Drive hiring strategy with talent density as the north star: Every hire should raise the bar. You'll translate headcount plans into recruiting roadmaps that protect and strengthen team quality as we scale — advising on market dynamics and compensation, but also pushing back when a hire isn't good enough.
Shape employer branding: Help tell Cerrion’s story to the talent market. Collaborate on careers content, refine our messaging, and make sure our external presence reflects the energy and ambition of the team.
Track what matters: Establish recruiting metrics — time-to-hire, pipeline conversion, source effectiveness — and use data to continuously improve how we hire.
Qualifications
Must-have
4+ years of recruiting experience, with a strong track record of hiring across technical and business roles in fast-growing companies or startups.
Full-cycle ownership: You’ve personally sourced, screened, and closed hires — not just coordinated them. You know what it takes to get from a blank req to a signed offer.
Process builder mindset: You’ve set up or significantly improved recruiting processes, tools, or infrastructure at a previous company. You think in systems, not just searches.
Comfortable with ambiguity: You don’t need a manager to tell you what to do next. You see gaps, propose solutions, and execute.
Strong sourcing skills: Proven ability to build candidate pipelines through direct outreach, referrals, and creative channels — not just inbound applications.
Fluent in English and German; strong written and verbal communication skills. You can represent Cerrion credibly to senior candidates.
Nice-to-have
Experience hiring in deep tech, AI, or manufacturing — you understand the talent landscape and know where to find niche profiles.
Familiarity with Swiss labour market and work permit processes — practical knowledge of hiring internationally into Switzerland.
Hands-on experience with modern ATS platforms (Ashby, Lever, Greenhouse, or similar) and AI sourcing tools like Juicebox and (LinkedIn Recruiter, etc.).
Why Cerrion
Ownership & impact: You’ll be the first dedicated recruiting hire at Cerrion. Every process you build, every tool you choose, and every hire you close will directly shape the team that scales this company. This isn’t a support function — it’s a core role.
Culture: We operate with flat hierarchies and a get-things-done mentality. You’ll work with ambitious colleagues from all over the world in a collaborative environment where the best idea wins.
Compensation & equity: Competitive salary, meaningful stock option package, and comprehensive benefits.
Location: Modern office in the heart of Zurich with a hybrid work setup; enjoy the quality of life of Switzerland and the dynamism of a high-growth startup.
If you love the craft of recruiting, get energy from building something from scratch, and want to shape the team behind a company that’s transforming how the world manufactures — we’d love to meet you.