Executive Recruiter

BUILD A SAFER WORLD. TRM Labs provides AI-powered intelligence solutions that help public and private sector agencies investigate and disrupt crime. TRM's platforms enable investigators to trace illicit activity, build cases, and construct operating pictures of threat networks. Leading agencies and businesses worldwide rely on TRM to make the world safer and more secure. Hire the leaders who will define TRM’s next chapter. The caliber of TRM’s leaders defines how far and how fast we can go. As TRM’s founding Executive Recruiter, you’ll have the rare opportunity to shape the leadership team behind our next chapter, owning leadership and executive search end-to-end across GTM, R&D, and G&A. You’ll partner directly with our founders and executive team to identify, engage, and close exceptional leaders who raise the bar and multiply the impact of the teams around them. You’ll also build our executive recruiting function from the ground up, defining how we find, assess, and win the very best leaders in the market. Your impact will extend far beyond individual hires. You’ll shape who leads TRM for years to come. The impact you will have: - You will shape who leads TRM, owning and closing VP, Head of, and executive searches across GTM, R&D, and G&A that set the trajectory of entire organizations. - You will be a trusted search partner to our founders and executives, helping define each role and guiding high-stakes hiring decisions with sound judgment. - You will turn hard-to-reach leadership markets into exceptional pipelines through deep market mapping, an established executive network, original sourcing, and AI-assisted research. - You will represent TRM at the highest level, delivering an executive-level candidate experience that builds trust and excitement at every interaction. - You will build leadership recruiting at TRM from the ground up, establishing the processes, interview structures, scorecards, and operating rhythms that make exceptional senior hiring repeatable and scalable. What we’re looking for: - 5+ years in executive search, with a track record of personally closing VP and/or C-level hires. - Deep experience in high-growth startup environments, with an understanding of what exceptional leadership looks like as organizations scale quickly, roles evolve, and the business operates with speed and ambiguity. - An established network of senior leaders and executives, with the relationships and credibility to open doors, generate warm introductions, and engage exceptional talent who may not be actively looking. - Experience owning retained-style leadership searches end-to-end, from defining the search and mapping the market through assessment, references, and close. - The executive presence and credibility to partner directly with founders and senior leaders, challenge their thinking when needed, and navigate high-stakes decisions with conviction. - Fluency using AI throughout the search process, including market research, sourcing, candidate synthesis, and highly personalized executive outreach. - Exceptional sourcing instincts and the discipline to build leadership pipelines from scratch, rather than relying on inbound interest or agencies. - Exceptional written communication and the operational rigor to keep multiple complex searches moving with speed and precision. - Experience hiring leaders across multiple functions, including GTM, R&D, and G&A, or within mission-driven, highly sensitive environments. - This position is only open to candidates located in the United States. About the Team: - We move fast and own the outcome. Recruiters are expected to drive their searches forward, surface risks early, and proactively bring solutions rather than wait for direction. - We operate as true partners to the business. We work closely with hiring managers and leaders to challenge assumptions, use data to inform decisions, and hold a high bar for the talent we bring into TRM. - We’re serious about our craft and always looking to get better. We experiment with new approaches, use AI deeply in our work, and continuously improve how we source, assess, close, and create an exceptional candidate experience. - We stay closely connected, even while working remotely. Weekly hiring and sourcing syncs, team meetings, Slack, and strong documentation help us share context quickly, solve problems together, and learn from one another. - We’re a globally distributed team with meaningful overlap. Most collaboration happens between 7am–12pm PT, and everyone maintains at least four hours of overlap with PT business hours so we have the flexibility of remote work without sacrificing speed or collaboration. Learn about TRM Speed in this position: - Within 72 hours of a new leadership search, you’ve aligned deeply with the hiring executive on the mandate, mapped the market, and identified 5–10 high-conviction leaders who sharpen our view of exceptional. - Within the first 2 weeks, you’re actively engaging exceptional leadership talent and bringing real-time market intelligence on candidate motivations, compensation, and competitive dynamics back to the hiring team. - Within your first 90 days, you’ve closed your first leadership hire and are already raising the bar on how TRM identifies, assesses, and wins exceptional leaders as we scale. APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS If you’re interested in joining TRM, we encourage you to apply directly. Every application is reviewed by our Talent team. Before applying, review the job description carefully and highlight the experience and impact that best demonstrate the required qualifications. Please also provide thoughtful and accurate answers to the application questions, as these will be used to evaluate your skills and qualifications for the role. If you send your resume directly to someone at TRM, we can’t guarantee it will reach the appropriate hiring team. Applying directly is the best way to ensure