Senior Recruiter (Contract)

Overview of the Role

This is a pivotal year for Pelago. We're scaling fast, hiring across clinical, technical, and business functions simultaneously, and the talent decisions we make in the next 12 months will shape the company's trajectory. We need a recruiter who understands that: someone with the range to move across functions, the judgment to find the best of the best, and the drive to treat every role like it matters -- because it does.

This is a high-ownership, high-autonomy role. You'll carry 6-10 requisitions at a time across clinical, business, and technical functions, partner directly with hiring managers and senior leaders, and operate with the pace and discernment of someone who has done this before. No role is too senior, none too junior; you bring the same enthusiasm and rigor to every search.

This role was created to cover a planned leave and is structured as a 1099 contract engagement. Based on business need and mutual fit, there is a genuine path to conversion to a full-time role.

This is a hybrid role with expectations of 3 days/week in our NYC office.

In this role you will…

• Lead full-cycle recruiting across clinical, business, and technical roles — sourcing through close
• Partner with hiring managers to define what success actually looks like in a role, not just what's written on paper
• Run fast, focused processes that balance urgency with a high bar for talent
• Proactively source from clinical, technical, and non-traditional backgrounds — building pipelines ahead of need, not just in response to it
• Execute targeted outreach and talent mapping in competitive markets
• Act as a trusted advisor to hiring managers — offer honest market insights, clear feedback, and confident recommendations
• Navigate complex hiring scenarios — niche skill sets, senior searches, fast-moving timelines — with sound judgment and urgency
• Lead offer strategy and close candidates through complex negotiations, including counteroffers and stakeholder alignment
• Manage and maintain pipeline health and recruiting operations in Greenhouse — accurate, efficient, transparent
• Experiment with and operationalize AI-native recruiting tools — we expect fluency, not curiosity

The background we are looking for…

• 6+ years of experience in-house Recruiting, with demonstrated ownership of full-cycle recruiting in high-growth, startup, or founder-led environments, balancing speed, quality, and candidate experience
  • Clinical recruiting experience ideal; behavioral health a strong plus
  • Technical recruiting experience a plus
• Comfortable operating in high-urgency, execution-heavy recruiting environments while also engaging in People Operations work that improves systems, programs, and long-term outcomes
• Comfortable owning senior and leadership-level searches (Director and above)
• NYC-based; able to be in-person with hiring teams as needed
• Operates autonomously: you don't need hand-holding to get moving and you don't wait to be told what to do
• AI-native or AI-curious: you use tools to work smarter, drive better outcomes
• Thrives in lean, high-velocity environments where priorities shift and ownership is real

At this time, we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position. 

Please note that Pelago is dedicated to providing accommodations to candidates upon request. If you need accommodations at any point throughout the interview process, please reach out to your recruiter.