What are the responsibilities and job description for the Talent Sourcing Specialist position at Handshake?
About Handshake
Handshake is the career network for the AI economy. 20 million knowledge workers, 1,600 educational institutions, 1 million employers (including 100% of the Fortune 50), and every foundational AI lab trust Handshake to power career discovery, hiring, and upskilling, from freelance AI training gigs to first internships to full-time careers and beyond. This unique value is leading to unparalleled growth; in 2025, we tripled our ARR at scale.
Why Join Handshake Now
We're seeking a driven Talent Sourcing Specialist to join our Handshake AI team partnering closely with the Growth team to own top-of-funnel recruiting. This is a high-volume, high-velocity role focused on sourcing and screening candidates for the Handshake AI Fellowship.
Based in our San Francisco office, you’ll identify and engage top talent across diverse domains, taking full ownership of your pipeline in a fast-paced, goal-oriented environment.
Handshake delivers benefits that help you feel supported and thrive at work and in life.
The below benefits are for full-time US employees.
🎯 Ownership: Equity in a fast-growing company
💰 Financial Wellness: 401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching
🍼 Family Support: Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, parental coaching
💝 Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision, mental health support, $500 wellness stipend
📚 Growth: $2,000 learning stipend, ongoing development
💻 Remote & Office: Internet, commuting, and free lunch/gym in our SF office
🏝 Time Off: Flexible PTO, 15 holidays 2 flex days
🤝 Connection: Team outings & referral bonuses
Explore our mission, values, and comprehensive US benefits at joinhandshake.com/careers.
Compensation Range: $115K - $140K
Handshake is the career network for the AI economy. 20 million knowledge workers, 1,600 educational institutions, 1 million employers (including 100% of the Fortune 50), and every foundational AI lab trust Handshake to power career discovery, hiring, and upskilling, from freelance AI training gigs to first internships to full-time careers and beyond. This unique value is leading to unparalleled growth; in 2025, we tripled our ARR at scale.
Why Join Handshake Now
- Shape how every career evolves in the AI economy, at global scale, with impact your friends, family and peers can see and feel
- Work hand-in-hand with world-class AI labs, Fortune 500 partners and the world’s top educational institutions
- Join a team with leadership from Scale AI, Meta, xAI, Notion, Coinbase, and Palantir, among others
- Build a massive, fast-growing business with billions in revenue
We're seeking a driven Talent Sourcing Specialist to join our Handshake AI team partnering closely with the Growth team to own top-of-funnel recruiting. This is a high-volume, high-velocity role focused on sourcing and screening candidates for the Handshake AI Fellowship.
Based in our San Francisco office, you’ll identify and engage top talent across diverse domains, taking full ownership of your pipeline in a fast-paced, goal-oriented environment.
- Own top-of-funnel sourcing for the Growth team, partnering closely on role requirements, intake, and pipeline priorities.
- Source and engage passive talent through creative outreach, boolean search, research, and market mapping — with a focus on technical and STEM-background candidates.
- Provide market insights and strategic guidance, leveraging your close partnership with the team to advise on what’s working, what isn’t, and broader market trends.
- Conduct initial candidate screens and manage handoffs to the project teams.
- Track and report recruiting metrics, ensuring data integrity in Ashby and other tools, and leverage insights to refine sourcing strategies and improve outcomes.
- Experience: ~2–4 years of recruiting or sourcing experience. We welcome both agency and in-house backgrounds, particularly candidates interested in transitioning into a high-growth tech environment
- Sourcing Expertise: Proven ability to find and engage niche talent pools.
- Technical / Industry Knowledge: Experience sourcing candidates from specialized fields, including STEM, data, or technical backgrounds
- Drive & Urgency: You thrive in fast-moving environments with shifting priorities and big goals.
- Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to quickly build trust with both candidates and hiring managers.
- Metrics-Minded: You care about your numbers and use data to improve. Familiarity with tracking source, conversion, and grow metrics is a plus.
- Tools: Proficiency with ATS platforms (Ashby a plus), LinkedIn Recruiter, and other sourcing tools, with a strong ability to quickly learn and adapt to new technologies.
- Prior agency or executive search experience, especially in high-volume or hard-to-fill markets.
- Experience recruiting for go-to-market, sales, or growth-focused teams.
- Comfort with ambiguity and a willingness to help shape processes, not just follow them.
Handshake delivers benefits that help you feel supported and thrive at work and in life.
The below benefits are for full-time US employees.
🎯 Ownership: Equity in a fast-growing company
💰 Financial Wellness: 401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching
🍼 Family Support: Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, parental coaching
💝 Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision, mental health support, $500 wellness stipend
📚 Growth: $2,000 learning stipend, ongoing development
💻 Remote & Office: Internet, commuting, and free lunch/gym in our SF office
🏝 Time Off: Flexible PTO, 15 holidays 2 flex days
🤝 Connection: Team outings & referral bonuses
Explore our mission, values, and comprehensive US benefits at joinhandshake.com/careers.
Compensation Range: $115K - $140K
Salary : $115,000 - $140,000