your application will be considered. INTERVIEWING WITH TRM Our process is designed to understand how you think, solve problems, and deliver impact, while allowing you to evaluate TRM. Most interview processes include a case study, an AI skills assessment, and a Leadership Principles interview. - Recruiter Intro: Qualifications, motivations, and alignment with the role. - Hiring Manager: Deep dive into your relevant experience, skills, and impact. - First Round: 1–2 interviews focused on the skills most critical to the role. - Final Round: Hands-on case study. This is usually a panel-style session where we go deeper into your craft, problem-solving, and alignment with TRM. - References: Former colleagues who can provide insight into your work and impact. - Offer: Congrats! Your recruiter will present the offer and compensation details. - Welcome to TRM: We're excited to build a safer world with you! Your recruiter will share your specific interview plan and preparation guidance along the way. AI FLUENCY AT TRM AI fluency is a baseline expectation at TRM. We believe AI meaningfully changes how top performers operate. We expect every team member to use AI to accelerate and reimagine their craft, not just automate surface tasks. At TRM, AI fluency means you are among the top 10 percent of operators in your function in how you apply AI to: - Accelerate repeatable workflows - Structure and solve problems - Improve output quality - Increase speed and leverage You will be evaluated on applied AI fluency during the interview process. LIFE AT TRM We are building a safer world. That promise shows up in how we work every day. TRM moves FAST. We are a high-velocity, high-ownership team that expects clarity, follow-through, and impact. People who thrive here are energized by hard problems, experimentation, and continuous feedback. If something takes months elsewhere, it will ship here in days. Our work sits at the intersection of AI, national security, and fighting crime. The problems are complex, the stakes are real, and the environment evolves quickly. The pace and intensity of the work reflect the importance of the mission. As a result, the way we operate requires a high level of ownership, adaptability, collaboration, and creative problem-solving. At TRM, you should expect: - Priorities and targets to change quickly - Operating with a high degree of ambiguity - A high level of personal ownership and accountability - Close collaboration across teams and functions - Frequent, high-touch communication - Creative problem-solving and out-of-the-box thinking - A pace that rewards urgency, adaptability, and outcomes This environment is energizing for people who enjoy building, solving hard problems, and making progress in situations that are not always fully defined. It also requires thriving in ambiguity, adjusting course as new information emerges, and maintaining focus and positivity in a fast-moving and intense environment. We also recognize that this style of operating is not for everyone. If you are primarily optimizing for predictability or a consistently balanced workload, we encourage you to use the interview process to pressure-test whether this environment is truly the right fit. We want teammates who thrive here, not just survive here. If you are excited by meaningful problems, motivated by ambitious goals, and energized by working alongside mission-driven colleagues, there is a good chance you will find TRM to be an exceptional place to grow and contribute. LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES We hire and grow against three leadership principles. They’re the standards for how we operate, treat each other, and make decisions. - Impact-Oriented Trailblazer: We put customers first and move with speed, focus, and adaptability. We treat every plan like an experiment – test, ship, measure, and iterate quickly. - Master Craftsperson: We care deeply about our craft. We balance speed with high standards, own outcomes end‑to‑end, and invest in getting better everyday. - Inspiring Colleague: We add clarity and energy, not noise. We bring humility, candor, and a one‑team mindset — giving and receiving feedback to make the team stronger. JOIN OUR MISSION At TRM, we care deeply about our craft. We are looking for individuals who want their work to matter, who experiment with speed and rigor, and who take pride in building a safer world for billions of people. If you’re excited by TRM’s mission but don’t check every box, we encourage you to apply — we hire for slope, judgment, and the will to learn fast. TRM is a Series C company with $220M in total funding, backed by Goldman Sachs, Bessemer, Y Combinator, Thoma Bravo, and others. Headquartered in San Francisco, TRM operates as a distributed-first company with hubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C., London, and Singapore. PRIVACY POLICY AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION By submitting your application, you agree to allow TRM Labs to process your personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy https://www.trmlabs.com/policies/privacy-policy. We collect the information you provide (such as your resume, work history, and contact details) solely for the purpose of evaluating your candidacy for current and future roles at TRM. Because our hiring cycles for certain positions may span 24 to 36 months, we retain your personal information for up to 36 months from the date of your application. After that period, your data is deleted unless a different retention period is required or permitted by law. If you are located in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or another jurisdiction with applicable data protection laws, you have the right to access, correct, or request deletion of your personal data at any time before that period ends. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@trmlabs.com. To notify TRM Labs that you believe this job posting is non-compl…