For Engineering, AI, and GTM candidates
Find work you want to own.
You know what good work looks like. Tell us what you want to build next, and what would make a move worth it.
The short answer: Refery connects candidates with relevant startup searches. Candidates pay no fee; the hiring company pays when it hires. Everything starts in one place: the candidate form takes your CV and the context below in a single step, and you hear back either way.
Refery is a startup recruiting network for VC-backed Seed to Series B companies hiring Engineering, AI, and GTM talent. It combines specialist independent recruiters with referrals from founders, operators, and investors.
- Company focus
- Seed to BVC-backed startup teams
- Role focus
- BuildersEngineering, AI, and GTM
- Candidate fees
- $0the hiring company pays Refery
Why Refery
Your experience is more than a title.
A useful introduction connects the work a company needs done with evidence that you can do it. A résumé starts the conversation. Context makes it useful.
The work you owned
Explain your contribution, not just the company’s outcome. What did you decide, build, sell, or fix yourself?
The team you want
A founding role and a specialist role ask different things of you. Tell us the stage, scope, and working style you want.
The constraints that matter
Location, compensation, timing, and sponsorship are part of fit. Bring them into the conversation early.
Companies and roles
Early teams. Real ownership.
Our focus is VC-backed Seed to Series B companies hiring people to build products, put AI into use, and win customers.
Engineering
Founding and senior software engineers, infrastructure, and data. Tell us what you shipped, what you owned, and the tradeoffs you made.
How we approach Engineering recruiting →AI
AI/ML and forward-deployed engineering. Explain your work with models, evaluations, production systems, or customer implementation.
How we approach AI recruiting →GTM
Founding GTM, enterprise sales, and growth. Show the customer, sales motion, and pipeline or revenue work you owned.
How we approach GTM recruiting →These are recruiting specialties, not live job advertisements. Compensation, equity, location, remote work, and sponsorship are specific to each search. Confirm the details with the team.
What to send
Give us the context a résumé leaves out.
Keep it concise. Do not send confidential employer documents or someone else’s personal information. A referral is welcome, but you can come to us directly. Everything goes through the candidate form, which takes your CV and the context below in one step.
Two guides written from our searches: where senior engineers find high-ownership startup roles and how to evaluate a founding engineer offer.
- Your résumé or LinkedIn profile, plus relevant public work if you have it.
- One or two examples of work you owned. Explain the problem, your contribution, and the outcome you can substantiate.
- The role and company stage you want next, including work you would rather not do.
- Location, working arrangement, compensation expectations, and any sponsorship requirements.
- Availability, companies to exclude, and how you want a potential introduction handled.
Privacy and preferences
Be clear about what you want shared.
If you are exploring quietly, say so. Discuss excluded companies and sharing preferences with the team before sending sensitive details or proceeding with an introduction.
Our Privacy Policy explains how information is used, shared, and retained, and how to make a data request. For privacy questions or requests, email hello@refery.io.
This page does not advertise an automated employer blacklist, a fixed matching period, or a guaranteed response time. The hiring company pays Refery; see how fees work.
Questions
Before you get in touch.
Updated .
What is Refery for candidates?
Refery is a startup recruiting network focused on Engineering, AI, and GTM roles at VC-backed Seed to Series B companies. It combines specialist independent recruiters with founder, operator, and investor referrals. This page is an introduction to the network, not a list of current vacancies.
Is Refery free for candidates?
Yes. Candidates do not pay Refery an application, profile, or placement fee. Hiring companies pay a separate success-based fee of 15% to 25% of first-year base salary. That fee is not deducted from your compensation.
How do I get in touch about opportunities?
Use the candidate form at refery.io/apply. It takes your CV as a PDF and asks the rest in a few taps: where you would work, your right to work there, the roles and company stage you want, compensation, when you could start, and any companies to exclude. It takes about three minutes and you hear back either way.
Are the roles on this page open right now?
The role families are examples of Refery’s focus, not advertised vacancies. Share your CV through the form and you will be told what is actually live and what fits; the brief, location, compensation, and hiring process are confirmed for each search before you spend time on it.
Does contacting Refery guarantee an interview?
No. A conversation or referral does not guarantee a match, interview, or offer. Availability and timing depend on the search, your preferences, and the hiring company’s decision.
Are remote work and visa sponsorship available?
Working arrangements and sponsorship depend on the specific hiring company and role. Most Refery searches are on-site in San Francisco, New York or London, with companies hiring people who can already work there. The form asks where you would work and what right to work you hold, and answers you honestly if there is nothing that fits.
How should I handle a confidential search?
The form has a field for companies never to show you to, and a place to say what you are comfortable sharing. Nothing about you reaches a company until you say yes to that specific role. Refery’s Privacy Policy explains data use and sharing; this page does not promise an automated employer-blocking control.
How can I update my preferences or make a data request?
Everyone who uses the candidate form gets a private link by email. It opens your own profile, where you can change what you are looking for, pause it, or delete everything. For privacy questions, correction, or deletion requests, contact hello@refery.io and consult Refery’s Privacy Policy. Requests are subject to the policy and applicable requirements.
Start a conversation
What do you want to build next?
Share your CV and a few lines about the work you want to own. A conversation is a starting point, not a promise of an interview or offer.