At Lapel, we believe the most hospitable companies win. We're building the data, infrastructure, and tools that help customer-facing teams understand every customer and act on that insight at scale throughout the entire customer lifecycle.
Most internet businesses want to treat customers well, but their tools work against them. We’re building the layer that makes every interaction feel personal again: unifying context, coordinating action, and closing the gap between intent and experience.
It’s a technically ambitious challenge spanning data infrastructure, AI, and systems design – with a deeply human outcome: helping software companies serve people better. We call it hospitality at scale.
We’re well-funded, backed by top-tier investors, and already working with exceptional companies, from fast-growing startups to large enterprises. We’ll share more details when we talk.
About This Role
We believe people are our most significant competitive advantage, and building out our talent function is one of the most critical initiatives happening at Lapel.
You'll own it end-to-end: building pipelines for technical and non-technical roles, calibrating what great looks like across functions, and making sure every candidate experiences a process that reflects how much we care about every detail. This role sits close to the founders and shapes what Lapel becomes.
What You'll Do
Build and maintain a high-quality candidate pipeline across all open positions
Streamline and evolve our existing hiring process to raise the bar on speed and quality
Own and continuously improve our recruiting infrastructure, including Ashby, our ATS
Partner closely with founders and hiring managers to define role requirements and candidate profiles
Drive a consistent, high-touch candidate experience from first contact to offer
Develop creative sourcing strategies to reduce reliance on inbound and expand our reach
Maintain and improve how we evaluate and calibrate on candidates across the team
Support the broader people function, including compensation benchmarking, HR systems, and the infrastructure that keeps the team running smoothly
Establish and grow Lapel’s talent brand within the Bay Area tech community
You'll Thrive in This Role If You
Have 4+ years of recruiting experience across both technical and non-technical roles
Have owned hiring in a fast-paced startup environment
Are a strong judge of talent and can calibrate quickly across different functions
Know how to source creatively and engage with passive candidates
Have strong opinions on what a great hiring process looks like and can execute against them
Are comfortable working directly with founders with high ownership and low oversight
Move fast without letting candidate experience slip
The Process
We aim to hire with intention, respect your time, and offer feedback along the way.
Initial conversation (20 minutes) We’ll explore your motivations, share what we’re building, and answer your questions.
In-depth interview (60 minutes) We’ll go deeper into your craft and experience. No prep work necessary.
Take-home project (2–4 hours) You’ll complete a short, well-scoped exercise that mirrors the kind of work you’d do here.
On-site visit (1–2 days) Join us in the office to review your take-home, grab lunch, and work on something real.
Compensation and Benefits
We believe great people build great companies – and we invest accordingly.
Competitive salary + meaningful early-stage equity
Full benefits: medical, dental, vision, 401(k), and commuter benefits
Generous time off: many company holidays and coordinated team-wide breaks throughout the year to focus and recharge
Office perks: lunch and dinner provided daily, in-office snacks, and health & wellness benefits
Team culture: regular off-sites, tight feedback loops, and a bias toward action
Why Lapel, Why Now
A trillion-dollar problem hiding in plain sight. Companies spend over $1T a year on customer-facing teams and $150B on the tools meant to support them, yet every team still pieces context together across a dozen disconnected systems. We're rebuilding this from the foundation, and AI makes now the only moment it's possible.