Founder & CEO (AI)

TL;DR

Founder & CEO (AI): Co-founding and leading MeisterMatch, an AI-native recruitment venture for Germany’s skilled trades market with an accent on conversational AI, qualification mapping, and marketplace development. Focus on building the company from zero to one, attracting enterprise customers, developing a world-class team, and creating defensible network effects across the skilled trades ecosystem.

Location: Berlin, hybrid

Company

hirify.global builds and funds startups with entrepreneurs and leading corporate partners, providing capital, operational expertise, and venture studio support. MeisterMatch is being developed in partnership with Vonovia to address Germany’s skilled trades labor shortage.

What you will do

• Co-found and lead MeisterMatch from idea validation through company and product development.
• Define the vision and strategy for an AI-native recruitment platform serving skilled trades.
• Lead the development of conversational AI agents for candidate onboarding and employer qualification workflows.
• Build a world-class team and establish strong network effects across the trades talent marketplace.
• Attract enterprise customers, work with Vonovia as a design partner and first customer, and raise venture funding.
• Engage with both C-suite stakeholders and skilled tradespeople to shape product-market fit.

Requirements

• Experienced founder or zero-to-one builder in HR tech, marketplaces, or a related field.
• Strong insight into the German Mittelstand or skilled trades sector.
• Proven ability to build teams, attract enterprise customers, and raise venture capital.
• Strong product and technology instincts, including conversational AI and qualification mapping.
• Fluent German is essential for navigating the 130+ recognized German craft regulations.
• High intellectual and emotional intelligence, with the ability to operate effectively in ambiguity.

Nice to have

• Experience engaging mobile-first, non-desk workforces.
• Experience building defensible network effects in a marketplace.

Culture & Benefits

• Co-found a venture with hirify.global’s experienced founders and entrepreneurs.
• Access to a venture studio team and a six-month accelerator programme.
• €760,000 in combined cash and hands-on venture support.
• Dedicated founder stipend, specialist resources, and infrastructure budget.
• Expert input and direct access to Vonovia’s technical services division as a design partner and first customer.
• Validated early traction, including 355 live roles, a network of 5,000+ employed craftspeople, and a test-site conversion rate of 7%.