For senior tech operators

Your next role is at one of the next unicorns.IPOs.breakthroughs.

Senior, selective, tired of cold applying. One profile, 200+ tier-1 startups, matched to you for 24 months. You see roles before companies see you.

Get Matched →Is this for you?
200+
tier-1 startups
24mo
match window
You first
before companies see you
$0
cost, ever
200+ Tier-1 Startups · One ApplyYC · Sequoia · a16z BackedYou See Roles FirstAnonymous Until You Opt In24-Month Match WindowFree for Candidates · AlwaysTalent Committee CuratedSkip the Cold Apply
200+ Tier-1 Startups · One ApplyYC · Sequoia · a16z BackedYou See Roles FirstAnonymous Until You Opt In24-Month Match WindowFree for Candidates · AlwaysTalent Committee CuratedSkip the Cold Apply
Why this exists

Cold applying is broken.

The best companies don't post their best roles publicly. The job boards are a graveyard. LinkedIn is recruiter spam.

The graveyard

Apply to 50 roles. Hear back from 3. The other 47 silently rejected by ATS keyword filters. Senior people processed like fresh grads.

The recruiter spam

Inbound recruiters with off-target roles, low-comp pitches, copy-pasted templates. Real opportunities buried under noise.

The hidden best companies

The strongest startups don't post their best roles publicly. They hire through warm intros. If you're not in the right Slack groups, you don't see them.

The companies

Where you'd actually end up.

VC-backed startups, pre-seed through Series B. Most within 12 months of their last raise. The companies your friends will brag about working at in five years.

Backed by
Y CombinatorSequoiaAndreessen HorowitzFounders FundIndex VenturesGeneral CatalystLightspeedGreylockTiger GlobalKhoslaBessemerBenchmarkAccelKleiner PerkinsNEA
Stage
Pre-seed → Series B
highest-growth window
Capital
$5M to $200M
most raised in last 12mo
Geography
SF · NY · LDN
~80% Bay Area
Founders
Tier-1 only
Stripe, OpenAI, Anthropic

"You join one of these companies, and you've put yourself on a five-year arc that ends in IPO, acquisition, or a top-tier resume line and meaningful equity. That's the bar."

Is this for you?

Refery has a bar. We'd rather tell you upfront.

Read both columns. If you fit, apply. If you don't yet, we've pointed you somewhere better.

Strong fit

You'll likely fit if...

  • 3 to 15 years experience
    engineering, product, design, GTM, ops
  • Top company background
    FAANG, Stripe, Airbnb, OpenAI, Anthropic, top YC
  • Or top CS school
    MIT, Stanford, CMU, Berkeley, Caltech, ETH
  • Senior-level target
    staff, principal, director, founding, head-of
  • Comp: $200K to $350K base
    plus equity and bonus
  • Open to SF, NY, or London
    ~80% of roles are SF
  • US work authorization
    citizen, green card, valid permit
Probably not yet

Try elsewhere if...

  • Less than 3 years experience
    try YC's Work at a Startup or Triplebyte
  • Need new visa sponsorship
    most clients don't sponsor new H-1Bs
  • Fully remote only
    try Remote.co or We Work Remotely
  • Looking for big-tech
    apply to FAANG directly
  • Sub-$200K base expectations
    try Otta or Wellfound
  • Career-switching from outside tech
    bootcamp pipelines fit better early on
  • Contract or part-time only
    try Toptal or Contra

If you fit, this is the highest-leverage 25 minutes of your search.

Privacy & control

You stay in control.

Most of our strongest candidates are quietly exploring while still at their current job. The platform is designed for that.

01

You see roles first

Always. Before any company sees you.

Your profile and identity are never shared with any company until you explicitly opt in. No surprise outreach. No mystery applications going out under your name.

02

Blacklist anything

Your employer. Their competitors. Anyone.

Name companies you want excluded. They'll never see you and will never appear in your matches. Live setting. Update anytime.

03

Pause or leave anytime

Your data, your timeline.

Pause and matches stop immediately. Remove and your data is deleted within 30 days. No reason needed.

How it works

Apply once. 24 months of matches.

01
Today · 5 min

Apply with your background

Resume, role focus, comp expectations, geography, blacklist. Reviewed personally. You'll hear back in 3 business days with a Talent Committee scheduling link or honest feedback.

02
This week · 25 min

Talent Committee call

A real call with an investor or operator. Your story, what you're looking for, what you'd say no to. The conversation that powers every match for the next 24 months.

03
Real-time

You see roles. You decide.

Every relevant role surfaces to you, current and any opening in the next 24 months. You opt in to the ones that interest you. We make warm intros to hiring managers. Response in 48 to 72 hours.

Q&A

Every question, answered.

Privacy & control

How matching works

Compensation

About Refery

Apply to the network

One profile. 200+ companies.

5 minutes to apply. 25 minutes for the Talent Committee call. 24 months of curated matches.

Get Matched →