Founding HR Generalist / People Operations

Job Description

HR Generalist / People Operations

Employment Type: Full-time

Work Model: On-site (5 days/week)

Location: San Francisco, CA (Dogpatch)

Salary: $140K–$185K base + equity

Visa Sponsorship: Not available

About this role

We are looking for a Founding HR Generalist / People Operations with 4–8 years of experience to take full ownership of the HR function. A fast-scaling AI startup that just raised a $61M Series A and is trusted by enterprise customers like DoorDash.

This is a true greenfield opportunity: no one at the company does HR full time right now, meaning you'll be stepping in to bring professional structure, best practices, and real ownership to a function that's been run on the side by the Head of Operations.

You'll be the first dedicated HR hire, which means the sky is the limit for what you can build — and the trust you earn through nailing the operational fundamentals will unlock the space to shape everything from onboarding to performance management as the company scales.

What will you be doing?

Take over day-to-day HR operations — own the full employee lifecycle including on-boarding, off-boarding, role changes, offer letters, and employment documentation.

Keep Rippling clean and up-to-date, serving as the internal owner for all HR systems and processes.

Apply strong knowledge of California employment law to handle employee transitions, terminations, and compliance with care and consistency.

Manage benefits administration (health plans, 401k, broker relationships) and partner closely with Finance on payroll accuracy.

Gain trust and social capital across the team in the first 30–60 days, then begin introducing scalable processes like structured onboarding and, eventually, performance review cycles.

Compensation

Salary: $140K–$185K base + equity

Equity: Yes

Work Policy

Full-time position

5 days/week in-office (Dogpatch, San Francisco)

No visa sponsorship

Tech Stack

Rippling

HRIS

Google Workspace

Seniority

4–8 years of experience in HR Generalist / People Operations roles at venture-backed tech startups.

Work Experience

Must Have

Has been a first or founding HR hire at a venture-backed tech startup ($10M+ raised) — built People Ops from scratch, not inherited a mature function.

Exposure to broader People Ops beyond core HR operations (e.g., performance management, on-boarding programs, manager enablement).

Education

Bachelor's degree from a reputable university; strong academic pedigree is a plus (e.g., UC Berkeley or equivalent).

Requirements

Hard Skills

Hands-on Rippling administration or equivalent HRIS (Gusto, Workday) — owns the system end-to-end, not just a user.

Payroll fundamentals — has directly managed or closely partnered on payroll processing and compliance.

Benefits administration experience — health plans, 401k, broker relationships.