February 18, 2026
Now hiring: bring your own broom
Stardex (YC S21) Is Hiring
YC startup wants a data cleanup hero — Reddit calls it ‘AI janitor’
TLDR: Stardex, a YC startup, is hiring its first data‑migration lead to move recruiters from old systems into its AI hiring tool. Comments split between calling it an “AI janitor” crunch gig with no posted pay and a rare shot at ownership for grads, debating AI’s limits and the implied work culture.
YC-backed Stardex dropped a job for a TypeScript/SQL data wrangler to move recruiting firms off legacy tools into its AI-powered ATS (applicant tracking system) + CRM (customer manager) — and the comments went full soap opera. Fans love the “first in the role” ownership and working with founders Sanket & Pranav; skeptics rolled their eyes at the familiar vibe: AI-native job that sounds like nonstop data cleanup. One camp says it’s a ground-floor win for recent grads, with real impact and AI tools like Claude Code and Cursor. The other fixated on “zero margin for error” and “whatever it takes by Friday,” reading crunch between the lines and side‑eyeing the missing salary range.
Industry vets warned that recruiting data is a swamp — “relational spaghetti in spreadsheets” — and actually praised Stardex for making migration a first-class job instead of a footnote. Doubters fired back: if there’s an AI copilot, why hire a human broom? Supporters countered that AI can draft scripts, but humans still design pipelines, verify results, and talk to customers.
Memes flew: “Bring your own broom,” “ETL goblin wanted,” and “ATS = Always Tracking Sorrow.” One recruiter promised coffee for life to whoever ships painless imports; a dev said they’d settle for indexes and eight hours of sleep. Y Combinator got name‑checked in every third comment.
Key Points
- •Stardex, an AI-native ATS/CRM for recruiting firms and YC-backed (YC S21), is hiring its first onboarding/data migration specialist.
- •The role requires writing TypeScript and SQL scripts to transform, clean, and migrate relational data with high accuracy.
- •Candidates should use AI tools like Claude Code and Cursor to automate repetitive tasks and improve efficiency.
- •Bonus experience includes CRMs/ATS, APIs, data pipelines, ETL, and database performance tuning (indexing, query optimization).
- •The hire will define onboarding processes, work directly with founders Sanket and Pranav, and recent graduates are welcome to apply.