Founding Talent Recruiter

Mercura builds AI software for technical suppliers - the distributors and manufacturers who supply contractors to build new hospitals, schools, homes, and power plants.

This industry runs on expertise built over decades. But too much of that expertise gets buried in manual work - processing vague requests, keying data into ERPs, answering phone calls - instead of serving customers. Some of the best teams turn down up to 30% of incoming business simply because they can't keep up. Mercura changes that.

Backed by Y Combinator, we surpassed $2M in ARR in our first year. Now we're looking for people ready to go all-in to reach our next milestone: $10M ARR by end of 2026.

One of our co-founders, Lukas, grew up in a fourth-generation trades family and worked on construction sites himself. That’s where he learned first-hand how slow and manual this work still is.

No skilled person should spend their time on work that software should handle. We're building the tools that give experts their time back - so they can focus on what they do best, and keep the physical world running at the speed it deserves.

About the role

As our Founding Talent Recruiter, you will build our hiring engine from the ground up and shape the kind of company we become.

You'll work closely with the founders and own full-cycle recruiting across every function - engineering, GTM, operations - while simultaneously laying the foundations of our People & Culture department. You'll define how we hire, how we onboard, how we retain, and what it feels like to work here.

If you're someone with high agency who thrives in ambiguity, loves finding and closing exceptional people, and wants to leave a real mark on a company early - this is your opportunity.

What you will be working on

• Own full-cycle recruiting across all functions, from sourcing to signed offer

• Design and execute active sourcing pipelines to attract the best talent

• Develop and run structured interview processes, evaluate candidates for skill and culture fit, and manage candidate communication

• Build Mercura's employer brand and establish us as one of the most exciting places to work in Europe

• Design and implement our onboarding experience so every new hire hits the ground running

• Define what makes Mercura's culture distinctive and drive initiatives around employee engagement, feedback, and team rituals

What we offer

• Learn to build a company: Over five Mercura alumni have gone on to found their own companies and raise millions after their time with us. At Mercura, you’ll take on real responsibility and gain the hands-on experience only possible in a high-growth startup.

• Become our first Talent Recruiter with guaranteed career advancement opportunities in a rapidly growing team

• An ambitious and caring team that sees their work as more than just a job

• Real shares in our company with the most favorable tax treatment - no VSOP/ESOP

• Free team dinner (up to 4x/week)

• UrbanSportsClub membership - join our team workouts 3x/week

• Easy relocation to Munich — our office is located in the Werk1 Startup Incubator, where you can rent a 1-bedroom apartment right next to the office for just €800/month

• Access to any AI or productivity tools you need

What we’re looking for

• You have 2-5 years of full-cycle recruiting experience in high-growth environments (e.g., VC, startup, tech) across a diverse range of functions (GTM, engineering, operations)

• You've built or scaled recruiting processes and team cultures before - you know the difference between what works at 20 people and what needs to work at 200

• You're resourceful, energetic, and relationship-driven; you love meeting great people and convincing them to take a bet on something early

• You want to work in-person in Munich with a higher intensity than in a 9-5 job

• Your are fluent in English and German

Your team & mentors

You will work with

• Stefan (Co-Founder & CPO; prev. Consultant at Bain & Researcher at Harvard Business School)

• Lukas (Co-Founder & CEO; prev. ML at Google X, Researcher in Cambridge)

• Sean (Co-Founder & CTO; Silver Medallist at the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO))

Your mentors will be

• Julian Borg (Co-Founder & CPO Remberg)

• Mario Espindola (Senior Director Talent & Operations at SignalFire)

About the interview

Step 1: Intro call

Casual intro meeting with one of the founders to get to know each other and introduce Mercura.

Step 2: Practical exercise & role play

Two practical exercises to showcase your recruiting approach and process-building instincts, followed by a mock candidate call where we simulate a first conversation with a senior engineering hire.

Step 3: Personal fit Interview

Meet another co-founder member to get a feel for our culture and working style.

Step 4: On-Site

Work alongside the entire team for a day on-site from our Munich office to fully immerse yourself in our culture and collaboration style. This on-site will be paid.

Step 5: Offer & Reference Checks

If we see a great fit, you will get an offer, including a competitive compensation package with equity participation. At the same time, we’ll ask you to provide 2–3 references so we can gather additional insights into your strengths and working style.

Why Mercura

• Join an ambitious and caring team: Your future colleagues are experienced operators, ex-founders, Science Olympiad medallists, and top graduates from places such as Google, Bain, MIT, TUM, Harvard, CDTM, and Cambridge. We bring extraordinary people together and deeply invest in your growth as your mentors, teammates and friends. We care, trust, and support one another, and we make sure that fun is at the heart of everything we do.

• Work with the latest tech: AI is at the core of our product, and use the latest tech across our product and processes to tackle meaningful challenges and shape how users interact with AI.

• Thrive in a high-growth, high-commitment environment: We’re growing extremely fast because we always put our work and our customers first. If you excel in fast-paced settings and want to grow as part of something big from day one, Mercura is for you.

• Build something with real-world impact: We ship code that directly helps a massive, yet overlooked manual industry run more efficiently and sustainably. With us, you can work on AI that contributes to economic growth and stability on a huge scale.

• Build a company: As an early team member, you will have a direct, lasting impact on our culture, processes, technology, and product. Joining us offers immense rewards: ownership, financial upside, and hands-on experience building a company from the ground up. Our track record speaks for itself - over five Mercura alumni have gone on to found their own companies and raise millions after their time with us.

About the Founders

We are Lukas, Stefan & Sean, the co-founders of Mercura.

We share a deep commitment to excellence and the discipline to pursue what others might consider impossible.

Two of us come from non-academic families, and we all know what it means to create our own paths and overcome barriers. This experience shapes our belief in equal opportunity and fuels our dedication to social mobility.

Lukas (left) is responsible for business development at Mercura. With his background as a Data Scientist at Allianz and at Google in Silicon Valley, he brings extensive expertise in data and AI.
Lukas’ family has been active in the construction industry for over 100 years, giving him a deep understanding and passion for the sector's specific needs.

Sean (middle) is responsible for technical development at Mercura. As a top 0.01% physicist, Sean earned a Silver medal for Germany at the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO), began researching with the Max Planck Institute at the age of 16, and has since published at leading machine learning conferences.

Stefan (right) leads product development at Mercura. Previously, he worked in management consulting at Bain & Company, where he helped manufacturers improve their operations.
Stefan leverages his research experience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard Business School to develop innovative solutions for the industry.

At Mercura, we believe that the best ideas emerge when people from different backgrounds collaborate together. We hire based on ability, mindset, and values, and we live by one simple rule: the best idea wins.

Beyond Mercura, we actively support initiatives that promote diversity and gender equity and commit a portion of our personal income each year to organizations expanding opportunity for others.

Our company values

Customer first. We stay close to our customer’s reality and use their feedback to build what truly matters and earn their lasting trust.

Ownership. We take responsibility end-to-end and act proactively to pursue the most ambitious goals.

Enjoy the ride. We build a culture where people can be themselves, have fun doing meaningful work, and celebrate wins along the way.

Let the best ideas win. We challenge each other respectfully and judge ideas by merit, not who said it.

Down-to-earth. We are approachable, humble, and hands-on, bringing both heart and mind to everything we do.