About Us

Astera Institute is a new kind of research organization that operates outside the constraints of markets or academia, and is itself an experiment in how research organizations can move faster, take smarter risks, and create lasting public goods. Our key programs include:

• Our Residency is a one to two-year program that supports extraordinary scientists who are producing public goods. We support not only residents’ salaries, but also budgets for them to hire a team and meet other needs to accelerate their work

• Radial supports biotechnology-focused projects and is redefining how science should be done

• Obelisk does fundamental research in Artificial General Intelligence to ensure it brings good to humanity

Astera is uniquely positioned to shape the course of rapid scientific and technological innovation because of:

• A $3B+ endowment, which we intend to deploy boldly rather than preserve in perpetuity.

• A small, agile team: We are staffed much more leanly than other foundations, and aim to keep bureaucracy as minimal as possible. It's more accurate to think of us as a startup than a traditional foundation.

• High risk tolerance: We take an experimental approach to our programming that means we expect projects to fail with some frequency.

• Disinterest in consensus: we add value by supporting projects, programs, and people that other organizations can’t or won’t.

About the Role

We are seeking a mission- and culturally-aligned Recruiting Coordinator who will build and operate Astera’s recruiting engine as we scale our program teams. This role will own and refine the processes that bring extraordinary technologists and operators into our orbit.

Recruiting at Astera is highly relational: residency cohorts join twice a year, candidate pipelines shift dramatically by discipline, and we often hire for roles that don’t exist anywhere else.

Reporting to the COO, you will work closely with Astera’s leadership to ensure every candidate—regardless of outcome—has a thoughtful and world-class experience. You will manage logistics, scheduling, candidate communication, tracking systems, and search processes, while continuously improving how Astera discovers and attracts talent.

This role is ideal for someone who thrives in a dynamic, ambiguous environment, has exceptional organizational instincts, and is energized by enabling ambitious impact through exceptional hiring.

Responsibilities

Candidate Experience & Coordination

• Own end-to-end scheduling for all candidates

• Manage timely, thoughtful communication with candidates; ensure every touchpoint reflects Astera’s values.

• Prepare interviewers with relevant materials, context, and rubrics with input from hiring managers

• Maintain a smooth, high-signal, low-friction interview process for both candidates and internal stakeholders.
  

Pipeline Operations & Systems

• Maintain accurate candidate records in our ATS (Ashby/Rippling)

• Track and report on pipeline health, bottlenecks, and operational risks

• Build and refine templates, processes, and documentation to support repeatable, high-quality hiring.
  

Sourcing & Research

• Partner with the COO and hiring managers to identify top-of-funnel sources for unique technical and scientific roles

• Conduct targeted outreach to residents, operators, scientists, and other high-potential candidates

• Support coordination with external recruiters or advisors as needed.
  

Residency Recruiting Support

• Support the twice-annual Residency selection process, including scheduling interviews, managing reviewer workflows, and ensuring all materials are consistent and complete.

• Support candidate logistics during finalist visits, onsite evaluations, or project deep dives.

• Help ensure the Residency selection process remains high-quality even as we iterate and experiment.
  

Operational Flexibility

• Flex to “unknown unknowns” across the People & Operations stack—e.g., helping onboard new hires, assisting with event logistics for candidate days, supporting communications during peak cycles, or running special projects.

• Step in to support the office manager, people operations lead, or other teammates during high-volume periods.

Essential qualifications

1. 2–4+ years of experience in recruiting coordination, executive support, operations, or another role that demands exceptional organization and communication

2. Demonstrated ability to manage fast-moving, high-complexity scheduling and logistics across multiple stakeholders

3. Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with high attention to tone and detail

4. Comfort navigating highly ambiguous environments and adapting to shifting priorities

5. Strong project management skills, including tracking tasks across multiple simultaneous hiring processes.

Preferred qualifications

We expect that competitive candidates may have additional qualifications that make them especially well suited to this role, potentially including:

• Experience working in early-stage or highly cross-functional teams.

• Familiarity with scientific, engineering, or technical recruiting.

• Strong research skills, especially for identifying talent in nontraditional places.

• Experience with ATS systems (e.g., Lever, Greenhouse, Ashby, Rippling).

• Experience in environments where candidate experience is a core strategic priority.

Attributes

More important than a substantial amount of experience is cultural alignment. Key attributes that are critical for success include:

• Relationship orientation & communication skills: You assume best intent and develop positive working relationships. You use written and verbal communication as an effective and critical tool.

• Openness to feedback: You value giving and receiving respectful, direct feedback as a cultural multiplier.

• Creative, tenacious problem solving: You see options where others see constraints, and you are energized by delighting and surprising stakeholders with thoughtful solutions.

• Mission driven mindset: You are motivated by enabling science that could reshape the future.

• Prioritization: You are committed to the deadlines you set and adept at re-prioritizing independently in an environment of constant change

• Start-up mentality: You don’t expect to maintain strong boundaries around what “isn’t your job,” and recognize that the role you’re being hired for might evolve significantly over the course of 6-12 months.

• High standards & ownership: Your standards for excellence are exceedingly high and internally dictated. You find yourself asking, “can we do this 10x better than anyone else?” You take full responsibility of the hiring processes you own, seeking input where needed from hiring managers.

• Experimentation & bias to action. You have the courage to launch and iterate on thoughtfully designed experiments rather than obsessing over perfect plans that never launch.

Location

This role will be in person in Emeryville, California.

Compensation Range: $80K - $115K