About the role
About Instantly Instantly builds products that help businesses run and scale email outreach. Small teams own meaningful systems, work close to customers, and ship improvements that reach production quickly. The company is looking for exceptional talent — people hired here are expected to raise the bar, not just fill a seat. Compensation & profile - Compensation: no cap. The client will pay what the right person is worth — best candidate required. Do not screen anyone out on expected comp. - Location: remote (India). Mumbai-based candidates who can work from the office are preferred. Confirm the candidate's location, notice period and work-arrangement expectations in the submission. - Open to exceptional early-career candidates — do not filter only by years of experience or pedigree. - Instantly wants a long-term recruitment partner who learns their bar and sends a small number of highly relevant candidates. What this person must demonstrate - Strong Linux administration and production debugging fundamentals. - Understanding of SMTP, DNS, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, mail queues, logs, bounces, complaints, and reverse DNS. - Ability to automate operational work using Bash, Python, Go, or a comparable language. - Evidence-based investigation and root-cause thinking, not only task execution. - Clear communication and the ability to operate in a fast-changing startup environment. - Meaningful use of Claude, Codex, or similar AI coding tools, with independent verification and judgment. Good-to-have experience - Postfix, PowerMTA, Haraka, Exim, or another MTA in production. - High-volume email delivery, reputation management, feedback loops, blocklists, or abuse operations. - Ansible, Terraform, containers, observability, cloud or bare-metal infrastructure, BGP, ASN, or IPAM. Screening questions to ask before submitting - Ask the candidate to explain an infrastructure incident end to end: evidence, diagnosis, fix, verification, and prevention. - Ask them to trace an email from application submission to recipient outcome and identify likely failure points. - Ask for an automation they built and the manual work or risk it removed. - Ask exactly how they use AI tools and how they catch incorrect or unsafe output. Do not submit candidates who - Only perform routine control-panel or help-desk administration without deep troubleshooting. - Cannot explain SMTP and DNS fundamentals clearly. - Wait for exhaustive instructions instead of investigating gaps. - Present certifications or years of experience without evidence of systems they have owned or improved. Submission format - Current compensation, expected compensation, and notice period. - Two short paragraphs: why the candidate fits, and the strongest evidence of ownership/shipping. - AI coding tools used, frequency, and one concrete workflow example. - Resume and current city. - One relevant project or incident, including the candidate's exact contribution. Quality bar Builders who investigate, make sound tradeoffs, communicate clearly, and ship. Curiosity first, pedigree second. Instantly needs exceptional talent — send only candidates you would bet your reputation on.