Technical Recruiter

Our mission is to reinvent the way people learn, starting with language. We begin by teaching the next billion people English, Spanish, and French.

English is the global language of business, culture, and communication, and over 1.5 billion people around the world are actively trying to learn right now. Others dream of communicating with the half-billion native Spanish speakers across the globe. The problem is that it's nearly impossible to learn to speak a language without constant access to a speaking partner. Grammar and vocab apps don't really help – you need to actually converse with someone.

Speak is on a journey to fix this. We're creating an AI-powered experience that replicates the flow of a conversation, without needing a human on the other end. The goal is to make it radically more accessible to be able to have conversations in a foreign language and eventually help hundreds of millions of people gain fluency who otherwise wouldn't be able to.

We started on this journey over five years ago and we've still got a long ways to go. We're thoughtfully adding new team members only when we think they can truly play a big role in our mission.

Speak launched first in South Korea where we have quickly grown to become the top grossing education app in the country. We have now delivered this winning product to more than 40 countries globally and are continuing to expand to more markets in the coming months. The company is well funded, and as of December 2024, we've reached a $1B valuation with our Series C round, through key partners like Accel, OpenAI, Founders Fund, Y Combinator, Khosla Ventures, Lachy Groom, Josh Buckley, and more. We’re a team of more than 90 based throughout San Francisco, Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei, and Ljubljana.

At Speak, our mission is to build a world-class team that’s shaping the future of language learning and AI-powered education. As a Technical Recruiter, you’ll focus on hiring top-tier talent across engineering, product, and design, playing a pivotal role in scaling our technical organization. This role will also possibly flex to help grow our Business teams when needed. This role goes beyond sourcing and coordinating—you're a strategic partner to hiring managers, a brand ambassador to candidates, and a systems thinker who helps optimize our hiring infrastructure.
This is a hybrid role in San Francisco.

• Drive full-cycle recruiting across technical roles (Engineering, Product, and Design) with speed and precision, with an openness to stretch across Business roles as needed.

• Partner deeply with hiring managers to understand team needs, define role requirements, and craft structured interview processes.

• Proactively source and engage passive candidates through LinkedIn, GitHub, portfolio sites, and networking channels.

• Build and maintain strong pipelines of technical talent across core disciplines and levels, ensuring readiness for future hiring surges.

• Own the candidate experience—from sourcing & first outreach to offer acceptance—ensuring timely, transparent, and thoughtful communication at every stage.

• Coordinate interviews across global time zones, optimizing for hiring team efficiency and candidate availability.

• Leverage tools like Ashby (our ATS), LinkedIn Recruiter, and other sourcing platforms to track and manage candidates.

• Track recruiting metrics to identify bottlenecks, improve conversion rates, and iterate on sourcing and process strategies.
  

• 3+ years of technical recruiting experience, within high-growth tech startups.

• Demonstrated success hiring for engineering, product, and/or design roles, from ICs to leadership levels.

• Strong sourcing skills with a track record of creatively identifying and engaging top technical talent.

• Proficiency in recruiting tools and systems like Ashby, Greenhouse, Lever, or LinkedIn Recruiter.

• Deep understanding of the U.S. tech talent landscape, with an ability to advise on competitive market trends.

• Highly organized and autonomous; able to juggle multiple searches and priorities without dropping the ball.

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with a candidate-first mindset.

• A passion for building inclusive, high-performing teams and helping others do the best work of their careers.

1. Join a fantastic, tight-knit team at the right time: we're growing very quickly, we've most recently raised our Series C from some of the top investors in the valley, and we've achieved product-market fit in our initial markets. You'd join at a magical time when a single person could significantly change the course of the company.

2. Do your life's work with people you’ll love working with: we care strongly about our craft and want every person at Speak to feel like they're growing every day. We believe in the idea that working with people you both enjoy and have respect for makes everything better. We hire thoughtfully and only work with people we admire deeply.

3. Global in nature: We're live in over 40 countries and launching in a number of new markets soon. We have dedicated offices in San Francisco, Ljubljana, Seoul, and Tokyo, and you’ll have the opportunity to talk to users in each of these regions on a regular basis as well as travel.

4. Impact people's lives in a major way: Learning a language is one of the single most life-changing skills one can learn, and right now 99% of people never achieve their goal because the process is broken. We’re helping millions of people achieve their goals and improve their lives.

Speak does not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.