Founding Talent Lead (m/f/x)

About Cortea

We're Cortea, a Berlin startup transforming audits with AI. Manual, document-heavy audits waste expert time while demand keeps rising. Our AI-powered software and specialized AI agents remove the repetitive work so auditors can focus on judgment.

Backed by top-tier VCs with >10m funding, with a working product and paying customers, we're rapidly scaling.

We value first-principles thinking, speed, trust, and kindness. We build side by side in our Berlin office.

The Role

You build talent foundations. You'll design a process, that bring in exceptional talent across Tech and Non-Tech, and build a culture we're proud of.

What you'll do

• Own the Talent end to end: job design → scope → JD → sourcing → structured interviews → offer → close
• Buildt a Talent Engine: attract great people proactively; both inbound and outbound
• Raise the hiring bar: scorecards, trained interviewers, consistent candidate experience
• Shape our brand for Tech/AI talent with content, events, and a strong referral loop
• Be culture-positive: partner with founders on rituals, onboarding handover, and feedback loops

You'll be great at this if you

• Have 5+ years of TA in a fast environment (startup/scale-up or agency)
• Have hired top talent before and know the difference in how to assess them
• Communicate clearly, leverage our founding team, and make data driven decisions fast
• Can show early-stage track record you're proud of
• Think in systems and improve with data; bonus if you've built employer branding for engineers/AI

How we work

• We value kindness + candor + execution, speed with care, and strong ownership
• We're fully in-office in Berlin because we like building side by side
• We hire with structured interviews and clear scorecards to reduce bias
• Non-linear paths welcome. Career breaks welcome. If you're unsure, apply.

What we offer

• High impact from day one and a path to Head of Talent/People as we grow
• Competitive salary + meaningful equity (range shared on the first call)
• In-office energy: shared lunches, whiteboard time, fast decisions, real teamwork
• Budget for tools, learning, and events you choose

Interview process

• Intro (20 min): with Leon/Liza (our Founders Associates) - early stage hiring track record
• Expert interview (45 min): with Valentin (Co-Founder) - deep dive into: sourcing strategy, process design, quality in decisions)
• Founders interview (45 min): with Philipp (Co-Founder) - collaboration, judgment, and culture add
• On-site half-day (Berlin): meet the team and work on a real life assignment